North Carolina women's lacrosse loses to Maryland, 9-8, in national championship game

The North Carolina women’s lacrosse team has become accustomed to dominating the second half, but the Tar Heels got a taste of their own medicine Sunday against Maryland. 

After putting together two lights-out second half performances against Penn State and Duke to reach the national final, UNC found itself on the wrong end of one as they fell to the Terrapins 9-8 in the NCAA title game. 

The Tar Heels were simply a different team between the first and second half.

The Tar Heels looked like a championship team to start the game. After falling behind 3-2 to Maryland, the Tar Heels roared back and finished the half on a 4-0 run. 

In a low-scoring first half, UNC performed where they most needed to: on the defensive end. UNC held the Terrapins to a season-low three first-half goals. 

“It was another epic battle,” Coach Jenny Levy said. “A battle of defenses, I thought, in the first half.” 

The Tar Heels defensive stand was backed up by a perfect 6-6 on clears, allowing for the team to open up its three-goal lead. The Tar Heels were 17-0 when leading at halftime and looked to be just 30 minutes away from a second national title in three years. 

“At halftime, we were really just trying to focus on keeping our momentum up and keeping the ball hot and moving,” sophomore Maggie Bill said. 

But the Tar Heels could not muster the same performance in the last 30 minutes.

The Tar Heels managed just one shot in the first 16 minutes of the second half, as they saw their lead completely washed away by a 5-0 Maryland run. 

The offense couldn’t stop the bleeding with a score because they seldom had the ball at all. Maryland dominated the draw control 7-2, earning the possessions the team needed to mount the comeback. 

“I thought that was a difference,” Levy said. “They put a lot of pressure on us because we didn’t have any possession.”

The Tar Heels didn’t do themselves any favors when they did win possession defensively, going just 3-8 on clears. Levy brought in goalkeeper Megan Ward in the second half, who struggled with turnovers clearing the ball. 

“We just made too many mental errors,” Bill said. “And against a team like Maryland, you can’t really do that and recover easily from it.”

In the end, UNC’s trouble gaining possession and keeping possession resulted in a drastic 12-4 shooting advantage for the Terrapins. UNC was outscored 6-2 in the second half. 

The UNC defense was put under tremendous pressure in the final 30 minutes — pressure that could not be withstood. Most would come from Maryland’s Megan Whittle and Taylor Cummings, who scored or assisted on five of their team’s six second-half goals. 

“You have to give a lot of credit to Megan (Whittle) and Taylor (Cummings); both are great dodgers,” senior Margaret Corzel said. “Some of the adjustments we made were just a little too late.” 

The Tar Heels would make a charge back in the end, but it too was a little too late, as Maryland played keep-away to finish the game and defend its national title.