April 17, 2004
Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland got off to yet another quick start scoring two goals in the game's first three minutes and eight goals in the first 20 minutes and withstood a late North Carolina rally to hold on 11-9, Saturday afternoon at Ludwig Field.
With the Tar Heels focused on shutting down Maryland's leading scorer Kelly Coppedge, Annie Collins and Jessica Dorney picked up the offensive slack for the Terps. Collins led all scorers with five points (tying her career-high) on two goals and three assists, while Dorney netted her sixth hat trick of the season. And despite UNC's efforts, Coppedge still finished with a goal and two assists.
"They did a good job of slowing Kelly down, and we knew we would have to have other people step up for us today," head coach Cindy Timchal said.
Coppedge got things started for Maryland with her 55th goal of the season just a minute and a half into the game when she got a step in front of her defender at the top of the fan and took a pass from Collins to tally the score. Collins earned another assist just :48 later finding Delia Cox for the goal. The Terps have outscored opponents 16-4 in the first five minutes of the game this season.
"North Carolina is such a dangerous team, so it was important for us to get off to another quick start," Timchal said.
After a goal by UNC's Beth Ames, Dorney scored two goals in :13 seconds to make the score 4-1, but UNC countered with scores by Jess Allen and Melissa McCarthy. With the score 4-3 with 20 minutes left in the first half, the Terps surged ahead with a 4-0 run in the next 10 minutes. Collins netted two goals and Cox and Acacia Walker each added unassisted goals for the Terps in that span to give Maryland an 8-3 lead with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
After a timeout, the Tar Heels inserted Kristen Hordy in goal for Katelyn Hoffman. Hordy kept Maryland off the board for the rest of the first half and McCarthy found the back of the net for UNC to make the score 8-4 at half time.
Maryland broke an almost 20 minute scoring drought when Coppedge, working behind the cage, found Laura Warren cutting through the middle of the fan for the first score of the second half at 22:03. Brooke Dieringer scored for UNC two minutes later, but the Terps responded with goals from Walker and Dorney to make the score 11-5 with 12:33 to go.
The Tar Heels rallied scoring the game's next four goals and cut Maryland's lead to just two goals with just under five minutes remaining in the game, but after UNC's Ilsa Leon turned the ball over at the 4:18 mark and Maryland was able to maintain possession for the final minutes of the game to preserve the victory.
Defensively, the Terps were able to limit scoring chances for UNC's top scorer, Beth Ames. The Terps held Ames to just two goals. UNC's second-leading scorer heading into today, Allison Higgins, had no points and no shots on the afternoon. In the cage for Maryland, Kirah Miles made six saves -- including two from point-blank range -- to help the Terps hold on to the victory.
With the win, Maryland (12-2, 1-2) will be the third seed at next week's ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Terps will play Virginia on Friday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m. Maryland will attempt to avenge its 10-8 loss to the Cavaliers earlier this season. North Carolina (8-6, 0-3) will take on top-seeded Duke at 1 p.m.
Scoring 1 2 F
#15 North Carolina (8-6, 0-3) 4 5 9
#4 Maryland (12-2, 1-2) 8 3 11
Individual Scoring (G-A-Pts.)
Maryland: Annie Collins (2-3-5),
Jessica Dorney (3-0-3),
Acacia Walker (2-1-3),
Kelly Coppedge (1-2-3),
Delia Cox (2-0-2);
UNC: Melissa McCarthy (3-0-3), Beth Ames (2-0-2), Jess Allen (1-1-2), Brooke Dieringer (1-1-2), Rachel Szakmary (1-0-1), Chrissy Rude (1-0-1), Christina Juras (0-1-1)
Goalies (Svs-GA-Mins)
Maryland: Kirah Miles (6-9-60);
UNC: Katelyn Hoffman (3-8-20), Kristen Hordy (9-3-40)
