Sports > September 27, 2007

By Hailey Robbins | Contributing writer

In the most highly attended game of the two fiercest rivals in field hockey the ACC, the No. 5 Demon Deacons fell to the No. 2 University of Maryland Terrapins.

With nearly 1,800 spectators, the Deacons held the Lady Terrapins to a 3-2 victory, ending the Sept. 22 game with an overall 5-3 record (1-1 in ACC).

Less than two minutes into the first half, Maryland freshman Katie O’Donnell scored.

Unflustered, the Deacons responded exactly four minutes following O’Donnell’s goal, tying the game.

Sophomore Aileen Davis scored the first goal for the Deacons, the first goal the Terps had allowed in 219 minutes of play this season.

Prior to Davis’ 5:30 goal, the Terps had shutout all opponents dating back to their Sept. 8 game against Ohio State.

Davis scored on a deflection from Junior Michele Kasold’s shot off a penalty corner.

“We worked that corner really well — it was a solid team performance,” Davis said.

“Coach wanted a short corner deflection, and it was a perfect pass from Michele (Kasold)—it just went in. It’s an amazing feeling knowing I broke (their streak of shutouts).”

The 15-minute mark proved tough for the Deacons as Maryland’s Janneke van Leeuwen scored off a rebound from junior goalie Crystal Duffield.

Trailing by one for the remainder of the first half, the Deacons started the second half with a new fervor.

“We addressed some particulars, but I asked them to play high press, which forced some turnovers,” Head Coach Jennifer Averill said.

“(Maryland) was up but I wanted to give us another opportunity. It could have easily been us in the lead or we could have been down 4-2.”

After Kasold’s initial shot was blocked by Maryland goalie Kathryn Masson with 20 minutes left in the game, she immediately returned the rebound off the goalie’s pads to tie the game 2-all.

In a devastating run for the Deacons near the close of the game, Maryland’s O’Donnell beat Duffield in a one-on-one fight to edge out the Deacons 3-2 with only 1:11 left on the clock.

“Defensively we could have played smarter, but we had that same opportunity, with the first goal on that short corner,” Averill said.

“For next week we need to work on our ability to play cohesively and clean up our fast breaks. That hurt us against Maryland. We also need to work on our movement.”

Even though out-shot 18-13 altogether and 12-6 in the second half, Kasold offered six shots, sophomore Melissa Martin and senior Chelsea Cipriani offered two shots each.

“Overall, we were definitely really intense. It was back and forth the whole game,” Martin said.

“I think it was both of our best games of the season. I know the attendance record definitely pumped us up. We had a lot of fans at the game, which made it really intense since the game was back and forth.”

The Deacons will take on the top-seeded University of North Carolina at home at 1 p.m. Sept. 29. The Tarheels come into the game with an 11-0 record.

This is the first of a three-game homestand for the Deacs.

They also play host to Michigan State and Appalachian State before getting back on the road to face University of California Oct. 14.