Looking to turn its recently-earned ACC Championship into something more, the No. 3 UNC women’s lacrosse team first had to take care of an old rival in its NCAA Tournament opener.
The Tar Heels showed no signs of being intimidated however, turning up the heat in the second half of their 15-10 win over the Duke Blue Devils at Fetzer Field on Sunday.
Duke played UNC tight in the Tar Heels’ 7-6 win in the ACC Tournament back on April 29, but the Blue Devils weren’t able to hang around for all 60 minutes this time.
Not once during the game did UNC (17-2) trail the Blue Devils (11-9), as junior Molly Hendrick poured in four goals to help lead a dominant offensive showing by the home team.
Sammy Jo Tracy added three goals and two assists to the Tar Heel cause, while Aly Messinger, Carly Reed and Ela Hazar each found the back of the net twice.
Aly Messinger had two goals against Duke in the NCAA Tournament, including one during UNC’s second half surge. (TheACC.com)
Each of Hazar’s goals came during a deciding run after halftime, where UNC turned its slim, 9-8 lead into a comfortable victory.
Just 10 minutes was all the Tar Heels needed in the second half to build a 12-9 advantage–which was their largest lead of the day.
The goals kept on coming over the next ten minutes, with UNC eventually going ahead 14-9 before Duke scored another.
Reed then put the finishing touches on the Tar Heels’ effort by scoring their 15th–and final–goal.
No scoring by either side occurred over the final 11 minutes.
UNC was more than happy to sit on the lead after a back-and-forth first half where it failed to break free, and surrendered hat tricks to Duke’s Grace Fallon and Kelci Smesko.
Fallon and Smesko each scored once more in the second half–finishing with four goals apiece–but the Blue Devil offense ran dry due to a lack of other options.
The Tar Heel women now join their male lacrosse counterparts in the NCAA Quarterfinals, just one win away from their fifth appearance in the Final Four in the last seven seasons.
Up Next:
Awaiting UNC is the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The quarterfinals are scheduled to be played on May 21 and 22, with game times not yet determined.
Game Notes:
- Hendrick’s first goal for UNC was her 50th of the season. By the end of the game her total was up to 53.
- UNC had a slight edge over Duke in ground-ball pickups, leading 16-14 in that category.
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