COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Led by a trio of hat tricks, the No. 1 Maryland women’s lacrosse team relied on balanced play to defeat No. 2 North Carolina, 13-11, Sunday afternoon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
Maryland (2-0) and North Carolina (3-1) faced off for the first time as nonconference rivals. The teams were scheduled to play Saturday afternoon before weather delayed the contest until Sunday.
Senior Kelly McPartland, junior Taylor Cummings and freshman Megan Whittle each scored three goals to pace the Terps. Sophomore Zoe Stukenberg added two goals, while seniors Brooke Griffin and Erin Collins each added one.
“I don’t think this is anything less than an awesome Maryland-Carolina game,” said head coach Cathy Reese. “Both teams came out fighting hard. Our girls really toughed it out; I’m really proud of how we played, the effort with which we played. The attitude we had out there was really positive, and the girls fought hard from the opening draw to the last whistle.”
The Terrapin defense, led by senior Megan Douty, held the Tar Heels to 11 goals and 16 shots. North Carolina came into the contest averaging 16.33 goals per game and 36.7 shots per game. Douty picked up four ground balls and caused three turnovers.
Stukenberg put the Terps on the board first at 26:34 in the first half. Brittney Coppa scored two quick goals as UNC took the lead, but a free-position goal from McPartland tied the game at 23:01.
A Cummings goal and two from Whittle within 1:30 gave the Terps a 5-2 lead at 19:02. Stukenberg recorded a free position and McPartland tallied a goal within the last 10 minutes as to give the Terps a 7-4 lead at the half.
North Carolina put two on the board right after the break to pull within one. The Terps scored three straight within four minutes to increase the lead to 11-7 with 23:05 left.
UNC’s Alex Moore scored three times in the last 15 minutes as the Tar Heels tried to come back. Collins recorded a free-position goal, and Whittle notched her third off a stellar pass from Stukenberg. North Carolina scored the last two goals of the game, but the Maryland picked up the last draw control and held onto the ball to take the 13-11 win.
Maryland held an 18-8 advantage in draw controls, led by five from Cummings. The Terrapins picked up a 15-12 ground-ball lead and a 33-16 shots lead. The Terrapins moved to 11-0 all-time in College Park against the Tar Heels.
Graduate goalkeeper Alex Fitzpatrick picked up her second start, making three saves in the win.
The Terps travel to Hempstead, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 28, to play Hofstra. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
