NCAA Women's Lacrosse Semifinals
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Where: Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson, Md.
TV: CBS College Sports.
[1] Northwestern (21-0) vs. [4] Pennsylvania (15-2), 6 p.m.
Pennsylvania is the last team to beat Northwestern, the four-time defending NCAA champion; the Quakers knocked off the Wildcats, 11-7, on April 27, 2008. Since then, Northwestern has won 27 games in a row, including a 10-6 victory over Penn in last year's national title game and an 11-9 decision over the Quakers last month. In the latter, Northwestern dominated the second half by winning 7 of 10 draw controls and holding onto the ball for nearly 26 minutes, according to Penn Coach Karin Brower. Defense is the Quakers' strength -- they lead Division I in scoring defense (5.82 goals against average) -- but in this season's game against the Wildcats, "we played defense too much," Brower said. Northwestern is the highest-scoring team in Division I (17.76 goals per game), and junior Katrina Dowd has 14 goals in the NCAA tournament, a two-game total that would put her sixth on Penn's team for the season. Senior Hannah Nielsen, who had a hand in seven of Northwestern's goals in the regular season meeting with Penn, holds NCAA records for single-game (10), single-season (75) and career assists (216).
[2] Maryland (21-0) vs. [3] North Carolina (15-4), 8:30 p.m.
North Carolina senior Amber Falcone, a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, is considered to be the top defender in the country and is capable of playing lockdown defense against a single player. "But how do you use her against Maryland, and all those weapons? I think you have to play team defense," Tar Heels Coach Jenny Levy said. The Terrapins pride themselves on their balanced attack; they have seven players with at least 25 goals and three players with at least 30 assists. In their 13-8 victory over North Carolina on April 11 -- a win that clinched the ACC regular season title -- Maryland held a 35-18 edge in shots, and freshman Karri Ellen Johnson (Broadneck) scored four goals. Midfielder Caitlyn McFadden, also a Tewaaraton finalist, has 13 goals in the postseason (ACC and NCAA tournaments). Junior Megan Bosica, a two-time All-Met Player of the Year at Mount Hebron, leads North Carolina with 52 points (33 goals, 19 assists).
