March 1, 2002
DURHAM, N.C. - The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team opened its 2002 campaign with a tough 9-8 loss to the Duke University Blue Devils at Koskinen Field in Durham, N.C.
The Terrapins' loss marks the end of a 43-game win streak that the team had carried into the season and just its second loss in the last 74 games. Maryland, which entered the game as the No. 1 ranked team in the preseason IWLCA poll, had not lost since March 5 of 2000 (a triple overtime loss to North Carolina).
In the game, Duke jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Maryland got rolling and rattled off six of the next eight goals to post a 6-3 first half lead. The six goals came from six different Terps and the lead was nearly 7-3, but a Meredith Egan goal as the buzzer sounded was ruled no good, a sign of things to come.
The second half began as the first did - with Duke scoring first and then Maryland establishing its will. Despite strong play, though, the Terrapins had trouble converting and the lead was just 7-4 with 17 minutes remaining. At that point, Duke took control of the game's scoring.
From 16:20 on, the Blue Devils outscored Maryland 5-1 for the ultimate 9-8 final. The game did not end without controversy, however. The first controversial call came at the 4:00 mark when goalie Alexis Venechanos seemed to make a nice steal in front of the Terrapin cage. Instead, she was ruled to have committed a body checking foul and Jessica Bennett was awarded a free position shot, which she converted to tie the game.
After a Lauren Gallagher goal gave Duke the lead, Maryland attempted to tie the game. Despite several misfires in the opponent's end due to penalties, the Terps seemingly sent the game to overtime when senior Courtney Hobbs found the back of the net with 0:08 on the clock. Maryland's celebration was cut short, though, when it was ruled that she had committed a "dangerous" follow through on her shot and the goal was disallowed.
In the loss, there were several strong efforts for Maryland as Venechanos looked strong in the cage with 11 saves and she played up to the level of her counterpart, All-American candidate Kristen Foster. The Terps were led in scoring by sophomore Kelly Coppedge who had a hat trick and an assist while Hobbs had a goal and two assists.
Maryland returns to action on Sunday as it will complete its ACC road trip with a 1:00 p.m. contest with North Carolina.
GAME SCORING
#3 DUKE 3 6 -- 9
#1 MARYLAND 6 2 -- 8
Half-Time Team, Goal (Assist) Duke-UM
1-26:00 Duke, Lauren Gallagher (FPS) 1-0
1-21:26 Maryland, Courtney Hobbs (unassisted) 1-1
1-17:45 Maryland, Kelly Coppedge (Hobbs) 1-2
1-15:54 Duke, Jessica Bennett (FPS) 2-2
1-12:44 Maryland, Kristie Leggio (Judd) 2-3
1-7:40 Duke, Caline McHenry (FPS) 3-3
1-4:03 Maryland, Annie Collins (FPS) 3-4
1-3:48 Maryland, Sonia Judd (Leggio) 3-5
1-2:30 Maryland, Meredith Egan (Coppedge) 3-6
2-24:59 Duke, Jessica Bennett (unassisted) 4-6
2-21:04 Maryland, Kelly Coppedge (Hobbs) 4-7
2-16:20 Duke, Lauren Gallagher (FPS) 5-7
2-10:05 Duke, Meg Barnet (Laschinger) 6-7
2-6:57 Duke, Kelly Dirks (unassisted) 7-7
2-4:48 Maryland, Kelly Coppedge (unassisted) 7-8
2-3:38 Duke, Jessica Bennett (FPS) 8-8
2-1:49 Duke, Lauren Gallagher (FPS) 9-8
TEAM STATS
Category Maryland Duke
Shots 16-11--27 12-16--28
Saves 5-6--11 6-6--12
Draw Controls 5-2--7 5-4--9
Groundballs 17-14--31 13-16--29
Turnovers 5-6--11 10-7--17
Caused Turnovers 9-3--12 4-2--6
Free Position Shots 2-3--5 5-6--11
Fouls 16-7--23 11-11--22
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Maryland Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts.
Kelly Coppedge 3-1-4
Courtney Hobbs 1-2-3
Sonia Judd 1-1-2
Kristie Leggio 1-1-2
Annie Collins 1-0-1
Meredith Egan 1-0-1
Duke Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts.
Lauren Gallagher 3-0-3
Jessica Bennett 3-0-3
Meg Barnet 1-0-1
Kelly Dirks 1-0-1
Colleen McHenry 1-0-1
Katie Laschinger 0-1-1
GOALIES
Maryland Goalies Saves GA Min.
Alexis Venechanos 11 9 60:00
Duke Goalies Saves GA Min.
Kristin Foster 12 8 60:00
ATTENDANCE: 250
