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The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels rain down goals for their homecoming celebration

After a four-game road trip for the North Carolina women's lacrosse team, Fetzer Field sported fresh sod and the sharp angles of crisp new field paint. 

The No. 3 Tar Heels celebrated their homecoming by working their own sharp angles, coming at the Virginia Tech Hokies from every direction in a 15-6 blowout victory. 

Senior Aly Messinger kicked off the scoring for North Carolina (9-2, 3-0 ACC) just shy of the three-minute mark with her 16th goal of the season. That opened the floodgates, as UNC pestered the Virginia Tech (5-9, 0-4 ACC) goalie with 18 shots in the first half, netting 10 of them. 

The goals rained down from all sides, as junior Molly Hendrick snuck around the crease and dumped one in underhanded en route to one of her six goals. Senior midfielder Sammy Jo Tracy went behind the back in stunning fashion, adding another crafty goal for UNC as they opened up a 10-1 lead. 

The Hokies were unwilling to limp into the locker room, however, as Zan Biedenharn of Virginia Tech netted two goals in less than fifteen seconds with one minute remaining in the first half. The Hokies were the first to strike in the second half as well, pulling within a 10-4 margin of the Tar Heels.

But UNC sophomore Ela Hazar notched her third goal of the game just a minute afterward to break the three goal Hokie run. The Tar Heels wouldn’t allow the Hokies to draw any closer, allowing just two additional goals while tacking on five more of their own for a 15-6 win. 

Quotable

“Ella is a person who came off the bench because of our injuries, and ever since she has been killing it. It’s hard to come off the bench like that and play the way she’s been playing. It’s great to see her play this good at this point in the season because it’s what we need.” -- Sophomore Marie McCool on Hazar’s recent performance. 

Notable

Hazar, who filled in for injured Tar Heels, is in the midst of a break out stretch of games. After netting two goals and two assists in her last game, Hazar notched four goals, which was a career best, and added an assist against Virginia Tech. 

Three numbers that matter

7: With seven points on six goals and an assist, Hendrick set a new career-high point total. She also matched the team season-high for goals in a game. 

22: After Wednesday night’s victory, the Tar Heels are a dominating 22-0 all time against Virginia Tech. 

0: The “Blue Group,” as Coach Jenny Levy calls the secondary defensive unit, allowed zero goals after relieving the starters, demonstrating the depth on the defensive end for the Tar Heels.

What’s next?

The Tar Heels return to Fetzer Field on Sunday at 12 p.m., where they will take on No. 6 Notre Dame. 

@James_Tatter

sports@dailytarheel.com

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