The No. 1 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team (11-0, 4-0 ACC) continued their undefeated season as they defeated the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies (8-5, 2-3 ACC) by a score of 20-8 on Saturday.
What happened?
It was a closely-contested first quarter between the Tar Heels and the Hokies as both teams scored two goals. The Tar Heels managed to outshoot the Hokies in the first quarter, but graduate goalie Morgan Berman shined for the Hokies with three saves.
The Tar Heels’ offense got rolling in the second quarter as they scored seven unanswered goals to make the score 9-2. The Hokies pushed back with two quick goals before halftime, but the Tar Heels largely dominated the first half.
The Tar Heels continued to score goals nearly at will in the second half, putting home five more goals in the third quarter to make their total 14. North Carolina was patient moving the ball and always waited for the perfect opportunity to fire a shot, which contributed to their on-field success in a big way.
Who stood out?
Fifth-year senior attacker Scottie Rose Growney scored three goals for the Tar Heels in the first half while junior midfielder Olivia Dirks and senior midfielder Brooklyn Neuman each added two goals of their own. The Tar Heels had scored at least twenty goals in four of their past five games, and their electric offense showed no signs of slowing down.
In the second half, fifth-year senior attacker Jamie Ortega scored her third goal of the game and reached 300 career goals, which is third place all-time in NCAA women’s lacrosse. Ortega’s success today was accompanied by many more goals from her teammates as six Tar Heels had at least two goals in the game.
