May 12, 2002
Final Stats
ITHACA, N.Y. - The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team fell, 14-4, to the Cornell Big Red on Sunday in NCAA Quarterfinal action at Ithica. The Terrapins season ends with an 11-10 record and hopes dashed of an eighth-straight NCAA title.
Senior Jaimee Reynolds found the net seven times and added two assists as the Big Red advanced to its first-ever women's lacrosse Final Four. With the win, Cornell improves to 16-1 overall, while Maryland ends its season after taking its first double figure loss since dropping a 13-2 decision to Penn State on April 27, 1976.
Reynolds, who added eight ground balls and a caused turnover to the cause, broke the school's single-season scoring total and ended the afternoon with 72 points. She also became the first Cornell player to surpass the 200-point mark with 202 points. The 2002 Ivy League Player of the Year extended her streak of consecutive games with a point to 64 and both her goal and point total fell one shy of Cornell single-game records. Her seven goals is tied for second in NCAA tournament history.
While Reynolds was dominant, she was by no means alone. Junior Sarah Averson had three goals and senior Lori Wohlschlegel had a goal and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Carrie Giancola stood behind an aggressive defense and was an intimidating last line of defense, saving 12 of the 16 shots Maryland put on goal.
The defense caused 11 turnovers, including two each by Kate Hirschfield, Katie Lavin and Katie McCorry. Hirschfield added a goal, Lavin scooped up a pair of ground balls and McCorry had two draw controls in the win.
The Terrapins, who had advanced to 12 straight Final Fours prior to this season, got two goals from Kristie Leggio. The Red defense marked up Maryland's leading scorers Courtney Hobbs (54 goals) and Kelly Coppedge (50 goals), holding the duo to just one goal. Alexis Venechanos saved 11 shots while playing all 60 minutes for the Terps.
Maryland wasted little time getting on the board, as Kelly Coppedge found Sonia Judd for a score just 1:38 in, but Cornell junior Sarah Fischer scored the equalizer two minutes later. From there, Reynolds took control, scoring consecutive goals and assisting on the next two to give the Red a lead it would never lose and sparking a 5-0 run. Maryland's leading scorer Courtney Hobbs netted a free position goal with 14 minutes remaining in the half, but Reynolds again answered with a score and closed out the half with her fourth goal and sixth point with 20 seconds left on the clock to make the halftime edge 7-3.
Reynolds carried the momentum into the second half, scoring the first goal of the stanza as part of another 3-0 Cornell run which ballooned the lead to 10-3 with 15 minutes to play. Averson scored twice after the break and Giancola made five brilliant saves in the second half as the Big Red defense frustrated Maryland into nine second half turnovers and just one goal, that coming on a free position shot by Kristie Leggio, her second goal of the game.
Cornell, which finished the season with an unmblemished 8-0 home record, held slight statistical advantages in shots (30-29), ground balls (31-28) and draw controls (12-8). The squad improved its win streak to 11 games and its home win streak to 12 contests.
The Big Red, seeded fourth, will play top-seeded Georgetown on Friday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m., at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. The winner will advance to Sunday's national title game.
Scoring
Maryland: Leggio 2-0, Hobbs 1-0, Judd 1-0, Collins 0-1, Coppedge 0-1.
Cornell: Reynolds 7-2, Averson 3-0, Wohlschlegel 1-2, Calder 1-0, Fischer 1-0, Hirschfield 1-0, Holveck 0-1, McCorry 0-1.
