Sure, Maryland is no longer technically an ACC rival. But it makes no difference to the North Carolina women’s lacrosse team.
The No. 2 Tar Heels traveled to College Park this weekend to take on the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins (2-0) in a rematch of the 2013 NCAA championship triple-overtime thriller that brought UNC its first national championship.
The showdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but less than 10 minutes into the game, excessive snowfall led to referees to postpone the game to Sunday afternoon, where it would be restarted and played in its entirety.
Three Maryland players racked up hat tricks for the Terrapins, helping Maryland outlast the Tar Heels (3-1) 13-11.
After Maryland struck first just over three minutes into the game, UNC senior midfielder Brittney Coppa netted two goals in less than a minute to give the Tar Heels and early 2-1 lead.
A 4-0 Maryland run over the next four minutes of play put the Terrapins ahead 5-2. The Tar Heels battled back to cut the deficit to just one goal three separate times, but ultimately couldn’t abolish Maryland’s lead and get over the hump.
Sophomore midfielder Alex Moore continued her sensational first season as a Tar Heel after transferring from Southern California this summer. She has tallied a team leading 12 goals in just four games.
UNC junior attacker/midfielder Sammy Jo Tracy continued her strong start to the season as well, with a hat trick of her own.
The battle with one of the top teams in the country is something the Tar Heels better get used to. After already facing off against No. 4 Florida and No. 1 Maryland, seven of UNC’s remaining 11 games are against teams currently ranked No. 15 or better, including Saturday’s home matchup with No. 5 Northwestern.
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