Women's Lacrosse Defeats #1 UNC
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April 18, 1998
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s Kara Ariza (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood) scored three goals in helping Virginia defeat the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels 9-7 and claim the 1998 ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The Tournament MVP, Ariza’s first two goals gave the Cavaliers the lead in the first half and her final goal, coming with 3:40 to play in the second half, gave Virginia the insurance it would need to claim its first ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
The Tar Heels started the scoring with a goal by Erin McGinnis from Lori Pasquantonio just 1:33 into the game. Virginia’s Mills Hook (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s), the ACC Rookie of the Year, tied the game for the Cavaliers with a conversion of a free position two minutes later. The Cavaliers took the lead a minute later when Ariza scored the first of her game-high three goals. Pasquantonio tied the game for the Tar Heels with a made 8-meter shot four minutes later. Ariza again put the Cavaliers up by a goal with another unassisted drive to the cage with just over 11 minutes passed in the game. Virginia went up by two when freshmen Lacey Aumiller (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) and Hook connected for the score with 8:20 left in the first period, forcing the Heels to take a timeout. The Heels rallied and tied the game with a pair of goals in 28 seconds as McGinnis scored unassisted and Lizzy Bennett stuck back a rebound to make it 4-4 with 2:32 in the first half.
The Heels went up by two in the first ten minutes of the second half thanks to the play of Kristen Off, who assisted Meghann Mohler five minutes into the half and converted a free position five minutes later. Hook scored her second goal 51 seconds later to cut the deficit to one, but Pasquantonio answered right back a minute later to put the Heels up by two.
The Cavalier defense, ranked third in the country in scoring defense, clamped down and shut the Tar Heels out the rest of the way. Amy Fromal (Folsom, Pa./Ridley) picked up a ground ball and raced the length of the field and scored, cutting the deficit to 7-6. Ten minutes later, ACC Player of the Year Peggy Boutilier (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park Country) converted an 8-meter mark to tie the game at 7 with 7:13 remaining.
The Cavaliers went up 8-7 with 4:51 to play when Carolina goalie Debbie Castine was whistled for a foul and Virginia’s Mia Mooney (Penn Valley, Pa./Shipley) was given a free position. She converted it, stretching her streak of consecutive games with a goal to 15. Ariza then added an insurance goal for the Cavaliers with 3:40 to play, converting a pass from Hook. Hook’s assist, her 12th on the season, sets a new Virginia record for assists as a freshman.
Virginia’s Heather Castle (Timonium, Md./Notre Dame Prep) came up big for the Cavaliers with 7 saves and one ground ball. Ariza had four ground balls to lead the Cavaliers while Boutilier and Jess Hull (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) had three each. Samm Taylor (Springfield, Va./Robinson) had three caused turnovers to lead the Cavaliers while Boutilier, Ariza, and Stephy Samaras (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) had two each. UNC’s Debbie Castine made 12 saves on the day.
Ariza, Boutilier, Melissa Hayes (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Visitation), Fromal, and Taylor were named to the All-Tournament team along with UNC’s Pasquantonio, Brooke Crawford, and McGinnis. Also named to the team were Duke’s Katie Regan and Karen Sutton and Maryland’s Tonia Porras and Jen Adams.
1 2 Final (Records)North Carolina (#1) 4 3 7 (12-2)Virginia (#3) 4 5 9 (12-2) Scoring: Goals (V): Ariza 3, Hook 2, Fromal, Boutilier, Mooney, Aumiller (N): Pasquantonio 2, McGinnis 2, Off, Mohler, L. Bennett Assists: (V):Hook 2; (N): Pasquantonio 1, Off 1Clearing: V: 9-11; N: 3-10 Caused Turnovers: V: 12; N: 4 Turnovers: V: 7; N: 12Draw controls: V: 6; N: 12 Ground balls: V: 20; N:14 Fouls: V: 13; N: 6Shots: V: 25; N:18 Free Positions: V: 6; N:6 Saves: V: 7 (Castle 7); N: 12 (Castine 12)