May 23, 2009
Game Notes Vs. Northwestern (.pdf)
TOWSON, MD. - The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team, the No. 3 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, will try to win its first national title when it faces No. 1 seed and four-time defending NCAA champion Northwestern in the national championship game on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. The game will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports.
Carolina (16-4) beat No. 2 seed Maryland 8-7 in Friday's semifinals and is making its first appearance in the national title game. Northwestern (22-0) beat No. 4 seed Penn, 13-12, in two overtimes in Friday's first semifinal.
UNC and Northwestern met earlier this season with the Wildcats taking a 12-7 victory on March 2 in Chapel Hill. The two teams began the contest on March 1 and UNC led, 4-2, after over 10 minutes of action before the game was called due to torrential rain. The teams instead played the next day, but only after both teams spent approximately two hours shoveling two inches of snow that had fallen overnight on the field. The game was close in the early portions of the contest, as the Wildcats led, 6-5, at halftime. Carolina tied it up at 6-all just over five minutes into the second half before Northwestern went on a 6-0 run to seize control and eventually the victory.
The Tar Heels are making their first appearance in the NCAA title game after their fourth trip in the semifinals. UNC reached the national semifinals in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2009 but was 0-3 in the national semis prior to Friday's win over Maryland.
Carolina is making its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and its 11th overall. Prior to this season, the Tar Heels had reached the quarterfinals of four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and lost each time in road games at Duke (2005), Northwestern (2006), Virginia (2007) and Syracuse (2008).
NOTES FROM THE MARYLAND WIN
North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Championship game for the first time in school history with an 8-7 win over Maryland on Friday night.
Friday's games were played in front of 7,549 fans - the largest crowd to witness a women's lacrosse game in NCAA Championship history.
The third-seeded Tar Heels will take on the top-seeded Northwestern Wildcats in the NCAA Championship Game on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ... dating back to 2002, the No. 1 seed has gone 3-2 in the national championship game (Northwestern with all those victories in 2005, '07 and '08), while the No. 3 seed has gone 0-2 in the title contest (Virginia lost to Princeton in overtime, 8-7, in 2003 and Virginia fell to Northwestern, 15-13, in 2007).
The Tar Heels have won the last two games against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament ... North Carolina topped Maryland, 9-6, during an 2006 NCAA first-round game.
Both NCAA semifinal games were decided by one goal on Friday night - the first time that has happened since 1996, when Maryland defeated Princeton, 6-5, and Virginia defeated Loyola, 10-9.
Friday was the third meeting between UNC and Maryland in NCAA Tournament history ... previously, Maryland defeated North Carolina, 14-9, during the 1998 semifinal before North Carolina bested Maryland in the 2006 first-round game, 9-6.
u North Carolina is in its fourth NCAA Championship Round appearance and is now 1-3 all-time in NCAA semifinal action ... the Tar Heels are now 12-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
North Carolina head coach Jenny Levy coached her 22nd NCAA Tournament game, moving her into sole possession of fifth place on the career NCAA Tournament games coached list ... she also moved into sole possession of sixth place on the career wins list with 12.
Five different Carolina players accounted for its first six goals of the game ... with Megan Bosica scoring twice and Corey Donohoe scoring once, four North Carolina players have scored 35-plus goals this year.
Laura Zimmerman's three goals on Friday night marked her first career hat trick. She had nine goals on the season entering Friday's game.
Megan Bosica chipped in with two goals and two assists for four points ... Bosica has recorded multi-goal efforts in each of the Tar Heels' three NCAA Tournament games this year.
Goalie Logan Ripley made seven saves - four of which came in the second half - during Friday night's win ... she has made 28 saves during the NCAA Tournament this year and posted a .571 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 5-1, including a 12-7 win in Chapel Hill earlier this season on March 2.
Northwestern won the only previous NCAA Tournament meeting between the two schools, a 17-6 win in the 2006 quarterfinals in Evanston, Ill.
The Wildcats beat the Tar Heels in the 2005 regular season, the 2006 regular season, the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the 2008 regular season and the 2009 regular season.
Carolina beat Northwestern, 9-8, in two overtimes, in the 2007 regular season in Chapel Hill.
