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April 29, 2006
Box score
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With the Cavaliers facing a two-goal deficit to the No. 5 UNC Tar Heels with 3:37 to play in regulation, Virginia’s Jess Wasilewski won the next two draws, firing up a three-goal burst in 44 seconds to give the Cavaliers a one-goal lead with 2:28 to play. Tyler Leachman sandwiched a pair of goals around a goal from Nikki Lieb to rally the Hoos from down 9-7 to up 10-9, and then Virginia won all three draws in the overtime period to secure the victory. The Cavaliers won 17 of the 25 draws, including five from Lieb, to control the game. Ginger Miles had 10 saves for the No. 4 Cavaliers, who improved to 14-3 on the season and will face top-ranked and top-seeded Duke for the ACC title on Sunday.
Leachman’s seven goals ties the record for scoring in an ACC tournament game, and with her assist she now has 254 career points, which moves her into third place all-time on the Virginia scoring charts. Her 80 points is two shy of her career high, and it also gives her the No. 9 spot all-time for a single season in Cavalier history. Lieb’s five draws give her 133 for her career, and she is tied with All-Century Cherie Greer for second place all-time in Virginia lore.
Virginia jumped on the board first as a Tar Heel shot hit the post and Lieb scooped up the ground ball. At the other end of the field, Leachman was fouled on a drive to the cage, and she converted the 8-meter shot for an early lead of 1-0 at 3:50. UNC’s Meg Freshwater answered with an unassisted goal less than a minute later to tie the game.
Whitaker Hagerman started the next scoring play by picking up an overthrow at the restraining line on an errant Tar Heel pass, and in the Cavaliers’ offensive zone, Kim Connors, who had only two fouls in the game, was fouled herself in the arc. Connors scored on the 8-meter and put the Cavaliers back on top 2-1 at 8:44. Again UNC tied the game as Brooke Dieringer scored at 11:20.
Jessy Morgan intercepted a Carolina dump into the arc and ignited the next scoring play, which saw Leachman dump the ball into Kate Breslin, who scored at 14:29 to put the Cavaliers back on top 3-2. A Miles save gave Virginia the ball in their defensive third, and after the Cavaliers cleared the ball upfield Leachman was again fouled in the 8 and she converted the free position shot for a 4-2 lead at 17:50. UNC’s Christina Juras pulled the Tar Heels back within one less than a minute later, but Leachman won the draw and took it right to the cage, scoring 11 seconds after Juras to push the margin back to two. The Hoos led at the break 5-3.
UNC’s Chrissy Rude pulled the Tar Heels back within one as she scored on an 8-meter center hash three minutes into the second half. It was the first 8-meter position surrendered by the Cavaliers in the game. The Heels won the ensuing draw, but Julie Hauser stymied the comeback as she picked up a ground ball at the other end of the field and started a clear where Wasilewski fed a pass into a cutting Leachman, who quicksticked the ball into the net for a two-goal lead at 37:05. Just over a minute later Rude fed Dieringer for a goal to keep UNC within one at 6-5.
Connors won the ensuing draw control and she brought the ball upfield where 2006 ACC Rookie of the Year Blair Weymouth took the ball from the top and scored less than a minute after Dieringer to re-establish a two-goal lead at 39:22.
Carolina then went on a run as Jess Allen drove to the cage and scored two minutes later, and Rude tied the game at 45:49 on an unassisted effort. Juras won the draw and the Heels patiently worked their offense before Freshwater scored her second goal of the game, this one coming off an 8-meter, to give UNC their first lead of the game at 48:10.
The Cavaliers won the draw but an errant pass in the offense gave UNC the ball, where they took it upfield and possessed the ball for five minutes before turning it over. Virginia cleared the ball upfield but gave the ball back to the Heels on one of their four turnovers in the second half, and UNC was able to clear the ball again. A goal by Melissa McCarthy with 3:37 to play in regulation gave the Heels a 9-7 lead.
Wasilewski then took over the game. She won the ensuing draw and got the ball in the hands of Leachman, who buried her shot from the center hash to pull the Hoos within one. Again Wasilewski won the draw, and she gave the ball to Lieb at the restraining line. Lieb advanced the ball into the critical scoring area, saw a lane, and drove to the cage, scoring 11 seconds after Leachman to tie the game at 9-9 with 3:01 to play in regulation.
Connors won the draw and got the ball to Leachman, who took it hard from the top of the fan and scored 33 seconds after Lieb, giving the Cavaliers three goals in 44 seconds–but more importantly, the lead back.
Weymouth won the draw and the Cavaliers ran a stall play, but Carolina was able to get the ball back on their end line with less than thirty seconds to play. The Heels advanced the ball quickly upfield where Amber Falcone hit Katie Brooks, who scored with five seconds on the clock to send the game into extra time.
Lieb won her fifth draw of the game to give the Cavaliers possession, and they were able to maintain control the majority of the time. Miles was called upon to make one save, but Virginia controlled the ball and the teams went into the second half of overtime still tied.
Hauser scrapped for the ball and won the draw to start the second half of overtime, and Virginia patiently set up their offense for a shot. Breslin attacked the cage and drew a foul on the first inside hash on the right. Her underarm shot snaked low into the net, giving the Cavaliers a one-goal lead with 1:25 left in overtime. Megan O’Malley won the draw and the Hoos ran out the rest of the clock, with Leachman firing in a goal from the top of the fan with one second on the clock for the final goal of the game.
Linescore 1 2 OT OT F recordsCarolina 3 7 0 0 10 (12-5)Virginia 5 5 0 2 12 (14-3)
Scoring summary:3:50 V Leachman 8m 1-04:39 N Freshwater — 1-18:44 V Connors 8m 2-111:20 N Direinger — 2-214:29 V Breslin Leachman 3-217:50 V Leachman 8m 4-218:37 N Juras — 4-318:48 V Leachman — 5-332:47 N Rude 8m 5-437:05 V Leachman Wasilewski 6-438:43 N Dieringer Rude 6-539:22 V Weymouth — 7-541:12 N Allen — 7-645:49 N Rude — 7-748:10 N Freshwater 8m 7-856:23 N McCarthy — 7-956:48 V Leachman 8m 8-956:59 V Lieb — 9-957:32 V Leachman — 10-959:55 N Brooks Falcone 10-1064:35 V Breslin 8m 11-1065:59 V Leachman O’Malley 12-10
Scoring: V: Leachman 7-1-8; Breslin 2-0-2; Lieb 1-0-1; Weymouth 1-0-1; Connors 1-0-1; O’Malley 0-1-1; Wasilewski 0-1-1 N: Rude 2-1-3; Freshwater 2-0-2; Dieringer 2-0-2; McCarthy 1-0-1; Juras 1-0-1; Allen 1-0-1; Brooks 1-0-1; Falcone 0-1-1
Keepers: V: Miles (66 mins, 10 saves, 10 GA); Hordy (66 mins, 4 saves, 12 GA)
Shots: VA 20, NC 33Draws: VA 17, NC 8Ground balls: VA 11, NC 21Turnovers: VA 16, NC 8Caused turnovers: VA 3, NC 78-meter positions: VA 8, NC 48-meter shots: VA 5, NC 4Clearing: VA 12-15; NC 14-15