In Game Against North Carolina, Maryland Will Look to Karri Ellen Johnson When the No. 5 Maryland women's lacrosse team steps on the field in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday to take on the No. 2 Tar Heels, they will try to extend their six-game winning streak and continue their momentum into the postseason against the top of the A.C.C. In the process, Terps attacker Karri Ellen Johnson will almost certainly become No. 2 in goals in program history, needing only one goal to reach that mark. For Johnson, she is nearing the end of the road in a Terps uniform. It has been an illustrious career, and the attacker is going out on a high note. Her senior season has included 37 goals and 13 assists, enough to lead the team in points (50). She has seemed to pass milestone after milestone as well in her final campaign-she reached No. 3 in career goals earlier in the season in a rout of Delaware, notched her 200th goal of her career against Richmond and is about to score the biggest one yet. But in the middle of last season, in a game against James Madison, Johnson collided with Dukes goalie Alex Menghetti. Johnson took the field in the team's next matchup against Towson but when she was hit in the head in that game, she was forced to get herself checked out. "I've told a lot of people that it was one of those out-of-body experiences," Johnson said, referring to the injury in the Towson game. I was definitely in denial, and as soon as the game ended, I knew that there was something that just wasn't right. I ended up taking one of the concussion tests and failed miserably. Although her status was game to game, it became obvious that the Terps would have to continue their season without their offensive star. The Terps not only contended without her but nearly won a second consecutive national title. After winning the A.C.C. tournament, they fell to Northwestern, 8-7, in the national championship game. This season, Northwestern is firmly in the No. 1 spot. This year, though, Johnson is healthy. "[Johnson]"s been able to come back and be amazing," said fellow attacker Brooke Griffin, who sat beside Johnson on the sideline last year with a torn A.C.L. "I feel like experiencing the loss in the national championship-we took it, and ran with it. Now, we're working harder and each game we're getting better and coming together. The Terps (11-2, 2-1 A.C.C.) are certainly on the right track in the pursuit of postseason success. However, the Tar Heels represent a challenge to the team, with Johnson labeling them as the Terps" first real test since their game against now-No. 3 Syracuse, their last loss. North Carolina's offense is on the same level as that of the Terps-attacker/midfielder Abbey Friend leads the team with 39 goals, midfielder Laura Zimmerman has 31 goals and 14 assists and attacker Becky Lynch is the assists leader with 17. The defense is not too shabby, either-the Tar Heels trail only Florida in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 6.38 goals per game. Johnson, however, has nothing but confidence heading into perhaps the most critical match in the A.C.C. this season. "We know this game means a lot to us as far as seeding goes for the A.C.C. tournament," she said. I think it's easier to be the underdog, but we're not even looking at that-we're just going to play our game. Nicholas Munson is a staff writer for The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's independent daily newspaper.