ORLANDO, Fla.-If you knew the Virginia women's lacrosse team had to face Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC tournament Friday, you would have said the Cavaliers didn't have a chance. You would have told them that the Terrapins were undefeated. You would have said that the Terps were the top-ranked team in the nation. You would have pointed out that the last time Virginia beat Maryland was eight years ago.
But the Cavaliers did not listen. Instead of giving up after going down, 6-1, to the Terrapins, they overcame adversity and stormed back to even the game up. In the end, however, it was not enough, and Virginia fell to the defending ACC and six-time national champions, 7-6.
"I'm very proud of the effort we put out," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We came out and played hard, aggressive lacrosse."
Terrapin senior midfielder Jen Adams, Maryland's all-time leader in goals, assists and points, extinguished the Cavaliers' efforts, however, by scoring the game-winning goal off a pass from teammate and senior attack Meg McNamara. And that was all the Terrapins (14-0) needed to shut the door on No. 8 Virginia (8-6).
"Unfortunately, we let [Maryland] go on a run in the first half, and that was enough to change the outcome of the game," Myers said.
Thanks to poor passes and sloppy play by the Cavaliers, the Terrapins took advantage of easy fast-break opportunities and gained a quick 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Virginia senior midfielder Lacey Aumiller chipped in a pass from senior midfielder Mills Hook to put Virginia on the board, but Maryland responded by scoring the next three goals in a four-minute span to take a commanding 6-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Maryland senior midfielder Quinn Carney led the Terps with three goals.
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