UNC women's lacrosse extends win streak to 7

The North Carolina’s women’s lacrosse team used its spring break to make its lone, season-opening loss to Florida look like even more of a fluke.

The No. 3 Tar Heels (7-1, 1-0 ACC) stretched their winning streak since that game to seven, with victories against Virginia, High Point and, on Saturday, a 17-11 victory against No. 8 Georgetown.

Each victory was evidence of a distinct type of progress since the loss to the Gators.

“This team is a work in progress, and I believe greatly that with each day and each game we’re going to continue to improve,” coach Jenny Levy said after Saturday’s game against the Hoyas. “They just need little reminders to help them stay focused and on track so they know what we expect of them.”

In their 8-7 win against the Cavaliers last weekend, the Tar Heels showed they could win close, low-scoring games.

Against High Point on Tuesday, the entire bench cleared in a demonstration of UNC’s depth and extended the final margin of victory to 15-6.

And in its contest against top-10 opponent Georgetown, North Carolina showed it could dominate at a game’s beginning and end.

The Tar Heels jumped out to a 7-1 lead during the first 18 minutes of the game.

Despite allowing Georgetown to close the gap to 11-10 during the second half, UNC finished with a 6-1 run to put the game away.

Spring break presented the risk of distraction, but it also offered an opportunity for UNC to hone its focus.

Levy said the hiatus was not unwelcome for her players, who enjoy being able to play wall-to-wall lacrosse for a week.

“These guys like to play lacrosse,” Levy said. “It’s not a chore for them — it’s enjoyable, it’s part of what they want to do. The … break from academics has been nice for them. But they’re college kids, and they want to have a good time and they want to loosen up a little bit.”

As UNC conquered inconsistency and late-game fading as a team, junior attacker Abbey Friend’s nagging knee injury from the fall season seemed to no longer be an obstacle.

Friend scored five goals and made an assist against Georgetown.

“I’ve kind of been up and down this season with my injury and pain levels,” she said. “I’m just trying to stay confident in my dodging and shooting, things like that.”

She exemplified that new confidence in her knee as she took advantage of Georgetown’s less-athletic defenders to draw pressure behind the cage and swing around the post for unobstructed shots on goal.

North Carolina used its collective athletic advantage to score 17 goals against the Hoyas, although just two of those goals were assisted.

Levy said she was impressed with her players’ ability to create scoring opportunities in one-on-one situations, but said better passing could add another dimension to her team’s play.

“We’re very athletic, and because we haven’t played a lot together, this particular group, it takes a while to develop that chemistry and that trust to put the ball in in hot moments,” Levy said. “For us, that’s the next step of really being a powerhouse.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.