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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Bryan Cole matched his career high with five points and fellow midfielder Joe LoCascio had four to help Maryland beat North Carolina 14-7 on Sunday in the NCAA Division I lacrosse quarterfinals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Cole scored a career-high four goals and added an assist, and LoCascio had a goal and three assists for Maryland (14-3). The Terrapins advanced to the Final Four for the fourth time in five years under coach John Tillman.
Midfielder Connor Kelly scored three goals for Maryland, which will meet in-state rival Johns Hopkins next Saturday in the semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
"I'm very proud of our players for their effort today," Tillman said. "We realize what's at stake in a game like this and we came out and probably played our most complete game of the year."
Jay Carlson scored two goals and fellow attackman Matt Rambo contributed a goal and two assists for the Terrapins, seeking their first national championship since 1975.
"Our goal was to get to the Final Four and we got that down. That being said, we want to be the last team standing so that means we still have some work to do," Maryland defenseman Casey Ikeda said.
Goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr stopped 12 shots to anchor a suffocating defensive effort by the Terps, who held the Tar Heels scoreless for 24:20 spanning the second and third quarters.
"I think we started to press offensively. Maryland did a great job of holding onto the ball and we finally got it back we tried to do too much," North Carolina head coach Joe Breschi said.
Attackman Joey Sankey had three goals and an assist to lead North Carolina (13-4), which had not lost by more than two goals this season. Attackman Jimmy Bitter had a goal and an assist, and midfielder Chad Tutton added two assists for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina starting goalie Kieran Burke was pulled from the game at the 10:45 mark of the third quarter after allowing 12 goals and making just one save.
Kelly scored two goals on cannon crank shots while LoCascio and Rambo both delivered two assists as Maryland closed the second quarter with four straight goals to take a 9-2 lead. That marked the largest deficit of the season for North Carolina, which has suffered eight straight quarterfinal defeats since last reaching the Final Four in 1993.
"It could have been the moment. We wanted to go to the Final Four and that's the thing that has been talked about for years," Breschi said of his team's uncharacteristic performance.
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