Second half propels Tar Heels

In a slow-paced, scrappy game that saw a combined 50 fouls and three yellow cards, the Tar Heels topped Richmond on scoring contributions from six players.

The No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels held off a pesky Richmond lacrosse team Sunday by defeating the Spiders 14-8 at Fetzer Field.

The Tar Heels started quickly with four goals in seven minutes, including two back-to-back goals by sophomore Kara Cannizzaro. But the Spiders’ zone defense swiftly shut down UNC’s offense, only allowing one additional goal in the first half.

“We started off the game really well in the first ten minutes and this is a common theme within our past few games, we just let off, let up and let them come back into the game,” senior Corey Donohoe said. “We need to fix that and make sure we’re going the full 60 minutes and not giving up at all.”

Last week’s ACC player of the week, Donohoe, finished with four goals. But it was the contribution of her fellow scorers, Cannizzaro and junior Kaitlyn Messinger that sealed the win for UNC.

“I was really happy with Kaitlyn’s play in the second half. I thought she showed courage,” UNC coach Jenny Levy said. “I thought her energy and how dynamic she was shooting the ball really helped our team and gave us a spark … I’m hoping that this game will be a confidence-builder for her going forward because this is the type of play that we need out of her.”

In a span of four minutes in the second half, Messinger added three goals for the Tar Heels and stretched the UNC lead to four goals.
Cannizzaro scored her final goal with 10:08 remaining in the game to push the UNC lead to 11-7 and force a Richmond timeout. The break in the action did not stop the Tar Heels’ momentum as they finished the game with three additional goals, including two by Donohoe.

Although the Tar Heels amassed 33 shots, the stifling Richmond zone defense resulted in only 14 of the shots making it in the cage. The Spiders’ goalkeeper Victoria Roebuck had 11 saves on the day.

“The goalie did a good job, credit to her and we were moving half speed through feeds and through cuts and when you move at half speed, you shoot at half speed,” Levy said. “We are a better shooting team than what we did today.”

While the Tar Heels struggled offensively, the defense withheld the determined Spiders, earning 20 ground balls to Richmond’s 13 and only allowing Richmond to take 16 shots.

“Any time you hold an opponent to under ten goals, I think that’s good. We’ve been doing that consistently,” Levy said.

The Tar Heels may have escaped with a win, but they will certainly face challenges down the road that will continue to test their capabilities.

Next on the Tar Heels’ slate is the No. 2 Northwestern Wildcats, who defeated UNC in the final four last season.

“Every team that we play this season is good and we’re their national championship game,” Levy said. “We are the standard that people are looking for — our first three games have not been a good indication of what we’re capable of doing.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.