Fans Denied Maryland-Northwestern for Championship
by Andy Krauss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | NCAA Semifinals Blog
TOWSON, Md. -- It would have been something
pretty cool.
The Division I women's lacrosse national championship game could
have been a matchup of two former Maryland All-Americans leading
their unbeaten teams as unbeaten head coaches.
As great as it would have been for Maryland lacrosse fans to see
Kelly Amonte Hiller and and Cathy Reese match wits, it was not to
be. They won a combined six national titles in College Park and two
of them (1995 and '96) came as teammates on Cindy Timchal's
steamroller.
Hiller's team took care of business earlier in the night, beating
Penn, 13-12, in double overtime.
However, Reese's Terps saw their perfect (21-0) season come to an
end in Friday night's the national semifinals, losing to ACC rival
North Carolina, 8-7.
The Terps had made it a tradition this season to lay in the weeds
during the first halves of games, before shooting out in the second
half en route to victory.
In the first meeting between Maryland and UNC in College Park, the
Terps blew open a 5-5 tie at halftime to win 13-5. Three days
later, they trailed Johns Hopkins, 5-4 at halftime and then
exploded for 14 second half goals to win, 18-12.
When the ACC title was on the line in Blacksburg, Va., the Terps
trailed Duke, 5-4, at halftime. Once again, they scored eight
second half goals on the way to a 12-11 win.
Flash forward to Friday night.
Tied 4-4 at the half, it looked like they would pull out their old
tricks, as freshman attacker Karri Ellen Johnson scored just a
minute into the half. The Heels then scored the ensuing three
goals to go up 7-5. Johnson and sophomore attacker Sarah
Mollison scored to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:03 left. UNC
responded 41 ticks later to go up again, 8-7.
Terrapin magic then ran out of steam, not that Maryland didn't
have their chances. Mollison hit the post of UNC's goal with
just 5:22 left in regulation and McFadden scored a goal six seconds
later, but it was wiped out due to a crease violation.
Johnson had a point-blank shot with 3:17 left that was stonewalled
by UNC goalkeeper Logan Ripley.
Ripley posted seven saves, four in the second half.
The clock struck midnight on Maryland, figuratively and almost
literally on Friday night in front of 7,549 fans. Because the
first semifinal between Penn and Northwestern had gone to double
overtime, the second contest didn't start until 9:15 p.m. It ended
at 11:25.
The catalyst for many of Maryland's turnarounds this season has
often been junior midfielder Caitlyn McFadden. The Tewaarton
Trophy finalist and ACC Player of the Year finished tied for the
team lead in scoring with 86 points (54g, 32a).
"We came out playing really hard in the second half and got some
good shots right away, but we couldn't get into our groove like we
usually do," said McFadden. "A lot of shots didn't fall that
we normally stick in."
There is no doubt that Nelson is working on something special, and
there is the solace that this Maryland team didn't start any
seniors. It will be a factor for many years to come in what has
become a new era in Maryland women's lacrosse.
"We were 21-1 and the No. 2 seed coming into this tournament,"
said Reese. "It was a lot to be proud of. Without starting
any seniors, I am obviously very excited for next year."
Maybe next year, she'll get that matchup with her old teammate.
