UNC women's lacrosse extends winning streak to 11

Since its season-opening loss to then-No. 3 Florida, the North Carolina women’s lacrosse team hasn’t lost any of the 11 games it has played for the second-longest winning streak in school history.

But that doesn’t mean UNC has always dominated.

UNC’s composure when trailing propelled it to Thursday and Saturday road wins against Duke and Virginia Tech, respectively.

In Durham, the Tar Heels weathered a seesaw battle to best the Blue Devils 12-11 in overtime. Saturday, the Tar Heels overcame a 6-3 first-half deficit to beat the Hokies 18-11.

UNC coach Jenny Levy said the Tar Heels’ 18-9 advantage in draw controls against Duke helped keep her team in the game.

“I thought the draw was really effective,” Levy said. “They do a really nice job of putting pressure on the defense, and they’re tough, and if you win the draw you have a better chance to score with possessions.”

Midfielder Brittney Coppa opened up the scoring for UNC just 65 seconds in, but the Blue Devils responded with four unanswered goals.

The teams were knotted at five by halftime, but Duke would grab a 9-7 lead with 19:15 left, again testing UNC.

Then, UNC’s leading scorer Kara Cannizzaro emerged, righting her game after converting on just one of her five shots in the first half.

“I pulled her out at one time just to get a break, and she’s like, ‘I’m just not playing that well,’” Levy said. “I’m like, ‘Just let the game come to you. You’re fine. … Run the midfield.’ She had a better second half. She’s a cog for us.”

Cannizzaro lessened Duke’s lead to 9-8, gave UNC a 10-9 lead with 14:38 left and scored the go-ahead goal in overtime, falling into the crease while being pushed in the back by a Duke defender.

“Coming from the crease, I like to think I’m a little bigger than I actually am,” the 5-foot-6 midfielder said. “I’m not really too worried about getting hit down low. I’ll get up.”

That “I’ll get up” mentality helped UNC come from behind in both of this weekend’s games.

But the Blue Devils threatened once more when they gained possession with 50 seconds left, and attacker Makenzie Hommel surged through the 8-meter arc for a clear shot.

UNC goalkeeper Lauren Maksym was there to deflect the shot, though, and UNC celebrated its eighth win against Duke in the teams’ last 10 meetings.

“I wasn’t making all the saves throughout the game, but I knew I had to make that one,” she said. “We had a gameplan, we executed it and I just stepped out hard to the shot and made the save when I needed it.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.