Taylor Reed, the Most Outstanding Player in last year’s Ivy League tournament, scored the game-winning goal with 1:52 remaining to lead No. 10 Cornell to an 11-10 victory over No. 9 USC in a neutral site game played at Boston University.

The Big Red (5-1) never trailed and led by as many as five goals in the second half, but USC scored four straight goals to tie the game 10-10 with 8:30 still remaining in the game. Neither team generated much offense down the stretch, combining for just four shots in the final eight minutes,  but Reed came through in the clutch on a free position opportunity to give Cornell the victory.

Reed and Catherine Ellis each had hat tricks for the Big Red, while Amie Dickson had a goal, four assists and five draw controls. Renee Poullott made 10 saves, including six in the second half, to earn the victory.

Michaela Michael led USC (6-2) with four goals and an assist and also had three caused turnovers. Kylie Drexel added three goals, two of them coming in USC’s four-goal run that tied the game late in the second half.

North Carolina Pulls Away From Northwestern

Northwestern scored two straight goals to open the second half and take an 8-7 lead on second-ranked North Carolina, but the Tar Heels dominated down the stretch to post a 17-12 victory over the No. 13 Wildcats who were playing without star Selena Lasota for the fourth straight game.

After Northwestern (3-5) took the lead, Marie McCool and Sydney Holman scored back-to-back goals to regain the lead for UNC, but the game went back-and-forth and was tied 10-10 after Liza Elder scored for Northwestern with 17:01 to play. UNC then scored four straight goals, the first three coming in a span of just 1:20, to take control of the game.

Maggie Bill had a game-high seven points (4g, 3a) to lead the Tar Heels (8-1) while McCool also had four goals and six draw controls. Holman and Ela Hazar each added hat tricks, and Sammy Jo Tracy had this ridiculous goal.

Sammy. Jo. Tracy.
That's just unfair.#SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/vQBPMkc2pt

— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) March 19, 2017

Danita Stroup had three goals for Northwestern and Christine Esposito had a goal and three assists. Shelby Fredericks had 15 draw controls to help the Wildcats to a 17-14 advantage.

Maryland Dominates Second Half Against JHU

Top-ranked Maryland had a comfortable 7-3 lead over No. 17 Johns Hopkins at the half, and then blew things open in the second half. Maryland scored the first seven goals of the second half on its way to a 17-4 victory. Senior Emily Kift, playing in place of regular goaltender Megan Taylor, made 10 saves for the Terps (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and Caroline Steel (4g) and Caroline Wannen (2g, 4a) had big games.

Denver Opens Big East Play with Win

No. 19 Denver ran its record to 7-1 with a convincing 14-6 victory over Temple in both team’s Big East opener. Temple came into the game with a 7-1 record. Sophomores Kendra Lanuza (2g, 5a) and Julia Feiss (4g, 2a) led the Pioneers offense while senior Maddy Stevenson made seven saves to earn the victory.

Towson Keeps Rolling

No. 18 Towson scored the first nine goals of the game on its way to a 17-6 victory over Monmouth. The Tigers, who beat No. 11 Notre Dame on Wednesday, have now won three straight games to improve to 6-3 for the season. Carly Tellekamp had five goals for Towson and Natalie Sulmote had three goals and two assists, with all three goals coming during Towson’s game-openine nine-goal run.

Strong Start Carries Colorado

Colorado scored the first five goals of the game and was never seriously threatened in a 16-11 victory over Oregon in a game that was moved indoors due to a wildfire and poor air quality in the Boulder area. Junior Carly Cox had five goals for the Buffs, who improved to a perfect 9-0 for the season. Darby Kiernan added a hat trick and seven draw controls for Colorado.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Maryland 17, No. 17 Johns Hopkins 4
No. 2 North Carolina 17, No. 13 Northwestern 12
No. 6 Colorado vs. Oregon, 3 p.m.
No. 10 Cornell 11, No. 9 USC 10
No. 18 Towson 17, Monmouth 6
No. 19 Denver 14, Temple 6

Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 6 St. John Fisher 16, Oneonta 8
No. 14 York 12, Oswego 5