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The Daily Tar Heel

No. 3 UNC women's lacrosse topples Campbell, 16-5, in final nonconference game

Women's lax UVA Ortega Warehime
Sophomore attacker Jamie Ortega (3) and first-year attacker Tayler Warehime (22) play during UNC Women's lacrosse first ACC game. UNC defeated UVA 13-12 at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 9, 2019.

In its final game before ACC play, the No. 3 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team demolished Campbell, 16-5, on Tuesday afternoon at UNC Lacrosse Stadium. 

What happened?

The Tar Heels (8-1, 1-0 ACC) used a series of runs to bury the Camels (3-5) well before the first half was even over. By the 24:31 mark, UNC’s leading goal-scorer, sophomore attacker Jamie Ortega had already scored three of her four goals to give the Tar Heels a 4-0 lead. 

Campbell responded with its first goal of the game with 23:01 left to play until halftime. Camels senior midfielder Sarah Paul passed the ball to the left side of the net to senior attacker Ellie Allen, who zipped a ball by the right side of UNC sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Moreno.

But the Camels couldn’t build momentum off their goal, and the Tar Heels continued to exert their dominance. UNC scored four more unanswered goals in the next 7:22 — a stretch in which senior midfielder Kara Klages, Ortega, graduate midfielder Ida Farinholt and first-year attacker Tayler Warehime all found the back of the net. 

Senior midfielder Melissa Placek scored Camels’ second goal to end their drought at the 14:24 mark of the first half, but the Tar Heels went to halftime on a 5-0 run and had a 13-2 lead.

Even when Campbell came out of the lockerroom with an aggressive approach in the final 30 minutes of play — Allen scored her second goal of the game 22 seconds into the second half — it was all but too late. 

UNC went on cruise control for the rest of the game and only scored three more times to finish with an 11-goal win.

Who stood out?

In a game in which nine different Tar Heels found the back of the net, Ortega’s game still separated her from anyone on the field. The 2018 National Freshman of the Year set the UNC first-year record for goals scored with 70 last season. This season, she has 36 goals with six games left in the regular season. 

The Centereach, N.Y. native scored all four of her goals in the first 13 minutes of the game to give her team a 6-1 advantage. Then, she celebrated her teammates’ goals as they finished off the Camels. 

When was it decided?

When Ortega scored her fourth goal to give UNC a 6-1 lead with 17:17 left to play in the first half, the game was all but over. And when sophomore attacker Taylor McDaniels’ free position goal put the Tar Heels up by 10, it was safe to say the nail was in the coffin. 

Why does it matter?

UNC played its last nonconference game against a pesky Campbell team, but the road ahead will be anything but easy for the Tar Heels. Of their final six games of the regular season — all against ACC opponents — four will be against top-15 teams: Boston College, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Duke. 

The Tar Heels have wins against four ranked opponents already, but the final month of the season should provide a clearer picture of just how far of a run UNC can make in the postseason.

When do they play next?

North Carolina will face its toughest test of the season when it hosts No. 1 Boston College on Saturday at noon in UNC Lacrosse Stadium. 

@pupadhyaya_

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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