Women

On Monday, May 6, the Harford Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) held its fourth annual Food Fight, bringing together four chefs from around the region to compete in a cooking competition - one wherein each chef prepared, in one hour's time, an appetizer and entree from a basket of secret ingredients. For the first time, the event took place at the Vandiver Inn in Havre de Grace, where Susan, the inn's chef, offered her own version of the secret ingredients for viewers to purchase and enjoy.

Et cetera Spirit's 2-0 loss to Thorns is first shutout Christine Sinclair scored in the 41st minute and Alex Morgan added a late goal as the Portland Thorns defeated the visiting Washington Spirit, 2-0, in a National Women's Soccer League match before an announced 12,474 at Jeld-Wen Field. The Spirit (1-3-3), which scored four times at Seattle on Thursday, suffered its first shutout. Chantel Jones made her first start in goal for Washington, replacing Ashlyn Harris (sore knee)

A woman was hospitalized Monday morning after being thrown from the hood of a car that she jumped onto after one of its occupants robbed her, police said.  Police said that at about 11:10 a.m., the victim was involved in an "altercation" with two men in the 300 block of N. Gay St., near the Old Town Mall. One of the men grabbed her money and climbed into a car. The woman jumped on the hood of the car, an apparent attempt to stop the vehicle, and the driver "stopped short," causing her to fall off of the car, police said.  The woman, who was age and name were not disclosed, was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The Syracuse women's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament final four with a 13-9 win over visiting Florida on Saturday. The fourth-seeded Orange (18-3) will make its second straight appearance, and its fourth since 2008, in the national semifinals, facing unbeaten and top-seeded Maryland on Friday at 5 p.m. or 7:30p.m. at Villanova. The Orange extended its winning streak to 13 games. The Gators end the year with an 18-3 record. "We knew it was going to be a tough game against a very good Florida team," said Syracuse coach Gary Gait.

Revenge was oh so sweet for Salisbury's women's lacrosse team, especially when it came with a national championship. The Sea Gulls polished off a 23-0 season with a 12-5 victory and the Division III national championship by avenging last year's title-game loss to Trinity College in a battle of undefeated teams Sunday at Stevenson University's Mustangs Stadium. "We've been cheering 'Redemption' all year and 'Road to redemption' and that word has really meant a lot to us," said Sea Gulls senior attacker Lauren Feusahrens, who scored five goals.

In February, Duke coach Kerstin Kimel said she wasn't sure any women's lacrosse team was better than Maryland. After Saturday's NCAA quarterfinal, she seemed pretty well convinced. The No. 1 Terps (21-0) had their lethal offense rolling and also forced 15 turnovers en route to a 14-9 victory and a berth in their fifth straight NCAA final four. Looking for their 12th national title and their first since 2010, the Terps are in the final four for a record 21st time. Taking their second win this season over their Atlantic Coast Conference rival at Maryland's Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, the Terps continue to make it difficult for defenses to contain an attack that always has seven players ready to score.

The second-seeded Salisbury women's lacrosse team overcame its first second-half deficit of the season as Shelby Nemecek (Liberty) broke a 7-all tie with just over eight minutes to play in an 8-7 victory over third-seeded Middlebury (18-3) in the NCAA Division III semifinals Saturday at Stevenson. The win sends the Sea Gulls to their sixth national championship appearance in program history, where they will face Trinity (Conn.) College, an 8-6 winner over SUNY-Cortland, today at noon.

The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts more teams in the NCAA women's lacrosse quarterfinals than any other conference - No. 1 seed Maryland, No. 3 North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. Those teams have posted a .822 winning percentage against non-conference teams this season. Boston College also made the tournament, but fell in the first weekend as ACC teams went 6-1. Only two ACC teams will make it to the final four, however, since in Saturday's semifinals Maryland will play Duke in College Park and North Carolina will play Virginia in Chapel Hill.

With Salisbury's offense averaging 16.33 goals per game -- second best in Division III women's lacrosse -- it can be difficult for even the best defense to get much attention. In Sunday's NCAA quarterfinal win over Franklin & Marshall, however, the defense stole the spotlight. If it hadn't, the No. 2 Sea Gulls (21-0) wouldn't be playing in Saturday's NCAA Division III semifinal. The Sea Gulls' attack struggled when the Diplomats put a face guard on offensive leader Katie Bollhorst, but the defense remained its usual stingy self and made sure Salisbury came away with an 8-6 victory in their closest call of the season.