May 11, 2003
Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team earned its 13th trip in the last 14 years to the NCAA semifinals behind a 13-5 win over Dartmouth College in Baltimore.
The Terrapins (18-3, 3-0 ACC) beat the Big Green (13-5) despite losing some of their home field advantage today. Due to poor conditions at Ludwig Field, the game was pushed back to 3:30 p.m. and was played at Curley Field on the campus of Loyola College. That Maryland would be playing on turf was seemingly yet another advantage for Dartmouth, but as things played out, the Terps were not affected.
The first half of the contest was nip-and-tuck and a battle of contrasting styles. In typical fashion, Maryland sought to score as soon as an opportunity presented itself while Dartmouth ran a deliberate, slow-down approach that kept the Terps at bay better than in the first meeting between the two schools.
Maryland scored the game's first two goals as sophomore Kristie Leggio scored on a free position followed by an unassisted goal by freshman Delia Cox at the 6:08 mark. Dartmouth returned the favor on goals by Whitney Jamison and Lana Smith before the Terps ran off four unanswered in the frame's last seven minutes. In that span, senior Sonia Judd netted two including one on a feed from junior Kelly Coppedge from behind the net.
The half seemed to be well in hand for Maryland but Dartmouth did not let up as Smith scored on an unassisted goal with 1:06 left before the break and then Casey Hazel scored just :12 later and the two schools would take it to the half with just two goals separating them (6-4, Maryland).
Neither team was able to score in the early going of the second half and when Smith scored her third goal of the game, Maryland found itself only ahead by a goal. The Big Green had a chance to tie the game a minute later, but Terp goalie Alexis Venechanos saved a Dartmouth free position shot and the Terrapins took over.
Maryland would score all seven of its goals after the save starting with Coppedge's unassisted score with 15:33 left. The junior would score two more in the half, as would sophomore Acacia Walker, while the Terp defense held the Big Green to a total of just seven second half shots, five of which came on awarded free position attempts.
Coppedge led all scorers with five points (four goals, one assist) while Cox netted her first career postseason hat trick. Coppedge's fifth point of the day put her at 200 for her career and moved her into the Maryland all-time top 10 for points. In addition, she moved into 10th in goals with the 147th of her career. Judd, Walker and Leggio all finished with three points apiece as Venechanos finished with nine big saves.
The Terrapins are now 34-9 all-time in the NCAA tournament and 11-0 against Dartmouth. They will take on Virginia on Friday 45 minutes after the conclusion of the 6:30 p.m. game between Loyola and Princeton and will look to push their record to 3-0 this season against the 'Hoos. Maryland is 5-2 all-time against Virginia in NCAA play with four-straight wins. The last three times the schools have played in the postseason, the Terps have been crowned national champions after a win (1996, 1998 & 1999) while the last time the two teams met in the national semifinals (1992), Maryland was a 8-7 winner in overtime.
