March 2, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team continued its strong early season play, handing No. 10 North Carolina a 10-8 defeat at the UM Artificial Turf Facility. The victory was the Terrapins' first regular season Atlantic Coast Conference win since 2001 and moved the team to 2-0 overall (1-0 ACC).
Maryland now leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 8-5.
As it had in its season opener against George Mason, No. 6 Maryland jumped on the Tar Heels quickly, staking itself a 5-0 lead in the game's first 10 minutes. Junior All-American Kelly Coppedge led the way early scoring a pair of goals and assisting on another.
The Tar Heels (1-1, 0-1 ACC), however, would not let the game get too out of hand as they chipped away, scoring the final three goals of the first half and cutting the Terps' halftime lead to 5-3.
The start of the second half was similar to the first with Maryland taking the early advantage with three unanswered goals. In that stretch, Sonia Judd scored a pair of goals and assisted on the other. It was the start of what would ultimately end in a career game for the senior from Darlington, South Australia.
Carolina would answer the Terp run with a pair of goals of its own, cutting the lead back to 8-5, but Judd would again go on the attack to extend the Terp lead. At the 45:02 mark, Judd was able to find the net after a strong run in from the eight meter and minutes later, she converted a free position attempt to post her career-high tying fifth goal and move the Maryland lead back to five.
UNC would again run off three goals to cut the lead to two, but that would be as close as the Tar Heels would get as the Terrapins would successfully defend its goal and run out the clock. Senior Alexis Venechanos was key to the defensive effort, making nine saves with six coming in an outstanding first half.
Judd led all scorers with a career-high eight points (five points, three assists) and was super efficient, converting her five goals on just seven shots. Coppedge added two goals and a pair of assists while sophomore Acacia Walker added a goal and an assist.
Maryland will look to continue its ACC turnaround this Thursday as it will square off with the nation's second-ranked team, Duke. The Terrapins and Blue Devils will take the field for a 2:00 p.m. draw at the Artificial Turf Facility in a game that was originally scheduled for this past Friday.
GAME SCORING
#10 NORTH CAROLINA 3 5 -- 8
#6 MARYLAND 5 5 -- 10
Half-Time Team, Goal (Assist) UNC-UM
1-29:37 Maryland, Kelly Coppedge (Judd) 0-1
1-27:05 Maryland, Sonia Judd (Coppedge) 0-2
1-23:51 Maryland, Annie Collins (FPS) 0-3
1-22:33 Maryland, Kristie Leggio (unassisted) 0-4
1-21:58 Maryland, Kelly Coppedge (Judd) 0-5
1-11:55 North Carolina, Beth Ames (FPS) 1-5
1-5:19 North Carolina, Andy Fortino (FPS) 2-5
1-1:58 North Carolina, Allison Higgins (McCarthy) 3-5
2-25:00 Maryland, Acacia Walker (Judd) 3-6
2-21:41 Maryland, Sonia Judd (Walker) 3-7
2-20:45 Maryland, Sonia Judd (Coppedge) 3-8
2-17:40 North Carolina, Gina Allen (unassisted) 4-8
2-17:03 North Carolina, Allison Higgins (McCarthy) 5-8
2-14:58 Maryland, Sonia Judd (unassisted) 5-9
2-12:29 Maryland, Sonia Judd (FPS) 5-10
2-10:23 North Carolina, Brooke Dieringer (McCarthy) 6-10
2-7:42 North Carolina, Nicki Barnes (Young) 7-10
2-6:53 North Carolina, Beth Ames (Young) 8-10
TEAM STATS
Category Maryland North Carolina
Shots 10-11--21 9-11--20
Saves 6-3--9 5-2--7
Draw Controls 5-6--11 4-4--8
Groundballs 8-10--18 6-10--16
Turnovers 10-7--17 5-8--13
Caused Turnovers 7-6--13 7-6--13
Free Position Shots 1-1--2 6-3--9
Fouls 14-11--25 5-4--9
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Maryland Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts.
Sonia Judd 5-3-8
Kelly Coppedge 2-2-4
Acacia Walker 1-1-2
Annie Collins 1-0-1
Kristie Leggio 1-0-1
North Carolina Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts.
Melissa McCarthy 0-3-3
Allison Higgins 2-0-2
Beth Ames 2-0-2
Brooke Young 0-2-2
Gina Allen 1-0-1
Nicki Barnes 1-0-1
Brooke Dieringer 1-0-1
Andy Fortino 1-0-1
GOALIES
Maryland Goalies Saves GA Min.
Alexis Venechanos 9 8 60:00
North Carolina Goalies Saves GA Min.
Margaret Garofalo 7 10 60:00
ATTENDANCE: 1,479
