No. 2 UNC women's lacrosse opens ACC season with 15-5 road win over Pittsburgh

The No. 2 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team (4-0, 1-0 ACC) opened up ACC play with a 15-5 win over Pittsburgh (3-1, 0-1 ACC) on the road on Thursday evening.

What happened?

Fifth-year attacker Jamie Ortega struck first for the Tar Heels on a free position shot within the first two minutes of the game. Pittsburgh responded with a goal from attacker Kate Elam less than two minutes later.

A few moments after a shot from sophomore attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger missed wide, Ortega tied the all-time UNC scoring record, held by former teammate Katie Hoeg. Junior attacker Melissa Sconone stood behind the cage and found a cutting Ortega to put North Carolina up, 2-1.

UNC went on to notch five unanswered goals, going on a scoring run that ran well into the second quarter. Sconone found fifth-year attacker Scottie Rose Growney for a goal to close out the first period, then assisted on the next two goals to Growney and Wurzburger. 

An extra-man opportunity allowed a Growney goal off an assist from junior midfielder Livi Lawton. With the Panthers struggling to find the back of the cage, the Tar Heels continued to get clean looks, with junior midfielder Nicole Humphrey finding junior midfielder Olivia Dirks for a score.

Pittsburgh ended the scoring drought when attacker Carlie Leach slung the ball past graduate goalkeeper Taylor Moreno with less than three minutes to play in the half. The teams headed into the locker room at halftime with North Carolina 7-2.

Ortega was awarded a free position shot center to the cage two minutes into the second half, but the upper-90 attempt glanced off the post. On the next possession, she curled around the right side of the cage and slung the ball into the net to break UNC’s all-time scoring record for her third goal of the game.

Pittsburgh responded with a goal, but it was quickly negated when Dirks had an isolation situation with Pittsburgh midfielder Dylana Williams. The Big Ten midfielder of the year jabbed right to shake Williams, who fell. Seconds later, Dirks buried the ball into the back of the net to extend the Tar Heel lead to six.

Goals from graduate midfielder Ally Mastroianni and Wurzburger put North Carolina up 11-3 halfway through the third period. UNC scored once more before the fourth quarter.

From there, Growney scored her fourth goal to extend the lead to ten points, putting game time on a running clock. The Panthers capitalized on the Tar Heels’ secondary unit with consecutive goals, but by then, the game was out of reach.

Who stood out?

Growney led the team with four goals, followed by Ortega’s three goals and two assists. Additionally, Dirks’ shiftiness helped her earn the team’s third hat trick on an efficient five shots and zero turnovers.

In the midfield, Mastroianni dominated on draw controls, winning 11 for the Tar Heels.

Leach led the scoring effort for the Panthers with a hat trick on only four shots and no turnovers.

When was it decided?

North Carolina’s 6-0 first half scoring run that lasted almost twenty minutes of game time provided a robust lead that the Tar Heels wouldn’t relinquish.

Additionally, UNC controlled the ball offensively for a heavy majority of the contest, more than doubling Pittsburgh in shot attempts. Moreover, the Tar Heels dominated draw controls and committed significantly less fouls — UNC won 19 to Pitt’s 5 draw controls and had 12 fouls to the Panthers’ 31. 

North Carolina’s sharper passing, coupled with it succeeding on all 17 clear attempts as opposed to Pittsburgh going 17-25, awarded the Tar Heels significantly more possessions. The Tar Heel defense frustrated the Panthers, forcing them to earn every clearing.

Why does it matter?

Ortega is now 73 points away from becoming ACC’s career points leader and needs 65 goals to break the NCAA career goals record. As a focal point of the Tar Heel offense, Ortega is expected to continue creating scoring opportunities, both for herself and her teammates.

This was also Pittsburgh’s first ACC matchup in program history, as its women’s lacrosse team was established in 2020.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels return to Dorrance Field on Sunday morning to face Jacksonville at 11 a.m.

@danielhwei

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com