After scoring a goal, attacker Alex Aust runs to celebrate with other Terps.
Taylor Cummings, Kasey Howard and Katie Schwarzmann couldn’t help but dance while waiting to address the media following the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team’s contest against North Carolina on Saturday.
Their jubilation was to be expected. After all, the No. 1 Terps survived 60 minutes against the relentless No. 2 Tar Heels to earn a 14-13 win before a lacrosse-record crowd of 2,347 at Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
“Carolina came out fighting,” coach Cathy Reese said. “You’re always going to get a great game between these two programs. It’s been the history.”
After outscoring opponents by a gaudy 208-104 margin this season, the Terps’ largest lead over the Tar Heels never surpassed three. The lead changed hands seven times, and the Terps caught a break when reigning ACC Player of the Week Kara Cannizzaro was ejected for receiving two yellow cards with less than nine minutes left and the Terps leading 13-11.
Cummings immediately took advantage, netting a score with 7:18 left to stretch the Terps’ lead to three. But the Tar Heels struck right back with two straight goals.
The Terps (14-0, 4-0 ACC) were able to hold possession, though, as North Carolina (11-2, 4-1) could do nothing but chase a stalling Schwarzmann into the corner as time expired.
With the Tar Heels closely watching attacker Alex Aust for the majority of the game, the Terps’ midfield carried the scoring load. Schwarzmann secured a game-high five scores, and Cummings added four.
“We thought they would face-guard Alex,” Cummings said. “So we decided to add a few plays this week. … We were able to dodge and get easy looks.”
The Terps found the scoreboard first for the 10th time in 14 games, as Schwarzmann tallied the opening score less than four minutes into the contest. The Tar Heels came right back with a score of their own 48 seconds later.
After attacker Abbey Friend gave North Carolina its first lead of the game with 20:39 left in the half, the teams traded 3-0 runs. Attacker Aly Messinger then streaked down the field, corralled Cannizzaro’s pass and fired it past Howard off one foot to give the Tar Heels a 5-4 lead with 6:37 remaining.
The lead would change hands two more times before the half’s final buzzer sounded, and the teams entered intermission tied at eight.
In the Terps’ first real challenge of the season, the Tar Heels controlled possession and held an 11-6 first-half advantage on draw controls.
“Possession is a huge thing in the game of lacrosse,” Schwarzmann said. “[Winning the draw] was a big focus for us, to come out and get possession and really push transition.”
With their 13-game winning streak on the line, the Terps approached the second half with a renewed sense of aggression. After a North Carolina tally to start the half, the Terps rattled off four unanswered goals to take a 12-9 lead with 20:23 left.
The Tar Heels kept pushing, though. With less than 12 minutes remaining, Cannizzaro took a step backward toward midfield and then sprinted past the Terps’ defense to find the back of the net, trimming the lead to two.
Less than three minutes later, though, Cannizzaro was ejected. Her absence proved costly, too, as the Tar Heels missed her dominating presence in the middle, which was highlighted when Cummings scored the Terps’ final goal.
“We had been swung at all game,” Tar Heels coach Jenny Levy said. “It’s unfortunate that you have a great game going on, and you’re going to call that foul at the end of the game when it’s been going on all game.”
Saturday probably won’t be the lone time the teams face off this season. The ACC tournament is in less than three weeks in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Terps and Tar Heels could be on track for a crucial postseason meeting.
“We probably will see them again,” Schwarzmann said. ”We are just going to learn off of this game. And we’ve got to get better every game here on out.”
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