As soon as the horn signaling halftime sounded on a gloomy Fetzer Field, the entire Maryland women’s lacrosse team headed straight to one athlete — its goalie, Kasey Howard. The senior has already registered seven saves in the first half of the ACC tournament final between the Terrapins North Carolina as Maryland has taken a 5-3 lead.
Today’s matchup between No. 1 Maryland and No. 3 UNC is the fourth consecutive time the two teams have met in the final game, and for the last three years the Terrapins have come out on top. Earlier in the season, the Terrapins slid by the Tar Heels with a one-point victory in College Park, M.d.
Leading the Terrapins offensively are Beth Glaros with two goals and Brooke Griffin, Alex Aust and Taylor Cummings with one apiece.
The Terrapins scored their first goal of the half three minutes into the game, and exactly three minutes later UNC’s Abbey Friend responded with a goal of her own, putting the Tar Heels on the scoreboard.
Maryland would go onto to score again with 17:47 remaining, followed by another UNC goal from Brittney Coppa with 16:39 remaining, tying the score at 2-2. About six minutes later, off a free position shot from Cannizzaro, the Tar Heels took their first lead of the game, but would not score again in the half.
Both Howard and UNC goalie Megan Ward have been busy in their respective cages, as each team has already taken 14 shots. Ward has five saves thus far. The freshman will start in the cage again in the second half.
The Tar Heels have played at a slower tempo than usual, and both teams have been forced to adjust to powerful opposing defenses. Katie Schwarzmann, the 2012 Tewaarton Award winner, has yet to score for the Terrapins, but has one assist on the night.
Both teams have been forced to adjust to cold, wet weather and a slippery field.
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