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Maryland beats Syracuse 10-8 in NCAA lacrosse semis

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CHESTER, Pa. (AP) Kristen Lamon scored three goals, Taylor Cummings had two goals and four assists and Maryland beat Syracuse 10-8 on Friday night in the NCAA women's lacrosse semifinals at PPL Park.

Seeking their 12th national championship and second straight, the Terrapins (20-1) will play North Carolina - a 16-7 winner over Duke in the first semifinal - on Sunday in the title game.

Friday's contest was a rematch of last year's title game, which Maryland won 15-12. Lamon, who has only started four games in the past two seasons, also had a hat trick in that victory.

''Coming off the bench is tough,'' Maryland coach Cathy Reese said. ''But she puts herself in the right place at the right time and is able to finish the opportunities that she gets.''

Kayla Treanor had three goals and two assists for the Orange (16-8), who have made four straight semifinal appearances. Syracuse has never won a national championship.

Cummings and Treanor are among the finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation's best player.

Leading 7-6 early in the second half, the top-seeded and top-ranked Terps went on a pivotal 3-0 run, capped by a top-shelf rocket of a goal from Brooke Griffin with 19 minutes left.

Treanor gave fourth-seeded Syracuse life with the game's next two goals but Maryland iced it by successfully maintaining possession for the final 6 minutes.

''That's an incredibly good Maryland team and everyone knows that,'' Syracuse coach Gary Gait said. ''We came up short on draw controls, which I think was the biggest difference in the game.''

Maryland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Syracuse climbed back into the contest, taking a 5-4 edge on a Taylor Gait goal with 5:24 left in the first half.

But the Terps scored the final three goals of the half, taking advantage of a Syracuse turnover to go ahead 7-5 on Cummings' second of the game.

Kelsey Richardson finished with seven saves for Syracuse. Maryland goalie Alex Fitzpatrick only needed to make four saves but was praised for coming through with some big ones in the second half to help the Terps end the Orange's season for the third straight year.

The Terps will now look to avenge a triple-overtime loss to North Carolina in the 2013 national championship.

''I think we'd like to come out on the other side this time,'' Cummings said. ''It's a new year and a new team.''