March 8, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The 12th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, as No. 8 North Carolina handed the Commodores a 12-5 loss at blustery Fetzer Field.
The Commodore defense kept the game late into the second half, when the Tar Heels went on a 4-0 run as Vanderbilt scrambled to gain possession of the ball. Senior Margie Curran led the Commodores with two goals and an assist.
Defensively, senior Heather Koutrakos caused three turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Senior Sasha Cielak also had a pair of caused turnovers and picked up four ground balls, while senior Michele Slotke had three ground balls.
UNC’s Corey Donohoe scored three second-half goals for the eighth-ranked Tar Heels, who picked up the victory on a wet field with winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour during the game. UNC improved to 5-1 with the win while the 11th-ranked Commodores fell to 5-1.
Carolina jumped out to an early 3-0 lead only to see Vanderbilt battle back to tie the score at 3-3 with 7:31 left in the first half. Megan Bosica scored two consecutive goals, one in the closing seconds of the closing seconds of the first half and one five minutes into the second half to give Carolina a 5-3 lead it would not relinquish.
Donohoe led the Tar Heels with three goals. Bosica and Chelsea Parks each tallied two goals and an assist. Erica LaGrow scored two goals, Kelly Taylor had a goal and an assist and Julia Ryan and Jenn Russell each scored single goals for UNC. Margie Curran led Vanderbilt with two goals and an assist.
LaGrow got the scoring started two minutes into the game with an unassisted score, driving from the top of the eight-meter arc and slipping the ball past Vandy keeper Brooke Shinaberry. Nearly 14 minutes later, Ryan scored an unassisted goal, spinning past two Commodore defenders, to make it 2-0 UNC at 14:22. Twenty seconds later, Parks scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-0 and force a Vanderbilt timeout.
At the 12:47 mark, Vanderbilt cut the lead to 3-1 on a free position goal by Sarah Downing. Margie Curran drove past a Tar Heel defender and scored unassisted, deflecting a shot off a defender with 9:49 left in the first half to make it 3-2 UNC. Laura Keenan tied the game on a free position shot with 7:31 left before the half. Bosica gave the Tar Heels a 4-3 lead at the half, taking a pretty pass from Parks and scoring in the top left corner of the cage with 25 seconds left before the break.
In the second half, Bosica made it 5-3 Tar Heels with a long-range goal about 10 meters out with 25:14 left to go. LaGrow’s free position goal between Shinaberry’s legs with 21:59 left gave UNC a 6-3 edge. Carter Foote’s quick shot off a Curran pass with 16:44 made the score 6-4 UNC. Donohoe responded nearly seven minutes later with an unassisted goal, driving in from the left side of the cage and finishing. Vanderbilt’s fourth yellow card with 9:35 left to play meant that the Commodores had to play a man down the rest of the way. Forty seconds later, Kelly Taylor scored an unassisted goal to make it 8-4 Tar Heels. Donohoe scored off a Kelly Taylor pass with 7:33 to expand the lead to five goals at 9-4. Donohoe scored her third goal of the second half with 6:30 left to make the lead six goals at 10-4.
Curran beat UNC keeper Logan Ripley with a low shot at the 5:52 mark to make it 10-5 Carolina. Parks responded with her second goal of the game to put the Tar Heels back up 11-5 with under five minutes to play. Russell added an unassisted score for Carolina with 1:45 to play.
The Commodores returns home this week to open a four-game homestand against Boston University on Wednesday, March 12. The opening draw is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.
Goals:
Vanderbilt: Margie Curran 2, Sarah Downing 1, Laura Keenan 1, Carter, Foote 1
UNC: Corey Donohoe 3, Megan Bosica 2, Erica LaGrow 2, Chelsea Parks 2, Julia Ryan 1, Kelly Taylor 1, Jenn Russell 1
Assists:
Vanderbilt: Margie Curran 1
UNC: Chelsea Parks 1, Kelly Taylor 1, Megan Bosica 1
Goalkeepers:
Vanderbilt: Brooke Shinaberry – 5 saves, 12 goals allowed
UNC: Amanda Barnes – 2 saves, 3 goals allowed, 30 minutes; Logan Ripley 3 saves, 2 goals allowed, 30 minutes
