UNC Stomps UMass to End Regular Season

Not only was it Senior Day, but the No. 7 Tar Heels were looking to send a message to the NCAA selection committee, especially after a 7-6 loss to sixth-ranked Dartmouth on Friday.

Next Sunday, the committee will announce the 16 teams that will go on to postseason play.

UNC delivered under pressure with a 20-5 pummeling of Massachusetts.

"We took out our frustration today, and I think that was big deal for us," UNC goalie Melissa Coyne said. "It was good to get a definitive win, to put Dartmouth out of our system and look forward to where we're going to be seeded in the tournament."

UNC (10-6) now must wait until Sunday to find out its postseason fate. North Carolina coach Jenny Slingluff Levy said the Tar Heels are hoping for a 6, 7 or 8 seed, which would give them home-field advantage in a first-round matchup.

"The tournament is going to be really competitive. All 16 teams are going to be good," Slingluff Levy said. "There's a lot of parity in the league this year, so it should be wide open."

With the tournament still in the future, the Tar Heels were focused on Senior Day and their regular-season finale Sunday.

The win was the last regular-season game for Tar Heel seniors Amy Havrilla, Eden Rehillan, Kate McDaniel, Nicole Foran, Julia Marslender and Brooke Schildwater.

"This is a great group of seniors," Slingluff Levy said. "You can't say enough about kids who lead through hard work."

Havrilla showed the fruits of her hard work by scoring two goals in 1:01 to help push the Tar Heels out to an early 3-1 lead.

She was aided on offense by great performances from juniors Kellie Thompson, Erin McInnes and Lindsay Stone. The trio blistered the back of UMass' net early and often.

Thompson opened up UNC's offense by putting the ball in the back of the cage at 29:25 of the first half. She would add four more goals and two assists during the course of the game.

McInnes scored back-to-back goals at the 20:18 and 16:51 marks en route to tallying three goals and one assist on the day.

Stone followed her teammates' lead, netting four goals and adding two assists.

"Coming off Friday's loss, it was important for us to put everything together," Stone said. "That was our goal for the day."

With the attackers scoring at will, the defense had to hold its own if that goal was to be reached. Coyne and the Tar Heel defenders didn't disappoint.

Coyne allowed four goals in 42 minutes of work before she was replaced by backup Margaret Garofalo. Garofalo kept up the defensive intensity, yielding one goal during the last 18 minutes of the matchup.

"Today was a great game for our whole team," Havrilla said. "Defense, offense: everybody played together as a unit."

With the cohesiveness of the team intact, the Tar Heels should be confident if they get a chance in the second season.

Said Coyne, "The NCAAs are a new season, and I really think this team can do a lot of damage."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.