A long road trip didn’t seem to affect the No. 2 UNC women’s lacrosse team’s game on Saturday, as the Tar Heels took down No. 7 Florida in Gainesville for their third win in a row to start the season.

As with the team’s opening road trip to No. 12 James Madison, the Tar Heels fell behind early in a hostile environment. The Gators led 2-1 after 11 minutes. But redshirt junior midfielder Elizabeth Hillman would answer Florida’s second goal with one of her own just 18 seconds later off a free position shot. The goal, Hillman’s first of the season, would start an offensive avalanche for the Tar Heels to end the quarter.

Fifth-year attacker Jamie Ortega would give Carolina the lead with her seventh goal of the season a minute later, before Scottie Rose Growney followed up with her second of the game and sixth of the season. Sophomore Caitlyn Wurzburger cashed in an assist from Growney with 28 seconds left in the quarter to punctuate a 4-0 run for Carolina inside four minutes. Thus, a 2-1 deficit became a 5-2 lead.

Florida cut the lead to 7-6 in the second quarter, before Hillman’s second score of the game and Olivia Dirks’ first gave the Tar Heels a valuable cushion going into halftime. The two goals came in a 44-second span, with Dirks netting hers with one tick remaining on the clock.

Two goals from Andie Aldave, another from Ortega and a third from Hillman in the third quarter helped Carolina pull away, but Ortega would score one more in the final period to join Hillman and Aldave in the Tar Heel hat trick parade. It’s Ortega’s 56th career game with three goals or more.

Graduate goalie Taylor Moreno was once again a stalwart in net for head coach Jenny Levy and the Tar Heels, extending her own school record with her 51st career win. Moreno made a season-high eight saves Saturday against the Gators and played all 60 minutes.

The road warrior Tar Heels will stay in unfriendly confines for their next game, a date at Pittsburgh on February 24 in the team’s ACC opener. That means Carolina will have played three of its opening four games on the road, though the game with the Panthers is followed by a four-game homestand at Dorrance Field. The game will be the first between the two programs since Pittsburgh began sponsoring women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Lacrosse on Twitter

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