UNC women's lacrosse's Taylor Moreno wins record 50th game as a goalkeeper against Furman

 At a glance, a blowout win over an unranked team doesn’t strike one as a historic game.

The No. 2 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team routed Furman, 20-7, at Dorrance Field on Wednesday. The Tar Heels have now won 29 of their past 30 games, and it’s the first of many matches the high-scoring team will emerge victorious from this season.

But it also marks the beginning of the end for certain UNC legends, notably graduate goalkeeper Taylor Moreno and graduate attacker Jamie Ortega. 

Moreno broke the program’s all-time record for goalkeeper wins, notching her 50th victory. During her 30 minutes at the cage, she had two saves and held the Paladins to two goals.

“Wow, I wasn’t even really thinking about that,” Moreno said. “I completely forgot. It’s obviously a testament to my teammates because I wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for them.”

Ortega, who is Moreno’s roommate, praised the goalkeeper’s hard work and expressed gratitude that she stayed in the program a sixth year.

“I’ve been able to play five years here with her,” Ortega said. “I don’t think anyone else is more deserving. Since I’ve been here, she’s been our rock.”

Ortega, herself, will be rewriting the record books this season.  She’s now seven points shy of becoming the all-time leading UNC scorer, a record currently held by her former teammate Katie Hoeg. 

And she’s closing the gap fast — Ortega has now scored five or more goals nine times in her last 17 games.

“(Jamie) does a great job of reading the defense,” head coach Jenny Levy said. “I thought she played really clean tonight.”

Ortega and sophomore attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger spearheaded a dominant 14-2 first half, scoring or assisting on nine goals. Ortega scored the first two goals just two minutes into the game, with Wurzburger later dishing out three assists, fueling an offense that appeared to be scoring at will.

At one point, Wurzburger even snuck in a solo, no-look goal over her shoulder to put the Tar Heels up 6-0 — just one of several highlights featured during the first half’s offensive spectacle.

“Half the time she does things, I’m like, ‘How the hell do you do that?’” Ortega said. “Like, I cannot do that.”

Ortega, Wurzburger and Moreno are among six Tar Heels on the initial Tewaaraton Award watch list, which is awarded to the nation’s top college lacrosse player. No school has more players on the list.

The others — junior midfielder Olivia Dirks, graduate midfielder Ally Mastroianni and fifth-year defender Emma Trenchard — help round out an exceptionally experienced starting lineup for North Carolina.

“For us, it’s just a matter of being consistently locked in and obviously not taking any opponent lightly,” Moreno said. “We obviously want to go in there and play our best version of lacrosse.”

After falling short to Boston College in the NCAA semifinals last year, the Tar Heels have come into this season firing on all cylinders. Defeating No. 12 James Madison 15-8 on the road and torching Furman sends a clear message: North Carolina is looking to win it all this year.

It’s Ortega and Moreno’s final season donning the light blue, among several veteran standouts. Wurzburger has flourished in her role, replacing the record-breaking facilitating Hoeg brought to the offense.

With battle-hardened superstars dotted all over the field, the Tar Heels look well-equipped to make a legendary redemption run — one record at a time.

@danielhwei

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com 

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