Northwestern attacker Shannon Smith, right, shoots low and… (Photo courtesy of Newsday )
May 29, 2011|By Katherine Dunn, The Baltimore Sun
STONY BROOK, N.Y. — It's about the most basic principle in sports: If you don't have the ball, you can't score, and Northwestern played that to near perfection against defending champion Maryland in the second half of Sunday's NCAA Division I women's lacrosse final.
The Wildcats had possession for about 90 percent of the half, working a steady, patient offense to create the only three goals they would need for an 8-7 victory and their sixth national championship in seven years before an announced 8,011 at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.
The nation's leading scorer, Shannon Smith, got the jump on two defenders behind the crease and rolled around to slip the game-winner past Maryland junior goalkeeper Brittany Dipper for an 8-6 edge with 4:36 left in the game. In a low-scoring contest in which the No. 1 Terrapins (21-2) struggled to get — and to maintain — possession, that would be enough for the second-seeded Wildcats (21-2) to avenge last year's 13-11 title-game loss.
"We felt like if we had possession, not only would we have control of the situation, we would wear down their midfielders, who would then have to go on offense," Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. "We were able to really look for quality shots. I talked to Shannon before we went out to the second half, 'Let's really be patient and make sure that we get wide-open looks, and when we get them, let's put them away.'"
Smith, a junior from Long Island, finished with four goals to boost her season total to 86 and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. A couple of times when Maryland defender Katie Gallagher seemed to have contained her on the crease, Smith surprised the senior with a feint or a step back and then drove to goal.
"Shannon's a very good player," Gallagher said. "I really enjoy playing on the crease, but she's tough. She rolls hard. It was a difficult matchup."
While Smith led the offense, the Wildcats' defense was equally impressive in checking a Terps offense that averaged 15 goals and had been held as low as seven only once before.
The Wildcats' defense held Maryland's top three scorers — Sarah Mollison, Laura Merrifield and Katie Schwarzmann (Century) — to just one goal among them, and that came with 1:17 left in the game. Senior playmaker Mollison, face-guarded much of the game by freshman Kerri Harrington, was held without a point for the first time in 68 games.
With the score tied at 5 coming out of the half, Wildcats junior goalie Brianne LoManto made a terrific stop on Mollison as she made her signature move around the crease looking for the slightest opening. That set the tone for the rest of the half.
After junior attacker Kristy Black (Glenelg) tied the score at 6 for Maryland, freshman attacker Kara Mupo scored on a free position before Smith hit the game-winner for the 8-6 edge. In between those Wildcats goals, LoManto, who finished with eight saves, made a point-blank stop on Schwarzmann racing down the middle and stopped a Merrifield free-position shot.
Schwarzmann, who was named to the All-Tournament team along with Mollison and senior midfielder Brandi Jones, converted a Northwestern turnover with 1:17 to go, but Maryland would not threaten again.
The Terps, who have won 11 national championships, overcame a host of host of injuries and illnesses this season to reach the final, including the loss of top scorer and Lacrosse magazine preseason Player of the Year Karri Ellen Johnson (Broadneck) to a concussion. Coming into the title game, the junior attacker remained third on the team in points even after missing 11 games.
Still, the Terps had their chances Sunday and were outshot only 18-17. Taking advantage of the tight defense on her higher-scoring teammates, freshman midfielder Beth Glaros (Wilde Lake) led the Terps with four goals.
"We played great defense to hold Northwestern to eight goals," Maryland coach Cathy Reese said. "We didn't capitalize on our opportunities. … We didn't move the ball [well]. Sometimes the first opportunity isn't the right opportunity. [Northwestern] played a great game, but for us, we needed to do a better job of working for each other off ball to create those opportunities."
katherine.dunn@baltsun.com
N;5;3;—;8
M;5;2;—;7
Goals: N—Smith 4, Mupo 2, Russo, Fitzgerald; M—Glaros 4, Schwarzmann, Aust, Black. Assists: N-None; M—Black 2, Jones, Merrifield, Schwarzmann.
Saves: N—LoManto 8; M—Dipper 6.
