UNC women's lacrosse soars past Boston College in ACC semifinal

No. 3 North Carolina women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy doesn’t care about the story.

The fact that top-ranked Maryland (19-0, 6-0 ACC) has defeated her squad in the ACC Championship game three years in a row is now in the back of her mind.

“The bottom line is the game has no memory,” she said following UNC’s 16-6 victory against No. 14 Boston College (12-7, 4-3 ACC) in the ACC tournament semifinal Friday.

The win sends UNC (14-2, 5-1 ACC) to Sunday’s championship game against Maryland as the Tar Heels and Terrapins will add just another chapter to their already storied history.

“It’s always a great matchup, and Maryland’s a great team, a great program. Obviously, they’re coming into Sunday undefeated,” Levy said.

“They’re very talented, they’re very aggressive, and they’re a lot to handle. They’re a really good program, so we’re excited.”

Excitement — it has served the team well all season and was what carried the Tar Heels to their victory Friday.

After losing the initial draw and falling short to a quick Boston College goal in the opening minute, the Tar Heels were able to put feelings of frustration on hold and rallied back less than four minutes later to take a lead they would not surrender for the rest of the game.

UNC’s balanced offensive attack put eight different Tar Heels on the board — something Levy said came as a result of the squad’s killer attacking mentality.

Junior Abbey Friend and freshman Aly Messinger led the Tar Heels with four and three goals, respectively. Taylor George, Brittney Coppa and Devin Markison each netted two while Kara Cannizzaro, Kelly Devlin and Jessica Griffin chipped in one apiece.

Messinger said her youth isn’t dwelled upon, and her teammates continue to express their confidence in her.

“I don’t look at myself as a freshman because of my teammates. They don’t look at me as a freshman. They trust in me, and I trust in them,” she said.

Though Levy said the aggressive offense was the difference in Friday’s game, she commended her squad’s powerful defense, as did Boston College coach Acacia Walker.

“They just have this furious defense that is relentless with pressure, and they’re fast and powerful,” Walker said.

“We had a little bit of trouble with it today.”

Friend said her team’s maturity will serve the athletes well Sunday as she expressed excitement for the matchup.

“Being in the (championship game) the past two years and coming out with losses both times definitely gives our team, and me specifically, some fire going into Sunday,” Friend said.