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Maryland Downs Tar Heels 12-7 To Win ACC Title
April 24, 2011 | Women's Lacrosse
April 24, 2011
CARY, N.C. -- The top-ranked Maryland Terrapins came from behind to defeat the fourth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, 12-7, and win their third consecutive ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship Sunday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tournament MVP Laura Merrifield scored five goals and one assist to lead the Terps to victory.
"What an awesome game," Maryland coach Cathy Reese said afterward. "We obviously had to make some adjustments at halftime in order to move better together offensively and to create more opportunities. To be able to hold an offensive powerhouse like UNC to seven goals, and just one in the second half, speaks to our potential as a defensive team. I am very proud of our team."
Becky Lynch scored an unassisted goal with 26:49 left in the second to give the Tar Heels a 7-4 lead but Maryland outscored UNC 8-0 the rest of the way. The Terrapins have beaten UNC in the ACC championship game in each of the last two years.
Lynch had four goals for Carolina, Laura Zimmerman had a goal and an assist and Margaret Corzel and Emily Garrity each scored once. Corey Donohoe had an assist for UNC but was held without a goal for the third time this season and the first time in 10 games.
Lynch, Donohoe, Zimmerman, Garrity and goalie Lauren Maksym earned spots on the 2011 All-ACC Tournament Team.
The teams traded goals early before third-seeded North Carolina scored four consecutive goals to claim a 6-3 halftime lead. It was the first time the top-seeded and undefeated Terrapins had trailed at halftime all year.
Lynch scored the first of her goals to give the Tar Heels the lead just over two minutes into the game. It took Maryland only 30 seconds to answer when Beth Glaros scored at the 27:17 mark. The early offensive barrage continued when Garrity scored for the Heels at 26:21 before Merrifield responded with back-to-back goals to give Maryland its first lead with 20:30 to play in the first period. Zimmerman's goal evened the contest less than two minutes later and Lynch scored a pair of goals in a 41-second span to give the Heels a 5-3 advantage with 16:24 remaining in the half. Corzel took advantage of a fall by Maryland goalie Brittany Dipper, finding the back of the cage to give the Heels a 6-3 advantage at the break.
After Merrifield and Lynch traded goals to start the half, Maryland scored the final eight goals of the contest. UNC goalkeeper Maksym registered eight saves in the first half, but Maryland's top-ranked offense could not be contained after the break.
"I am very proud of the team's effort here this weekend," North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. "We played five great halves, but just weren't able to get what we needed in the second half today against Maryland. We didn't move the ball as well in the second half. Credit Maryland for that. They are a great team. They contained us well and then capitalized on opportunities down the stretch to pull away late."
With 11 goals in three games over the weekend, Lynch tied the record for most goals by an individual in a single ACC Tournament.
Maryland improved to 17-0 on the season. North Carolina (12-5) will next play at home against High Point on May 6 after a break for Spring semester final exams. The NCAA Tournament field of 16 will be announced the following week.
2011 ACC Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Laura Merrifield, Maryland - MVP
Becky Lynch, North Carolina
Sarah Mollison, Maryland
Katie Schwarzmann, Maryland
Corey Donohoe, North Carolina
Laura Zimmerman, North Carolina
rittany Dipper, Maryland
Lauren Maksym, North Carolina
Katie Gallagher, Maryland
Emily Garrity, North Carolina
Kristin Igoe, Boston College
Emma Hamm, Duke
