By Mike Sarzo

Sentinel Staff Writer

For the first time in three seasons, the Maryland women's lacrosse team will play beyond the first round of the NCAA tournament. They earned the first NCAA tournament win in Cathy Reese's coaching career with a 13-7 win over Yale in front of a sellout crowd at Ludwig Field in College Park on Sunday.

Attack Krista Pellizzi scored five goals and midfielder Kelly Kasper added three goals and two assists to lead the Terrapins (16-3), who travel to Philadelphia on Saturday to face Penn in the second round.

"It's nice to come off the field with a win today," Reese said. "We were really excited to be hosting a first round game."

The Terps staked a reputation throughout the season as an offensive-minded team, but the teams combined for six goals in the first half. Yale's calling card coming in was a stingy defense and they looked the part in the first half. Bulldogs goalie Ellen Cameron made five saves in the period and the teams went into the break with Maryland leading 4-2.

"We were a little slow, a little lethargic," in the first half, Reese said. "We clearly stepped up in [draw controls]." Yale controlled eight ground balls to Maryland's seven in the first half and Maryland won

four draw controls to Yale's three in the half. Pellizzi said the team's offense slowed down in the first half.

"The point of our offense is never to slow it down," she said.

The Terps found their rhythm in the second half, dominating draw controls 13 to two and winning six of 11 ground balls in the frame. More importantly for Maryland, they outscored Yale 9-5 in the second

half.

"When you possess the ball, you can score," said Yale coach Amanda O'Leary. "They certainly were a great team today."

"I don't think we defended their fast breaks very well," she added. She also said Maryland presented match up problems for the Bulldogs (13-4).

"We've played teams with two really good players, three really good players," she said. "They have seven."

Maryland started the second half by scoring the first three goals of the period in a span of 11 minutes, 43 seconds. Including Pellizzi's goal with 30 seconds left in the first half, the Terps scored four straight goals to make the score 7-2 with 18:17 left.

Even though Yale's defense may have gotten more attention from some observers, the Terps also played stingy defensive. Until attack Marya Myers scored her first goal of the game with 16:58 left in the second half, the Terps held Yale scoreless for a span of 25:11 between the first and second halves.

"Once they went on that run early in the second half, that put us back on our heels," said attack Lauren Taylor, who scored four of her team's seven goals and finished the year with 65 goals. She added the team tried to get the perfect shot and said they felt they had to score on every shot after they fell behind.

The game was only the third meeting between the Terrapins and the Bulldogs and the first since 1979, but the game developed the intensity of a bitter rivalry with the teams combining for five yellow cards, with Yale drawing three. Maryland committed 29 fouls to Yale's 22.

O'Leary said the teams' competitiveness led to the increased intensity.

"The competitiveness of both teams showed out there," O'Leary said.

The win improved Maryland's NCAA tournament record to 5-5 since they won their seventh consecutive national championship in 2001. Including one Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championship in 1981, the Terps have won 10 national championships overall.

Contact Mike Sarzo at

editor-pg@thesentinel.com or

pgsentinelmike@yahoo.com