November 20, 2004|By Daniel Chiat | Daniel Chiat,SPECIAL TO THE SUN
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - With sophomore midfielder Paula Infante darting all over the field creating scoring chances, the Maryland field hockey team nearly pushed across the first goal on multiple occasions in the NCAA semifinals last night.
But when two-time defending national champion Wake Forest earned its first attack penalty corner and midfielder Lauren Crandall converted with 4:59 remaining in the first half, the Terps' hopes of taking an early lead and deflating the crowd's enthusiasm vanished.
Minutes later, Maryland's national championship hopes all but disappeared. Kelly Dostal added the second score for the Demon Deacons with 1:39 left in the first half to give Wake Forest a two-goal lead.
The Demon Deacons won, 3-0, before 765 at Kentner Stadium.
"The quality of the match was a wonderful one," Terps coach Missy Meharg said. "But Maryland made some mistakes and paid for it."
The first error came on Wake Forest's penalty corner as senior back Claire Laubach hit a roller from the top of the circle through Maryland defenders and past freshman goalkeeper Kathryn Masson.
Dostal punished the Terps for their second mistake as she corralled a quick, short pass from junior midfielder Maeke Boreel and slapped in her 32nd goal of the season.
"You need to step up and intercept," Meharg said. "When you play against a player like that, she can touch a moving ball in any angle and that's what makes her so special."
Maryland (17-6) had its chances in the first half, although it only attempted one shot. Midway through the half, Infante broke loose inside Wake Forest's 25 and saw Colleen Barbieri streaking alone toward the cage. Infante's pass, however, eluded Barbieri's stick by about a foot. Moments later, Infante uncharacteristically whiffed on a shot as she found herself open in the circle.
Infante, off her NCAA tournament-record five-goal, 10-point performance against Delaware last weekend, was dangerous in Wake Forest territory. But often when she neared the net, she was moving to her left unable to fire a powerful slap shot.
"She's an outstanding player, but hats off to our conference because we match up against outstanding players throughout the season," Demon Deacons coach Jennifer Averill said. "So it was a fair enough matchup and we were well prepared."
Wake Forest will play Duke tomorrow for the national championship.
The Blue Devils defeated Michigan State, 5-2, in yesterday's other semifinal game.
