UVa seeks revenge against Maryland

By Bart Isley

Published: April 26, 2008

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team has three losses in 2008, and they’re only guaranteed a chance to redeem one of those defeats.
That chance comes today at 1 p.m. when the Cavaliers and Maryland face off for the ACC tournament championship at Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers will get that chance after rallying from a 8-3 halftime deficit against Duke Friday afternoon in the semifinals. Virginia exploded out of the half to take a one-goal lead before eventually holding on for a 10-9 victory.
The Cavaliers came into the tournament with a lot of momentum after blowing out both George Mason and Johns Hopkins, and they’ve now proven that they can rally from behind. Part of Virginia’s ability to stay with the game plan and come back is the presence of seasoned veterans on every level, from Megan O’Malley on offense to Claire Bordley in the midfield and Kendall McBrearty back in the cage.
“It doesn’t hurt to have a bunch of older girls on the team who’ve been there before,” said junior Blair Weymouth.
The Cavaliers will have to address the slow start against Duke because that could spell doom against a team like Maryland, which jumped out to a 6-0 lead against North Carolina that the Tar Heels never recovered from. Myers suggested after the game that the first half had a lot more to do with Duke playing well than the Cavaliers really playing poorly.
“I think we worked hard but we just weren’t in the right spots,” Myers said. “It wasn’t a lack of effort.”
Virginia dropped its first contest of the season to the Terrapins back on March 4 in College Park, Md., an 8-5 loss that is currently the only blemish on the Cavaliers’ conference record. Maryland has just one conference loss too, and that one also came early in the season on the road, a 14-13 barnburner against Duke on March 1.
It won’t be easy for the Cavaliers to avenge the loss. Maryland has an array of weapons, with five All-ACC players in the lineup.
Dana Dobbie, the reigning ACC player of the year, is tops in the nation in draw controls and is also the top goal scorer in the ACC and second in points. Dobbie had a hat trick against Virginia in the squads’ regular season meeting while also picking up six draw controls.
Kelly Kasper, who is also a nominee for the Tewaaraton Trophy (awarded to the top player in collegiate lacrosse) along with Dobbie, leads the ACC in assists and points. Laura Cohen and sophomore Caitlyn McFadden round out the Terrapins’ four big-time threats up front.
Virginia counters with All-ACC goalie McBrearty and a host of dynamic offensive weapons including Ashley McCulloch, O’Malley - who scored three goals in the second half against Duke - and Weymouth, who had a pair of goals against the Blue Devils. Jenny Hauser, who had a hat trick in the semifinal, will also challenge the Terrapins’ defense.