Mollison, Merrifield Lead Terps into ACC Final
from press release
CARY, N.C. — Behind five combined goals
from All-ACC performers Sarah Mollison and Laura Merrifield, the
top-ranked Maryland Terrapins held off the fourth-seeded Boston
College Eagles, 8-5, in the semifinals of the ACC Women’s
Lacrosse Championship Friday evening at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Mollison scored three first-half goals and Merrifield added a pair
before halftime to stake the Terps to a 6-1 lead at the
intermission.
Maryland extended its lead to 7-1 with a goal by Brandi Jones just
two minutes into the second half, but the Eagles responded with
four consecutive goals. Ginny Gummersall’s second goal of the
game made it a 7-5 contest with 10:38 remaining.
Although No. 11 Boston College gave Maryland one of its toughest
games of the year, Beth Glaros’ goal with 6:13 left helped
secure the victory for the undefeated Terrapins (16-0). The eight
goals were the second fewest scored by the Terps this year.
“Maryland is incredible offensively so we needed to take away
their feeding game and we needed to control the tempo of the
game,” Boston College coach Bowen Holden said. “I think
we did both. They had zero assists and we held them to their
second-lowest goal total of the year.”
“This was a good victory for our program,” Maryland
coach Cathy Reese said. “I though BC came out and played hard
and really tried to control the game. Our defense came up with some
huge stops. I think we could have executed a lot better on offense,
but overall this was a very good evening.”
Maryland leads the nation in scoring margin, scoring offense and
total points, but scored just two goals in the second half. BC
outscored Maryland 4-2 after halftime, but was unable to overcome
its early deficit.
“Unfortunately we didn’t come out in the first half the
way we needed to,” Boston College coach Bowen Holden said.
“We did pull together in the second half, won some draws, and
played much better.”
“We come out hard every game,” said Mollison.
“Everyone is focused and ready from the start. I think we
came out strong and played well as a team.”
Maryland will take on third-seeded North Carolina (11-4) in the ACC
Championship Game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Boston College (11-6) will
return to action on April 29 when it plays at New Hampshire.
The championship game will be televised by Fox Sports on
Sunday.
