Northwestern edges UNC in NCAA semifinal game

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – With the score of the NCAA women’s lacrosse semifinal tied at 10, No. 3-seeded North Carolina was just seconds away from taking No. 2-seeded Northwestern to overtime for the second time this season.

The Tar Heels had just scored three straight goals in less than three minutes to come back from a 10-7 deficit. But moments later, Northwestern attacker Shannon Smith’s goal would be the only one that mattered.

Smith’s game-winning score with 18 seconds to go left no time for the Tar Heels (15-6) to respond, and the Wildcats (20-2) beat UNC 11-10 on Friday in Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium.

UNC outshot Northwestern and had the advantage in draw controls and groundballs. The Tar Heels’ 30 shots were the second most any team has had against the Wildcats all season long.

Familiar with North Carolina’s style of play, Northwestern goalie Brianne LoManto knew many of her opponents’ shots would be hard to defend.

“They have a lot of great players that can finish in the middle,” LoManto said. “They did get the ball out front a lot and a couple times they dropped it or they capitalized on it.”

Coach Jenny Levy and her team have focused on taking high-percentage shots and being patient when waiting for good offensive opportunities, and that strategy was usually effective for the Tar Heels during their 2011 campaign.

North Carolina controlled the ball for much of the game, but against the Wildcats UNC had trouble converting its shots into goals.

“We told the team to keep shooting because that is what we want, but we were just missing the cage,” Levy said. “It is hard to look at the stat sheet sometimes when you see that you win the shots, the ground balls and the draw controls.”

In typical Tar Heel fashion, six different players had points against Northwestern. Junior midfielder Laura Zimmerman led the scoring effort with four goals and one assist.

The Wildcats jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first half, but North Carolina rallied back to tie the score at five just before halftime.

After intermission, UNC earned its first lead of the game when a Wildcat defender fell down and gave senior attacker Corey Donohoe an open look to the goal.

But fueled by leading scorer Shannon Smith’s quick feet, Northwestern quickly came charging back.

Northwestern took its second three-goal lead of the game and led UNC 10-7 with just more than 12 minutes to go in regulation.
For many teams, that kind of a lead late in the game would have been a death sentence.

But Levy didn’t sweat it.

The Tar Heels’ late 3-0 run wasn’t enough to deprive Northwestern of its seventh straight trip to the national championship game but, for Donohoe, the comeback wasn’t completely meaningless.

To the senior, it highlighted just one of the reasons why – win or lose – she loves being a Tar Heel.

“I think that shows the kind of team we are,” Donohoe said. “That we never give up, no matter what.”