No. 6 Virginia Falls Short, 13-12, in Final Seconds at No. 3 North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It came down to a last-second shot as No. 6 Virginia (6-2, 0-2 ACC) fell short, 13-12, at No. 3 North Carolina (5-1, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at the UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium.
Senior Avery Shoemaker (Wyndmoor, Pa.) got off a shot in the final seconds of the game, but it was saved by UNC’s goalie Taylor Moreno as the Tar Heels took the win.
Shoemaker finished with four goals and had an assist. Senior Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) had three goals and an assist, while junior Sammy Mueller (Pelham, N.Y.) had three goals. Sophomore Ashlyn McGovern and freshman Lillie Kloak (Ridgewood, N.J.) each added one goal.
The Cavaliers had a 16-11 advantage in draw controls, with Mueller leading the way with eight. UVA also led in free position goals (2-1). North Carolina led in shots (32-30), ground balls (12-9) and had 11 turnovers to 14 for the Cavaliers. UVA had seven saves and UNC had eight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia was on the board first with a goal by Shoemaker. UNC responded with back-to-back goals before Shoemaker notched her second to tie the game 2-2 at the 17:35 mark. UNC went on a 3-0 run, with all three goals by Taylor McDaniels, to lead 5-2. Jackson and Mueller scored to cut it to one. The teams traded goals before the Tar Heels took a 7-5 edge into the half. UNC scored two straight to begin the second half. UVA used a 4-1 run to cut it to 10-9. UNC answered once again to lead by two with 18:41 to play. UVA scored back-to-back goals by Mueller and Jackson to tie the game 11-11. Shoemaker hit her fourth of the afternoon to put UVA in the lead 12-11 with 10:14 to go. UNC tied it up again with a goal at 6:55, then recaptured the lead with 5:35 to play. With 38 seconds to go, senior Sophie Alecce (Baltimore, Md.) caused a turnover and senior Allison Shields (Phoenix, Md.) picked up the ground ball. The Cavaliers were able to get the ball across the field and Shoemaker had the last-second shot attempt, but UNC came up with the save.
FROM HEAD COACH JULIE MYERS
“It was a really competitive game and a fun game to be a part of. Obviously, it is disappointing to come up just a bit short. I’m proud of the effort and proud of my fourth-year leaders. They really contributed and had huge games. We found ourselves in a hole a couple of times and they just kept fighting back. They were resilient and composed, it just was not quite enough today. I think we have plenty of opportunity to get better throughout the course of the season and I am looking forward to doing that.”
NOTES
It was the second straight hat trick for Shoemaker.
Mueller has had back-to-back games with at least eight draw controls.
Junior goalkeeper Charlie Campbell (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) had seven saves, two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
UP NEXT
Virginia is back home on Wednesday, March 13 to host Loyola at 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.