RADNOR, PA – The third time is the charm.
It took until the third matchup between North Carolina and Maryland for the Tarheels to defeat their ACC foe at Villanova Stadium on Sunday night.
It only took 60 minutes of regulation and three overtime periods, but 31 seconds into that third overtime of the NCAA Championship, North Carolina put a Maryland team that came into the title game with a perfect record down for the count, winning, 13-12.
Freshman attack Sammy Jo Tracy found the back of the net for the game-winner, giving North Carolina (18-3) its first ever national championship.
“I came in off the sideline and Brittany Coppa beautifully put it into my stick,” Tracy said. “I just let one rip, just like we do every day in practice.”
In the longest title game ever, it was North Carolina’s offense that gave the Heels the lead early and its defense that sealed the deal late, allowing the Tarheels to get over the hump that was Maryland (22-1).
“I think the first two times we saw them, we had some self-inflicted wounds,” senior Kara Cannizzaro said. “Today, we stayed composed and had the belief that we were going to win. We stayed focused on the little things and the big thing happened.”
Freshman Aly Messinger put the Heels up early, getting a hat trick just 11:24 into the contest. North Carolina scored the first three goals of the game and held onto a three-goal advantage going into halftime.
But Maryland (22-1) came into the national championship game without a loss on its record for a reason, showing as much in the second half.
The Terrapins ripped off five straight goals over the course of the first 11:05 coming out of halftime to flip the momentum.
However, North Carolina quickly adjusted, keeping Maryland off of the board until four minutes to go in the contest, by which time the Tarheels had worked their way back into the game.
Maryland senior attack Alex Aust’s goal would be the last scoring that would occur until Sammy Jo Tracy’s game-winner in the third overtime.
Just because shots weren’t finding the back of the net didn’t mean that the overtime periods weren’t filled with action.
Maryland was content to play ball control for the first overtime, biding its time to assure that North Carolina wouldn’t have an opportunity to counter attack.
The Terrapins’ strategy worked well, but the Tarheels’ goalie kept North Carolina in the game.
North Carolina freshman Megan Ward made two huge saves in the first overtime, while another Terrapin shot hit post before trickling out.
“Megan Ward is an amazing goalie,” Maryland’s Aust said of her opponent. “She’s a freshman playing on the big stage. She did awesome. She is going to have a great career at Carolina.”
In the second overtime, North Carolina played much of the same ball control strategy, getting three shots on goal, but this time it was Maryland’s goalie, senior Kasey Howard, who came up huge, making three stops that sent the game into triple overtime.
In the third overtime, Maryland got impatient, attacking just 14 seconds into the period, allowing North Carolina the chance to counter-attack.
The Tarheels cleared the ball, which junior midfield Brittney Coppa kicked to Tracy for the win and the national championship.
“It feels like a dream,” Tracy said. “To see that ball go into the back of the net was something I’ve dreamed about since my dad put a stick in my hand.”
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