Jamie Ortega put together her best game of the young season Sunday against Louisville, scoring six goals, all in the first half, and adding in three assists for a total of nine points in a 21-8 win for the No. 2 UNC women’s lacrosse team.

Two of Ortega’s six goals came in a 3-0 Carolina run in the game’s first four minutes. But unranked Louisville rallied back with three unanswered goals of their own, evening the game up with 3:33 to go in the opening quarter. That was as competitive as the game would get, as Carolina responded with a 7-1 run over the next eight minutes of game time. Andie Aldave secured herself a hat trick with three goals in the run, while Ortega added two more to her total.

After two Louisville goals cut the deficit to 10-6, four more UNC scores, including a pair from Ortega, blew the game open by halftime. Two UNC goals to open the second half effectively put the game on ice, but Aldave and Olivia Dirks each scored late in the game to ensure Carolina’s highest offensive output of the season. The Tar Heels have scored 61 goals over their last three games.

Aldave tied Ortega with a career-high six goals on the day, and Ally Mastroianni contributed a hat trick of her own in the win. Seven different Tar Heels found the back of the net against the Cardinals, while Sam Geiersbach dished out a team-high four assists.

Carolina is now 8-0 on the season, with no game being decided by fewer than four goals. Up next, the team will go on the road for the first time since late February to take on No. 1 Boston College next Sunday. It will be a rematch of the 2021 Final Four, in which the Eagles defeated the Tar Heels on their way to a national title.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications


Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.