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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 9 Virginia women’s lacrosse team dropped its first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament game since 2005 Friday afternoon, falling to undefeated No. 2, and top-seed, Maryland, 15-7, at Thompson Field on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Junior All-ACC Team member Kaitlin Duff led the Cavaliers with four goals and four ground balls, while senior All-ACC honoree Jenny Hauser had a goal and an assist. Redshirt junior Whitaker Hagerman and freshman Julie Gardner each had a goal and senior Blair Weymouth added an assist.
For the Terrapins, Caitlyn McFadden set the pace with three goals and two assists, while Laura Merrifield added three scores and won three draw controls. In goal for Maryland, Brittany Dipper stopped 12 shots.
Maryland started the scoring, firing a goal at 28:24, before Hauser found the back of the net at 27:11 to even the score.
A four-goal run by the Terrapins gave Maryland a 5-1 lead by 16:03, but the Cavaliers worked to cut their deficit to one with seven minutes remaining, off two goals from Duff and one from Hagerman.
The Terrapins nipped the streak with a goal at 6:45, before Gardner converted a free position shot to conclude the first half scoring and cutting Maryland’s lead to one, at 6-5.
Maryland opened the second half with three-straight goals, before Duff scored her third of the day at 19:42, bringing the score to 9-6.
The Terrapins added two more goals before Duff could fire her fourth at 7:13, making it 11-7.
The lead was too much though and Maryland used the momentum to tack on four more scores to take a 15-7 win and advance to Sunday’s championship game.
The Cavaliers will now await word on their postseason fate. The NCAA Tournament selection show will air Sunday, May 3.