North CaroliNa• NCaa DivisioN i WomeN’s ChampioN
the Wait is over
T team mvp KARA
he transportation security agency agent was kind but firm. if she wanted to get on the flight, it would have
to go through the scanner. “i can’t. You can’t take it from me,” Kara Cannizzaro
begged. “it’s the first time i literally ever won anything.” But you can’t argue with the federal government. so North Carolina’s senior midfielder put her NCaa championship trophy on the security belt at philadelphia international airport. then she rushed to the far side of the checkpoint and anxiously waited for its reappearance through the black rubber flaps of the machine.
Cannizzaro had worked long and hard to win that trophy. letting it out of her sight — even for a moment, even in the interest of national security — was stressful.
“We all slept with our trophies. seven of us slept in the same room, and i woke up on the floor, cradling it,” she said. it’s no wonder Cannizzaro felt so possessive. the tar
heels waited 18 years to win an NCaa women’s lacrosse championship.
the last 10 hours before the game were the worst of it. saddled with an 8 p.m. game time for the may 26 final against maryland at villanova stadium, the tar heels had to pass the day without getting too wound up or doing anything
WINNING PEDIGREE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS CANNIZZARO
Cannizzaro came alive in the second half of the NCAA semifinal, scoring four straight goals in 4:44 to put the nail in Northwestern’s coffin. She also had four goals in the title game. The Tewaaraton finalist led North Carolina in goals (61), assists (22), caused turnovers (30) and ground balls (39).
44 LACROSSE MAGAZINE July 2013>>
RECORD: 18-3 COACH: Jenny Levy (18th season)
UNSUNG HERO | Megan Ward Ward, a freshman goalie, split time with senior Lauren Maksym for most of the season, but earned the starting job in late April. Ward and the Tar Heels’ defense kept three out of four tournament opponents in single digits, and she was a brick wall (seven saves) against Northwestern in the semifinal. In the championship game, she stuffed Brooke Griffin on a breakaway to set up fellow freshman Sammy Jo Tracy’s triple overtime winner.
TURNING POINT | A 12-8 loss to Maryland in the ACC championship game “It was a hard game to go through. That’s the last time I’m going to be playing in an ACC championship. I will never be an ACC champion,” senior midfielder Jessica Griffin said. “I know my class got together and said, ‘We cannot blow it. We cannot lose it because we are so good.’”
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©LEE WEISSMAN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84