April 4, 2009

Merrifield's Eight Goals Lift No. 2 Women's Lacrose Over No. 18 Penn State, 20-12
Sophomore Laura Merrifield erupted for eight goals, including seven in the first half, to lift the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team to a 20-12 win against No. 18 Penn State at the 2009 ACC/ALC Challenge on the campus of The Ohio State University.

Merrifield began her career day with a pair of goals in the first minute of the game. Penn State got on the board with an Erica Mihm goal to cut the lead in half, but the rally was short-lived. Maryland (12-0, 3-0 ACC) exploded for seven unanswered scores including two more from Merrifield. The Nittany Lions stopped the run around the 17-minute mark with a 3-0 scamper only to be impeded with a pair of goals from Terp freshman Karri Ellen Johnson and Kristy Black.

Penn State rallied for another 3-0 run but Merrifield stopped that drive with a goal at 9:20 to cushion the Maryland lead to five. After another Penn State score, Merrifield continued her magical half with two additional goals in the final minute to push the score to 14-8 at the end of the period. 

Heels Win Again, 10-8 At Ohio State
The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team won its seventh consecutive game on Friday night, beating 17th-ranked Ohio State, 10-8, in the Atlantic Coast Conference/American Lacrosse Conference Challenge.

With the victory, Carolina improves to 10-2 this season. Ohio State fell to 9-2.

Kristen Taylor and Jenn Russell each scored three goals for the Tar Heels in the victory. Freshman Becky Lynch scored twice and sophomore Corey Donohoe dished out two assists. Megan Bosica tallied a goal and an assist for UNC, Laura Zimmerman scored a goal and Amber Falcone had an assist. 

Blue Devils Hang Tough, But Fall 13-7 To No. 1 Northwestern
The No. 4 Duke women’s lacrosse team had the top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats down by their largest margin of the season, leading by three goals in the first half, but the four-time defending national champions came back to defeat the Blue Devils, 13-7, Friday night at NU’s Lakeside Field in suburban Chicago.

The Blue Devils scored the game’s first three goals before Northwestern began to rally, but Duke was still within one, 6-5, at the intermission. The Wildcats unleashed six straight second-half goals as part of a 12-3 run to establish control in the second half and remain unbeaten at 11-0 on the season. Duke drops to 9-3 with the tough road loss.

The Blue Devils used a patient attack to get off to the strong start, with the game’s first goal credited to sophomore Emma Hamm just over two minutes into the game. Hamm took a pass from Megan Del Monte and one-timed it into the net to get Duke on the board first. The Blue Devils went up 2-0 – with the two-goal deficit marking the most Northwestern had trailed by all season – as senior Carolyn Davis scored the first of her team-high three goals off a pass from Lindsay Gilbride six minutes in.