April 2, 2003
Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team overcame more than one scare today and ultimately came away triumphant , beating No. 6 Georgetown, 13-10, at North Kehoe Field. The win pushed the No. 1 Terrapins to 11-0 (3-0 ACC) on the season, while the Hoyas fell to 6-3.
Things did not look good early on for the Terps as Georgetown jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the game's first 12 minutes. Prior to the Hoyas' third goal of the game, standout senior netminder Alexis Venechanos took a wrong step on her right knee, necessitating that she come to the sideline for evaluation. She came out at the 18:41 mark in the first half and fellow senior Cara Gorman came in to try to right the ship.
Less than a minute later, GU tallied another goal to up its lead to 4-1 before Kristie Leggio found the net for the Terps to cut the deficit back to two. Venechanos then made a return to the cage for the Terps but had lost her mobility and ultimately allowed two more goals before her knee finally gave way for good. When sophomore Kirah Miles entered with 5:30 left in the half, the Terps were down 6-4 and momentum sat with the blue and gray of Georgetown.
As the half came to a close, Maryland trailed 8-5 -- its largest halftime deficit of the season -- and was searching for answers on both ends of the field.
The first answer came in the 5-2 frame of Gorman. Georgetown came out confident and continued its attack in the second half, but Gorman had returned to the game and was giving the Terps a boost with key save after save in the early minutes of the frame. After a goal by freshman Delia Cox and another by Jessica Dorney on a nice feed from Acacia Walker, Maryland was back within a goal and searching for more.
Junior Kelly Coppedge netted an unassisted goal to tie the score at eight and with 18:35 left in the second half, it was Cox again taking charge and finding the net to give Maryland its first lead of the day.
The Terps would ultimately run off eight second half goals and limit the host Hoyas to two in pulling away with the three-goal win, but again, Gorman was the story in the second half.
As she did in several games a year ago, Gorman simply gave the Terps a boost by shutting down their opponent. She finished the game with 10 saves -- all in the second half -- while allowing just three goals, two of which came in the second half. As for Venechanos, who was outstanding with four saves early before injuring the knee, she will have her knee evaluated in the coming days and her status for future games is uncertain.
Cox led the way offensively with four goals on four shots, while Maryland converted on 13 of its 19 shots in the game (eight-of-10 in the second half). Coppedge also posted a hat trick and an assist while Dorney and Annie Collins each added a pair of goals.
The Terrapins return to action this Saturday as they will play host to James Madison University in a 1:00 p.m. game at Byrd Stadium. The game is being played at Byrd due to a track meet at Ludwig Field and will serve as the Terps' lone game of the season in the stadium.
