The reigning national champions began their title defense with a win Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill. The No. 1 UNC women’s lacrosse team is 1-0 in 2023 after a 14-9 win over No. 12 James Madison at Dorrance Field.

The team has now won 23 consecutive games overall and 34 straight at home. Junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger, now suddenly one of the few veteran players on a mostly inexperienced squad, scored Carolina’s first two goals of the season in the first quarter, each of which answered go-ahead goals from James Madison.

The game remained tight until midway through the third quarter, when four unanswered goals from the Tar Heels gave them a comfortable 12-6 advantage. UNC was able to withstand three consecutive goals from the Dukes in the fourth quarter to claim the win.

Freshman midfielder Marissa White made her collegiate debut a memorable one: she led the team with five goals on the day. She’s the first Carolina freshman to score five goals in one game since Wurzburger did so in the 2021 season. Junior attacker Reilly Casey, making her first collegiate start, scored a hat trick of her own and added three assists to one-up White on points, 6-5. By contrast, Casey only recorded nine in the entire 2022 season.

Wurzburger was the only other Tar Heel with multiple goals, and she also added three assists to move into a tie for 10th in program history in that category. Melissa Sconone, Nicole Humphrey, Brooklyn Neuman and junior transfer Sophie Student each scored once. Sophomore goalkeeper Alecia Nicholas made 14 saves in her first collegiate start.

The win marked the 58th time in 60 games Carolina has scored at least 10 goals. It’s also the program’s 58th win in the last 60 games and 50th in the last 51. Head coach Jenny Levy is four wins away from 400 in her career. She can move a little closer on Wednesday when Liberty visits Chapel Hill at 5 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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