May 10, 2009

Duke Women’s Lacrosse Pulls Out Overtime Thriller To Advance
Lindsay Gilbride converted on a free position chance with 28 seconds left in the first extra period as the fifth-seeded Duke women’s lacrosse team hung on to defeat ACC rival Virginia, 15-13, in overtime Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium in NCAA Championships first-round action. The Blue Devils advance to face the No. 4 seed, the University of Pennsylvania, next Sat., May 16, at Drexel University’s Vidas Field in Philadelphia.

There were a total of five ties and three lead changes in the game. After much of the first half played out in back-and-forth fashion – like the last time these two teams met – the Blue Devils used a four-goal run to close out the first and guarded an 8-5 lead heading into the locker rooms.

Virginia came out and scored the first two goals of the second half to bring it to within one goal at 8-7, before three different Duke players – Sarah Bullard, Caroline Cryer, and Megan Del Monte – scored the game’s next three tallies to put the home team out in front 11-7 with 17:44 left. But the Cavaliers would answer again, scoring four of the next five goals to cut the Duke lead to one, 12-11, with 11:31 on the clock.

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No. 2 Maryland Women's Lacrosse Crushes Colgate, 20-4, in NCAA First Round
Second-seeded Maryland opened its 2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 15-0 run en route to a convincing 20-4 win against Colgate in first round action on Sunday at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

The Terps (20-0) utilized its speedy attack to put up ten goals in the first 15 minutes and keep the clock running for the remainder of the game. Nine different Maryland players scored in the first half, led by three from Karri Ellen Johnson. Sarah Mollison, Amanda Spinnenweber, Laura Merrifield, and Caitlyn McFadden all tallied two goals in the drive. Maryland, which won 12 more draw controls than the Raiders in the first period, did not allow Colgate (14-5) into their own offensive zone until nearly eight minutes elapsed in the contest. The Terps' attack was purely dominant, outshooting Colgate, 32-3, in the first 30 minutes.

Colgate, which entered the tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning its second-straight Patriot League championship, finally got on the board 1:45 into the second stanza. Maryland outscored the Raiders, 5-4, in the second period, but shifted much of its focus from shooting to controlling the possession. The Terps, however, did sink five of the eight shots they took in the final period. 

Tar Heels Trip Tigers, 15-4, In NCAA First Round
Third-seeded North Carolina scored nine consecutive goals and held Towson scoreless for over 31 minutes to blow open the game and defeat the unseeded Tigers, 15-4, on Sunday afternoon in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. UNC held Towson scoreless for a span of 31:34, including the final 10:24 of the first half and the first 21:10 of the second half.

The Tar Heels advance to the quarterfinal round and will host the winner of the game between No. 6 seed Notre Dame and unseeded Vanderbilt. That game was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Notre Dame, Ind. Next Saturday's quarterfinal game will be played at 1 p.m. on Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill.

In Sunday's game, Carolina got three goals apiece from Kristen Taylor, Corey Donohoe and Chelsea Parks, with Taylor and Donohoe each adding an assist. Becky Lynch had a goal and two assists and Megan Bosica had two goals. UNC got single goals from Laura Zimmerman, Kaitlyn Messinger and Caitlin Young and an assist from Katie Brooks.