Women’s lacrosse flies past Cornell despite scoreless start

After enduring more than six minutes of scoreless play and facing a one-goal deficit, North Carolina women’s lacrosse looked like it might struggle against Cornell.

Then Corey Donohoe scored on a charging run from a free position shot. Less than a minute later, Donohoe put another one past the goalkeeper.

Margaret Corzel tallied another point on the board for UNC 15 seconds later. Less than two minutes later, Kara Cannizzaro successfully fired and capped a 4-1, three-minute-long run that put the Tar Heels ahead for good.

“We generate so much momentum from gaining possession of the draw and in transition,” coach Jenny Levy said. “If you do things like that and get everyone involved, it’s a really great momentum shift for us.

“That really generated some enthusiasm getting the next goal and doing it again.”

UNC never looked back after the momentum-shifting spurt that put the Tar Heels ahead 4-2, allowing just three more goals while tacking on 10 more in the 14-5 victory.

But it wasn’t always easy for UNC against the Big Red.

Cornell won the opening draw and dominated possession early. When the Tar Heels did have the ball, they struggled to get open looks.

The few openings UNC was able to find in the defense amounted to nothing. Donohoe was stifled on the first free position of the game when Cornell’s Kyla Dambach made a pocket save on her shot.

“Sometimes shooters need to feel out the goalie, maybe feel out the defense,” Levy said. “I just told them to keep shooting, move, share the ball and whatever offense we’re in, let’s run it right.”

The Tar Heels did just that.

Each of the Big Red’s two early goals was answered quickly by Donohoe, who sparked the 4-1 spurt that put UNC in the driver’s seat.

“Throughout the game those options were there,” Donohoe said. “It was just a matter of catching and throwing, hitting the right cutter.”

Once Donohoe evened the score at two, the Tar Heels found their transition game. Laura Zimmerman took control of the ball and was able to create space by making runs down the field and behind the net. Zimmerman recorded assists in both of the next goals in the run.

Zimmerman’s on-the-ball presence brought the stability a stagnant Tar Heel offense needed.

“I think we were just smarter with the ball,” Donohoe said. “We rushed things in the beginning.

“The ideas were right and the movement was right … it was just about making that connection.”

UNC rode the momentum of the burst all the way to halftime. In the six minutes following the run, Zimmerman added a goal and another assist, and Cannizzaro scored, too.

Donohoe said UNC’s ability to churn out a dominating run despite a slow start is a reflection of the team’s winning mindset.

“No one hung their head this game,” she said. “Everyone was really positive all over the field.”

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