Cavaliers Edge Maryland 9-8 in NCAA Semifinals
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May 16, 2003
The Cavaliers won the final four draws of the game to rally from down 8-6 to defeat the #2 Maryland Terrapins 9-8 tonight in the NCAA semifinal held in Syracuse, NY. After Maryland’s scored twice in a span of 72 seconds to lead 8-6 with 7:11 to play, Virginia’s Caitlin Banks drove to the cage twice and scored twice in two minutes to tie the game with 2:13 to play. UVa’s Meredith Lazarus then won the draw at the Cavaliers’ defensive restraining line and got the ball to captain Tiffany Schummer, who worked the ball up to Cary Chasney. Chasney drove to the cage from the restraining line, scoring with 1:33 to go in regulation, putting the Cavaliers up 9-8. Chasney then won the draw and lost it briefly before Banks scooped up the loose ball, and Virginia (17-4) ran out the clock to advance to Sunday’s final against Princeton.
Virginia jumped on the board first as Lazarus scooped up a ground ball on a missed Maryland clear and the Cavaliers worked the ball to Amy Appelt, who drove to the cage and scored 8:21 into the contest, putting the Cavaliers up 1-0. Maryland’s Kelly Coppedge tied the game 12 seconds later as she drove to the net, scoring as she cut past the circle. Coppedge scored again off a feed from Sonia Judd four minutes later, giving the Terps a 2-1 lead with 12:48 gone in the game.
Banks won the ensuing draw and Virginia set their attack briefly as Appelt fed Lazarus who was cutting across the arc. Lazarus’ second career goal tied the game 48 seconds after the Terps went up.
Andrea Pfeiffer then made a save on Maryland’s next possession and Lauri Kenis picked up the ground ball. Kenis fed the ball ahead to Kim Connors, who found Chasney alone in the offensive zone. Chasney took the ball to the cage and scored 51 seconds after Lazarus, putting the Cavaliers back on top 3-2.
Lauren Aumiller caused a turnover in the arc on the Terps’ next possession and Lazarus picked up the ground ball and Virginia cleared the ball where Appelt again drove to the cage and scored, giving the Cavaliers a 4-2 lead with 9:30 to play. Maryland won the draw but again Pfeiffer made a save, and Virginia worked for the last shot. A Hoo attempt went just wide with less than 10 seconds on the clock, and the teams went to the break with the Cavaliers up 4-2.
Maryland won the first three draws of the second half and scored three goals in the opening 6:46 to take a 5-4 lead. The Terps’ Kristie Leggio scored her second goal in the second half at the 43:59 mark of the game to give Maryland a 6-4 lead.
An errant Maryland feed in the arc was picked up by Pfeiffer and the Cavaliers took the ball back upfield where Banks shot, but it was saved by Alexis Venechanos. The rebound came right out to Courtney Young, who grubbed the ball and stuck the ball back in the net to pull Virginia within one at 46:06. After the Terps won the draw, Pfeiffer made a save and the Cavaliers took the ball back upfield where Aumiller rolled from the top of the arc and scored at 48:48, tying the game.
The Terps’ Judd then scored twice in a span of 72 seconds to give Maryland an 8-6 lead with 7:11 to play. And for the second time in two weeks, Virginia would rally from two goals down with less than five minutes to play to knock off a higher-ranked team.
Chasney won the ensuing draw and the Cavaliers were able to get off a shot but a Venechanos save gave the ball back to the Terps. Kenis made one of her patented one-handed interceptions at the restraining line on the clear and she passed the ball up to Lazarus, who fed the ball to Young, who tipped the ball to Banks at the restraining line. Banks drove to the goal circle, eluded a defender, and deposited the ball in the back of the net to cut the deficit to one at 55:46.
Appelt took the next draw and Schummer controlled it in the circle. The Cavaliers set their attack and twice Virginia took shots but came up with the ground ball to retain possession. Then Banks drove from the sideline straight to the cage and scored with 2:13 to play in regulation, tying the game at 8-8.
Again Appelt took the draw and pulled it back to the Virginia defensive restraining line where Lazarus controlled it but was fouled. She passed the ball over to Schummer, who sent the ball upfield where it landed in the crosse of Chasney. Chasney drove directly to the cage and scored with 1:33 to play in regulation, giving the Cavaliers the lead for the first time since 3:43 into the second half.
Chasney then took the final draw of the game and she won it and started to advance the ball, but lost it at the offensive restraining line. Banks, however, was there to pick up the loose ball and Virginia ran out the final 90 seconds of the game to advance to the NCAA title game.
The Cavaliers will face Princeton on Sunday, May 18. The Cavaliers and the Tigers have met in the NCAA final once, in 1993, when Virginia defeated the Tigers 8-6 in overtime in College Park, Md. They have an all-time record of 2-2 in the national championships.
Tiffany Schummer made four caused turnovers in the game, which gives her 123 for her career, setting a new Cavalier record, breaking the old record set by fellow Annapolis native Stephy Samaras, who played from 1997-2000.
Appelt’s three points tonight give her 156 for her career, which places her ninth all-time at Virginia in scoring, passing both Beth Potter and Mills Hook tonight.
Linescore 1 2 F recordsVirginia 4 5 9 17-4Maryland 2 6 8 18-4
Scoring summary:8:21 V Appelt 1-08:33 M Coppedge 1-112:48 M Coppedge (Judd) 1-213:34 V Lazarus (Appelt) 2-214:25 V Chasney (Connors) 3-220:30 V Appelt 4-233:34 M Walker 4-333:47 M Leggio (Cox) 4-436:44 M Dorney (Walker) 4-543:59 M Leggio (Warren) 4-646:06 V Young 5-648:58 V Aumiller 6-651:37 M Judd 6-752:49 M Judd (Walker) 6-855:46 V Banks 7-857:47 V Banks 8-858:27 V Chasney 9-8
Scoring: V: Appelt 2-1, Chasney 2-0, Banks 2-0, Aumiller 1-0, Lazarus 1-0, Young 1-0, Connors 0-1 M: Judd 2-1, Walker 1-2, Leggio 2-0, Coppedge 2-0, Dorney 1-0, Warren 0-1, Cox 0-1
Goalkeepers: V: Pfeiffer (60 mins, 5 saves, 8 GA) M: Alexis Venechanos (60 mins, 8 saves, 9 GA)
Draws: V 7, MD 12Shots: V 25, MD 15Ground balls: V 28, MD 16Caused turnovers: V 14, MD 6Turnovers V 11, MD 17Clearing: V 10-13, MD 7-128-meter attempts: V 4, MD 08-meter shots: V 2, MD 0