The No. 1 UNC women’s lacrosse team continued its unbeaten season Thursday night, taking control early against No. 15 Virginia and never looking back in a 17-7 win. The Tar Heels are now 14-0 overall and 7-0 in ACC play.

A 6-0 Carolina run in the first quarter, in which six different Tar Heels scored, turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 UNC lead. Graduate midfielder Ally Mastroianni got the run started with the first of her four goals on the night, which tied a season-high. Jamie Ortega, Andie Aldave, Scottie Rose Growney, Olivia Dirks and Sam Geiersbach would all get in on the action before the first quarter clock expired. The run took just over nine minutes to complete.

The margin would get no closer than four goals for the rest of the game, with Carolina scoring the final five goals of the game to truly put it on ice. Virginia didn’t find the back of the net at all in the fourth quarter, and Ortega secured a hat trick by scoring the final goal of the game with 32 seconds remaining. It was Ortega’s team-leading fifth point of the night (three goals, two assists), which improved her career total to 429, just 16 behind the all-time ACC record of 445.

In net, goalie Taylor Moreno won her 62nd game as a starter for Carolina, while making eight saves for the second consecutive game. She has made 32 saves in the last three games, improving her season total to 99.

The win is the 20th in UNC’s last 21 games with Virginia, its 18th straight road win, 40th straight regular season win and 49th in the last 51 games overall. It also marked the final regular season road game for Carolina (the possibility still remains of facing host Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament), who will return home to Dorrance Field for Senior Night next Thursday against No. 7 Duke. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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