First-year Marissa White flashes greatness in first ever collegiate game against No. 14 JMU

With the North Carolina women’s lacrosse team losing a generational goal-scorer in Jamie Ortega after she graduated, it was up in the air as to who would fill her shoes. In a 14-9 season-opening win against James Madison, the Tar Heels may have found the answer.

First-year midfielder Marissa White recorded a five-goal outing in her first game in a North Carolina uniform. She became the first UNC first-year to have at least five goals in a game since her teammate, junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger, did the same in the Tar Heels’ regular season game against Duke in 2021. 

Junior attacker Reilly Casey also stepped up in the Tar Heels’ season opener, collecting three goals and three assists.

Nothing came easy against an aggressive JMU defense. The Dukes played an extremely physical 40 minutes of lacrosse, and it was not easy to create scoring opportunities through the defenders stacked in front of the goal. 

Luckily for White, she already had some practice playing against some of the best defenders in the country.

“Going against our defense everyday just prepares the offense for every game and gives us confidence going into it,” White said.

In the first two quarters, the Tar Heels couldn't get in an offensive rhythm. The Dukes defense seemed to continuously cause problems when North Carolina tried to attack the goal, causing a multitude of turnovers and easy saves by JMU goalie Kat Buchanan.

“I thought the ball movement was really good in the first half,” UNC women’s lacrosse head coach Jenny Levy said. “We just missed some really easy feeding opportunities.”

JMU found themselves carrying the momentum in the early portions of the game. Soon, the Tar Heels found themselves looking for a late spark at the end of the first quarter.

It was none other than White who gave North Carolina just what they were looking for. She scored her first goal as a Tar Heel with just 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter to tie the game at three goals each. With 2 seconds left in the period, White found the back of the net again. Casey drove to the net and found White cutting down the lane, and White drilled the ball into the top left corner of the net to give the Tar Heels a 4-3 advantage going into the second quarter.

In the second half, North Carolina quickly began to look like a No. 1 team. The Tar Heels began to attack closer to the goal and drew 16 fouls compared to eight in the first half. 

“We have a big focus on communication,” White said. “So definitely, against their zone, communicating and working together definitely helped us.”

As soon as JMU seemed to gain an ounce of momentum, the Tar Heels responded with a scoring streak. Three UNC goals, two from Casey and one from White, ensured that North Carolina had the grit to finish out the game. 

Casey executed a beautifully-designed play towards the end of the third quarter, as Wurzbuger dished it to her from behind the net and she beat the goalie with three seconds left on the shot clock. It was the dagger that clinched the Tar Heels’ first victory of the season.

“That is something that we work on a lot in practice,” Casey said. “Just game and time management, and setting the right cut at the right time.”

In addition to having an explosive offensive performance, Levy emphasized how important it is to be able to adjust to different defensive styles throughout the game.

“They changed at the end of the game into a man defense and that didn’t cause us any issues,” Levy said. “That was great for us, because we’re young, and how we responded to that was top-notch.”

Despite a back-and-forth first 15 minutes of the season, North Carolina quickly discovered that it can rely on its newcomers and returners to fill the shoes of those that have since left the program. 

While the road ahead is not easy, the Tar Heels know they are in good hands despite losing valuable offensive playmakers and defensive hounds from last season’s championship-winning team.

@j_kidd03

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