BTN.com staff, BTN.com staff, May 23, 2015

Taylor Cummings recorded six points as the top-seeded Maryland women?s lacrosse team (20-1) took down No. 4 seed Syracuse (16-8), 10-8, in the NCAA semifinals Friday at PPL Park. The Terrapins advance to their third straight NCAA final with the win.

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Cummings finished the game with two goals, four assists and five draw controls. Kristen Lamon tallied a hat trick while Brooke Griffin scored twice. Zoe Stukenberg, Erin Collins and Kelly McPartland each notched one goal.

?We?re really excited to have the chance to compete for a national championship on Sunday night,? head coach Cathy Reese said. ?I want to congratulate Syracuse on a great game and a great season. They?re a really tough opponent; tough for us to defend, tough for us to score on. I?m proud of our team?s effort today, and I?m looking forward to the opportunity we have in front of us.?

Lamon started the scoring just 35 seconds into the game off a sharp pass from Cummings. The duo completed the same play four minutes later as Maryland took a 2-0 lead at 25:28. Cummings picked up her third point of the game less than six minutes in as she found a backdoor pass from Griffin and fired into the back of the net.

The Orange scored twice in under two minutes with goals from Kayla Treanor and Halle Majorana as Syracuse cut Maryland?s lead to one. Cummings sent a pass across the crease and found Griffin, who scored into an empty net at 14:57.

Three straight Orange goals gave Syracuse a 5-4 lead at 5:24. The Terps went on a three-goal run of their own to take back the lead in the first half. Stukenberg picked up a rebound and scored at 4:33 while McPartland dodged through two defenders and scored at 3:01. Cummings was able to cause an Orange turnover in transition and score on a Stukenberg assist with 33 seconds remaining in the half as Maryland took a 7-5 lead into halftime.

Erica Bodt started the second-half scoring for the Orange at 29:07 before Maryland went on another three-goal run. Collins scored on a jumping pass from Cummings at 28:21. Lamon completed a hat trick at 20:25 and Griffin scored on sharp shot at 19:09 as the Terps increased their lead to 10-6.

Treanor scored two straight goals to cut into Maryland?s advantage, but the Terrapins were able to hold onto the ball for the remaining seven minutes of the game and take the 10-8 win.

Maryland held a 29-16 advantage in shots and a 14-6 lead in draw controls.

The Terps will compete in their third straight NCAA Championship game and their NCAA-leading 19th championship game.

Maryland moves to 5-0 all-time against Syracuse in NCAA Tournament games. All five wins have come in the championship weekend. The Terps picked up their 20th win of the season Friday, marking the 10th time in program history the team has had 20 or more wins in a season. Maryland won the national championship in six of those seasons.

The Terrapins will face No. 2 seed North Carolina in the NCAA Championship game Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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