No. 7 Virginia Falls 18-12 to No. 1 North Carolina
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 7 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (4-2, 0-1 ACC) was tied with No. 1 North Carolina (5-0, 1-0 ACC) 11-11 with 15 minutes to play, but a late surge gave the Tar Heels the 18-12 win on Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium
Virginia scored the first two goals of the game and had the lead at the half. UVA was up 11-10 with just under 15 minutes to play when North Carolina made a 7-0 run over 10 minutes surge ahead.
Taylor Regan (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Nora Bowen (Lovettsville, Va.) led the Cavaliers with three goals apiece. Sammy Mueller (Pelham, N.Y.) had four points on one goal and three assists. Jamie Ortega led UNC with five goals.
Virginia led in ground balls (16-15) and committed just nine turnovers to 16 for the Tar Heels. UNC led in shots (33-29), draw controls (21-12) and was 5-for-5 on free position shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia opened the game with back-to-back goals by Bowen, both assisted by Mueller. UNC didn’t score its first goal until the 20:40 mark. Lillie Kloak (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Halle Graham (Rockville, Md.) each scored to put UVA ahead 4-1. The Tar Heels cut it to one, but Bowen scored her third to keep UVA in the lead. UNC had a 3-0 run to go ahead 6-5 with 3:30 to go in the first half. Regan and Mueller scored to close the half as UVA lead 7-6 at the break.
The Tar Heels scored twice before Regan notched her second of the afternoon to make it 8-8. After another goal by UNC, Regan and Courtlynne Caskin (Potomac, Md.) scored to give Virginia a 10-9 advantage with just under 20 minutes to go. UNC tied it up, but Kiki Shaw (Owings Mills, Md.) gave UVA an 11-10 lead with 15:06 remaining. North Carolina then had a 7-0 run over 10 minutes to lead 17-11. Graham scored again to cut it to 17-12, but the Heels added a goal with just over a minute remaining to take the 18-12 win.
FROM HEAD COACH JULIE MYERS
“We got a little tired and sloppy with some of the decisions we made and as we got tired, Carolina got stronger. Of course, to lose our middie on a double-yellow card never helps, especially when it is one of your best players on the field. We faltered and as soon as we got a little bit off, UNC sniffed it and they pounced on that. Credit goes to them, but it is disappointing to play well enough for a long period of time to feel good about it. To come up short is pretty tough.”
UP NEXT
Virginia hosts George Mason in a mid-week game on Wednesday, March 4 at 5 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.