Iliana Sanza

With less than nine minutes remaining in the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team’s 14-13 win over North Carolina on Saturday, Kara Cannizzaro strode past midfield in pursuit of the ball and inadvertently knocked over Terps defender Megan Douty, whose goggles fell to the turf.

The hit earned Cannizzaro her second yellow card of the contest, meaning she’d be ejected for the rest of the game. She could only watch as midfielder Taylor Cummings rifled a shot into the back of the net to give the Terps a 14-11 lead with 7:18 remaining in the contest.

Cannizzaro’s ejection was a significant setback for the Tar Heels. After all, Cannizzaro looked every bit the three-time reigning ACC Player of the Week through the contest’s first 51 minutes, burning the Terps’ defense for three goals and an assist.

“We respect [Cannizzaro] a lot as a player,” said coach Cathy Reese, whose No. 1 Terps will face No. 13 Princeton tonight at Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. “She goes hard to the goal, she’s a leader on their team and we tried to do our best to eliminate her opportunities.”

Midfielder Katie Schwarzmann defended Cannizzaro for the majority of Saturday’s game, a task hardly new for the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner.

Schwarzmann earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week three weeks ago after holding Boston College midfielder Mikaela Rix to one shot in a March 16 win and Stony Brook midfielder Demmianne Cook to no shots the following day.

“It’s definitely fun,” Schwarzmann said of matching up against Cannizzaro. “Knowing that it’s Carolina, huge ACC rival, we know this was going to be a tough game.”

Defender Alice Mercer also helped against North Carolina’s potent offense, providing exceptional help defense on Cannizzaro and attacker Abbey Friend — who’s tallied 21 goals this season — throughout the contest. Though Friend netted three goals, Mercer excelled in transition and in clearing the ball.

“[Mercer] was awesome,” Reese said. “She played excellent one-on-one defense.”

And goalkeeper Kasey Howard carried the Terps (14-0) at times when the Tar Heels cut through the defense. The senior notched 11 saves, allowing her to maintain her undefeated mark as a starter.

Howard likely won’t get a chance to rest against a Princeton (7-3) team riding a four-game winning streak. The Tigers rank second in the Ivy League with 12.3 goals per game, and they boast eight players with at least six goals this season. Expect Schwarzmann to guard attacker Erin McMunn, who has found the back of the net a team-high 26 times this season.

“We’ve been working on forcing players to take the low-angle shot instead of the shot down the middle,” Howard said. “It’s easy for me to make saves. The defense did most of the hard work.”

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