North Carolina
Penn State
Tar Heels Come From Behind To Beat Penn State, 16-12
March 26, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
March 26, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, MD. -- The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team scored the first eight goals of the second half to seize control of the game and earned a 16-12 win over Penn State on Sunday afternoon. The game, played on the campus of the University of Maryland, was part of the Atlantic Coast Conference/American Lacrosse Conference Challenge. The Tar Heels, ranked No. 5 this week in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, beat unranked Ohio State 9-4 on Friday evening.
Stephanie Scurachio and Erica LaGrow both had three goals and one assist in the game for Carolina. Melissa McCarthy also had four points with two goals and two assists, while Jess Allen had three goals and Christina Juras scored twice.
The win was the fourth in a row for Carolina (7-2) after losing back-to-back games on March 8 and 11. No. 15 Penn State drops to 4-5 on the season with Sunday's loss.
In the first half, Penn State scored five straight goals to take a 5-2 lead. The Nittany Lions got three first-half goals from Jessi Lieb and two from Karen Long. Carolina got two first-half goals apiece from LaGrow and Scurachio.
After trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Tar Heels exploded in the second half, scoring the first eight goals of the period. The run, which culminated with a Brooke Dieringer goal with 10:31 left to play that made it 15-10, helped Carolina take the lead and control of the game.
McCarthy had two goals and an assist in the second-half spurt for Carolina, while Dieringer and Allen also scored twice in the run. The Tar Heels outshot Maryland, 19-9, in the second half.
Carolina will return to action next weekend with a pair of games in Washington, D.C. The Tar Heels will play Georgetown on Friday at 4 p.m. and will face Stanford on Sunday at 1 p.m.
