Allison Akers
As the final whistle blew to signal the end of the ACC Championship game, the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team’s bench sprinted across Ludwig Field to goalie Brittany Dipper, knocking her to the ground as players threw themselves onto an ever-growing pile.
Following a regular season rife with inconsistency in net, Dipper was happy to finally have any doubts about the security of her starting job off her back. Yesterday, in their place, was a scrum of delirious Terps celebrating a 10-5 win against No. 1 North Carolina and a second straight conference title.
And after leading the team through postgame handshakes, Dipper approached the Terps’ coaching staff and embraced each.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Dipper, who finished with a career-high 12 saves. “The coaches have helped me so much. There was just a whole lot of emotions out there.”
Just a month ago, coach Cathy Reese pulled Dipper at halftime against James Madison. For the rest of the second half, she struggled to stay composed on the sidelines as backup Mary Jordan helped lead the Terps to a narrow one-goal victory. After the game, she quickly made her way to the team bus, still trying to figure out what had just happened.
In the six games since, Dipper’s struggles — including an April 10 game against North Carolina in which she allowed 10 goals as the Terps lost their first game this season — were only magnified.
But as the postseason neared, Dipper reestablished herself in goal for the No. 3 Terps (16-1). Against Virginia in the semifinals, the sophomore allowed only six goals to go along with six saves.
That performance didn’t come close to Sunday’s showing, though. In a five-minute span late in the first half, the Tar Heels (14-2) had three free position shots. They shot high, low and then off the bounce. Dipper saved each.
“Dipper made a lot of great saves in goal which allowed us to start our break and control the tempo,” coach Cathy Reese said.
The Terps started the game firing offensively. Only 31 seconds into the game, midfielder Amanda Spinnenweber found midfielder Caitlyn McFadden for the game’s first goal, and less than six minutes in, the Terps had built a 5-1 advantage.
After Kristy Black scored her second goal off the bench before halftime, the Terps entered the break with a five-goal advantage.
“We didn’t feel like we played a great first half, and it put us in a significant hole,” North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. “They played with a lot of focus today, and it was apparent from the opening whistle.”
But the Tar Heels didn’t fold. Attackers Kristen Taylor and Corey Donohoe each scored a goal in the first 3:33 of the second half, threatening to erode all that had gone so well in the game’s first 30 minutes.
Then Tar Heels midfielder Megan Bosica blasted a shot toward Dipper, looking to cut the lead down to two. But, again, Dipper flashed her stick for the save, starting a transition break for the Terps.
Moments later, midfielder Laura Merrifield grabbed a pass at the top of the 12-meter fan and weaved through the defense, capping it off with a goal.
With a four-goal lead, the Terps relaxed their offensive pressure and opted to put the game in their defense’s hands. For the rest of the afternoon, Dipper and her defense relished the challenge, holding the Tar Heels to a season-low scoring output.
“We’re stepping up individually, but we also realize we need to be a unit,” defender Brittany Poist said. “When someone helps, everyone needs to help. There was no letdown at any point on any part of our offense.”
Offensively, McFadden capped her Most Valuable Player performance with three goals and two assists. Merrifield added two goals and attacker Karri Ellen Johnson contributed a goal and two assists for the Terps, who will enter the NCAA Tournament on a four-game winning streak.
“We’re capable of greatness when we can put together 60 minutes of lacrosse,” Reese said.
TERP NOTE: McFadden, Johnson, Merrifield, Dipper, Mollison and defender Karissa Taylor were named to the ACC All-Tournament team.
ceckard@umdbk.com
