Showtime Saturday

No. 3 Maryland meets No. 4 North Carolina in a pivotal conference showdown at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.  ESPN3 will have complete coverage live from Chapel Hill. Click here for the link to the game. 

The Tar Heels are unbeaten in league play this season.  UNC is 12-1 overall with its lone loss occurring at Georgetown on St. Patrick's Day.  Maryland dropped one game in ACC play at Duke in the conference opener. Maryland faces Virginia Tech April 14 to cap conference action.

Current ACC Standings

North Carolina (4-0, 12-1)      

Maryland (2-1, 11-2)      

Virginia (2-2, 9-4)         

Duke (2-2, 8-5)         

Boston College (1-3, 5-6)         

Virginia Tech (0-3, 7-5)         

UNC and Maryland are no strangers to ACC title battles.  The Terps clinched the regular season crown last season with a 12-9 win against UNC.   Maryland then made it a sweep when it outscored the Tar Heels 9-1 in the second half en route to the ACC tournament championship.

Here is a rundown of the last 10 meetings between the two teams:

April 25, 2011 - UNC 7, Maryland 12 (ACC Tournament)
April 9, 2011 - UNC 9, Maryland 12
April 25, 2010 - UNC 5, Maryland 10 (ACC Tournament)
April 10, 2010 - Maryland 9, UNC 13
May 23, 2009 - UNC 8, Maryland 7 (NCAA Tournament)
April 11, 2009 - UNC 8, Maryland 13
April 25, 2008 - UNC 4, Maryland 6 (ACC Tournament)
April 12, 2008 - Maryland 10, UNC 8
March 24, 2007 - UNC 6, Maryland 8
May 14, 2006 - Maryland 6, UNC 9 (NCAA Tournament)

KEJ Continues the Climb

Karri Ellen Johnson netted nine goals last week, enough to tie Kelly Coppedge for No. 2 on Maryland's career goals list.  The Annapolis product has netted 219 goals in a relatively limited amount of time after being sidelined 12 games in 2011 due to a concussion.

Speaking of the comeback tour, make sure to check out a feature on the star attacker here.  

It's also KEJ Q&A week! Scoop that out here. 

In case you were wondering, the great Jen Adams is Maryland's career leader in goals with 267.  Johnson would need to average 4.36 goals per game (assuming the Terps play all 11 possible contests remaining) to tie Adams.

Johnson is also quietly making her ascent on the career points list, due in part to a breakout season assist-wise, boasting 13 through 13 games in 2012.  She is currently fourth on the points list with 276.

Check out what Inside Lacrosse had to say about Johnson in their Midseason Report:  Player of the Year Watch.

Kudos to Aust

It appeared the Maryland offense was missing something earlier this season.  It wasn't like the Terps were incapable of scoring but the potency of the attack seemed a bit diminished from the conclusion of the 2011 campaign.

Enter Alex Aust.

The junior has given opponents one more offensive threat to worry about while continuing to distribute the ball with stellar precision. She garnered well-deserved ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors Tuesday after recording 10 assists in two games, including a school-record six against Penn.

Make sure to keep tabs on the Terps this weekend in North Carolina via Twitter!