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Virginia Falls in the Semifinals of the ACC Tournament
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April 26, 2013
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Virginia women’s lacrosse team was eliminated from the ACC Tournament with a 13-9 semifinal loss to the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins.
“I thought it was a really hard-fought game,” said head coach Julie Myers. “Clearly, we made a few too many mistakes, in our transition game in particular, where Maryland was able to capitalize. I thought that at times we made great defensive stands. On offense, we were able to really take it to the goal and kind of have our way a little bit. It was disappointing to lose, but I feel proud of the team’s effort and the fight that they showed.”
With the loss, Virginia falls to 9-9 on the season while Maryland improves to 18-0. By finishing with a non-losing record, the Cavaliers are eligible for postseason play and will learn on Sunday, May 5 if they have been selected as one of the 26 teams in the field of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.
“I think we have come a long way. Clearly, this season has been a bumpy one for us. There were some moments where we felt we had it going, and then we kind of let up. This weekend, we can together as a team off the field and it really showed on the field. We’ve got great fight and determination and hustle and we can push the girls even harder because they have that much more to give.”
The Cavaliers dominated possessions in the first half, winning five of the first seven draws. Courtney Swan (So., Vero Beach, Fla.) had six draw controls in the first half. She finished the game with seven draws, also scoring a goal and dishing an assist.
Virginia capitalized on their early possessions, taking a 2-1 lead on a goal from Ashlee Warner (Jr., Corning, N.Y.) and the fifth goal of the tournament from Liza Blue (So., Butler, Md.) on a feed from Swan.
Maryland used their speed to score four straight goals, taking a 5-2 lead with 13:40 left in the first half. Virginia outscored the Terrapins 3-1 in the final seven minutes of the period, including a free position goal from Swan with 34 seconds left on the clock, to go into the locker room trailing by a point, 7-6.
In the second half, it was Maryland who dominated the draw, 7-3. The Terrapins scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to take a 9-6 lead. Dana Boyle (R-So., Londonderry, N.H.) snapped the scoring streak with an unassisted goal, her 23rd of the season, with 19:01 remaining.
Maryland outscored the Cavaliers 4-2 in the final 19 minutes to advance to its fifth-straight ACC Championship game.
The teams were even in draw controls at game’s end. Maryland held a 14-9 edge on ground balls, several of which were turned into open-field scoring opportunities.
“We went in at halftime, kind of looked at each other, and took a deep breath,” Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said. “We wanted to do a better job in the second half on draw controls. That was our main focus – `Just get it.'”
Warner and Bocklet finished with two goals apiece. Morgan Stephens (So., Olney, Md.) scored a goal, caused a turnover, and got four ground balls.
Goalkeeper Kim Kolarik (Sr., Riva, Md.) had five saves, including four in the first half.
Fifth-seeded Virgina advanced to the semifinals with a 10-7 upset win over fourth-seeded Duke.
The Cavaliers have made 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Myers.