The UNC women’s lacrosse team will compete for its sixth consecutive ACC tournament title next weekend, but that chance did not come easy. The No. 1 Tar Heels nearly saw their undefeated season come crashing down Sunday in the ACC semifinals, trailing 5-0 against hosts Notre Dame early before fighting off a fourth-quarter rally to win, 14-13.

UNC’s five goal deficit in the first quarter was its largest of the entire season. The only silver lining was that the Tar Heels had practically the entire game to respond. And that response came quickly, as Scottie Rose Growney stayed hot with a goal just eight seconds after Notre Dame’s fifth to put UNC on the board.

Growney’s goal started a 7-0 run for the Tar Heels which lasted into the second quarter. Growney punctuated the run with two more goals within 54 seconds of each other, giving Carolina the lead and officially turning the game on its head. Growney had herself a first-half hat trick after scoring after scoring five times in UNC’s quarterfinal win against Pitt.

Carolina kept its foot on the gas pedal in the third quarter, with Notre Dame graduate transfer Andie Aldave’s third goal of the game giving the Tar Heels a 12-6 lead. When paired with the 7-0 run in the first half, UNC had outscored the Fighting Irish 12-1 in approximately 25 minutes of game time.

But the hosts wouldn’t go down easily. Fired up by the South Bend crowd, Notre Dame scored six of the next seven goals, cutting the lead back down to one with 6:32 remaining in the game. It took less than a minute for Growney to answer, netting her fourth goal of the game and first of the second half to provide Carolina with valuable breathing room. The Irish scored again with 1:38 to go, but couldn’t find the tying goal in the final seconds.

First team All-ACC honoree Taylor Moreno lived up to her title in net, making 12 saves on the afternoon, including three in the fourth quarter. The game was her 71st consecutive start as a Tar Heel, which extends her own school record. Star attacker Jamie Ortega dished out a pair of assists to move within four points of setting the all-time ACC record, but notably saw her goal-scoring streak snapped at 50 games against the Irish.

Notre Dame outscored Carolina in three of four quarters, but UNC won the second, 8-1. Those dominant 15 minutes proved to be the difference in the game. It’s only the second time this season Carolina has won by a single goal, and also marks the team’s eighth true road win this season.

In addition, the win is Carolina’s 17th straight in ACC Tournament play, which is the longest such streak in conference history. Next weekend’s championship, to be played in Chapel Hill against either Boston College or Virginia, will mark the seventh straight season and 11th time in 12 seasons the Tar Heels will play for the conference title. The game will be played on Saturday at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast on ACC Network.

 

Featured image via Atlantic Coast Conference

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