College Park, MD (U-WIRE) -- suffering a bitter loss to Penn State on Friday and falling behind by two goals against Ohio State yesterday, the Terrapin women's lacrosse team found itself at a crossroads.

Facing a fifth loss to a ranked opponent, Terp coach Cindy Timchal called a timeout immediately following the Buckeyes' sixth goal less than four minutes into the second half.

"We reminded the players of what we committed to before the game started," Timchal said. "We knew how tough they could be, and we hadn't matched their energy."

To say the Terps responded would be a understatement, as they reeled off eight straight goals to bury Ohio State, 13-8, at Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Led by a hat trick from senior midfielder Acacia Walker, the No. 11-ranked Terps (6-4) also received a huge lift from embattled senior goalie Kirah Miles. Two days removed from a subpar performance against the No. 2 Nittany Lions where she was pulled by Timchal early in the second half, Miles rebounded to play perhaps her best game of the season.

"We all know that Friday night was a little shaky," said Miles, who allowed nine Penn State goals and saved just four shots. "But on Saturday morning, everyone was like 'I believe in you.' I felt better knowing that I had everyone else's support."

Miles registered 15 saves yesterday, including five in the first half that allowed the Terps to gain an early 4-2 lead. Ten minutes into the game, Miles stopped two quality shot attempts on the same possession to set the tone.

Timchal did not underscore Miles' importance to the team.

"Sometimes the difference between winning and losing comes between the pipes," Timchal said. "She came up short on Friday, but you like a player who can respond. She played one hell of a game today."

Miles' consistency yesterday allowed the Terp attack time to run off a flurry of unanswered goals in the second half. After junior midfielder Delia Cox was disqualified upon drawing a second yellow card early in the half, the Terps received two goals in the streak from Walker, senior attacker Jessica Dorney and sophomore attacker Katie Doolittle.

The 8-0 run was highlighted by precision passing and efficient shots. Senior attacker Annie Collins sent a beautiful pass over the Buckeye defense off a draw to Doolittle, who tied the game at six with a quick shot.

"We want to build off of this. We have many opportunities ahead to play some really tough teams," Timchal said. "The heartbreaking loss on Friday could allow the team to come out flat, but I think we wanted to show how much heart we have."

(C) 2004 The Diamondback via U-WIRE