Carly Reed Lifts UNC Women's Lax Past Penn State, Into Title Game

Just over a minute into Friday’s NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Semifinal between No. 3 UNC and the Penn State Nittany Lions, Tar Heel midfielder Carly Reed received a pass from teammate Aly Messinger and put it in the back of the net.

That was simply foreshadowing for what was to come.

The junior from Alexandria, Virginia ended up scoring five times, as UNC survived a late Penn State rally to win by a score of 12-11–lifting head coach Jenny Levy’s Tar Heels to their second straight National Championship Game appearance, and third in the last four seasons.

Aly Messinger scored two goals and had two assists in UNC’s win over Penn State. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

By holding off the pesky Nittany Lions (14-7), UNC (19-2) also set a school record with its 16 straight win.

Aly Messinger (two goals, two assists) and Marie McCool (one goal, three assists) each contributed four points to the Tar Heel cause, while Sammy Jo Tracy scored the team’s final two goals midway through the second half.

Despite leading 12-7 with just under 15 minutes to play following Tracy’s second goal, the Tar Heels had already allowed Penn State to pull off a 5-0 run earlier in the game.

UNC scored its first three goals before the Nittany Lions responded by finding the back of the net on each of their first five shots.

A switch at goalie–from Megan Ward to Caylee Waters–and a motivated performance by Reed swung momentum back over to the Tar Heels.

In the ten minutes leading up to halftime, Reed scored three consecutive goals. Waters’ effort in the net held Penn State to just one goal during that span–giving UNC a 7-6 lead at the break.

Momentum stayed with The Tar Heels as they exploded out of the locker room for five goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half–including another by Reed–while holding their opponents to just one.

Not wanting to go down without a fight, however, the Nittany Lions roared back by scoring four straight times over the next eight minutes.

Defender Abby Smucker led Penn State’s final run by notching a pair of goals, but the effort was snuffed out when UNC fell into a “prevent” offense of sorts.

The Tar Heels return to the National Championship for the third time in four years, hoping to repeat their success from 2013. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Their lead cut to just a single tally, the Tar Heels–who already run a patient attack centered around ball movement–unleashed the lacrosse equivalent of Dean Smith’s “Four Corners” offense over the final 7:18.

For nearly six minutes they played keep away from the Penn State defenders, never once appearing interested in taking a shot.

By the time they finally got the ball back, the Nittany Lions were only able to manage one more shot before the clock ran out.

UNC regained possession with 45 seconds left–then held on to lock up yet another trip to the season’s final game, a place they’ve become quite familiar with.

Up Next:

The National Championship game is scheduled for noon on Sunday, with UNC taking on the winner between No. 1 Maryland and No. 4 Syracuse.

Game Notes:

Penn State held UNC’s leading scorer, Molly Hendrick, to just one goal. She has 56 in the Tar Heels’ 21 games.
The Tar Heels haven’t lost since Feb. 27, when they fell 8-7 to top-ranked Maryland at home.
Waters saved eight of the 14 shots she faced after entering the game in goal for UNC midway through the first half.

FINAL STATS

Carly Reed Lifts UNC Women’s Lax Past Penn State, Into Title Game

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