The women’s lacrosse team at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is two victories away from claiming what would be the program’s third national championship.
Behind three goals and two assists from Andie Aldave last Thursday, the Tar Heels beat Stony Brook at home, 8-5, to advance to the Final Four. Next up for undefeated UNC is a meeting with Northwestern in Baltimore on Friday.
If UNC is triumphant, they’ll face the winner of No. 2 Maryland and No. 3 Boston College on Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s next for the Tar Heels on their quest for championship gold.
- Seed: 1st
- Record: 20-0
- Coach: Jenny Levy (20th season)
- Top Scorer: Jamie Ortega (64 goals, 41 assists)
- Goalkeeper: Taylor Moreno (152 saves, 8.13 goals-against average)
Fast Facts
The Tar Heels are armed with the ACC Attacker of the Year (Ortega), the ACC Midfielder of the Year (Ally Mastroianni), the ACC Defender of the Year (Emma Trenchard) and the ACC Coach of the Year (Levy). The only conference award UNC didn’t win was Freshman of the Year.
Ortega, Mastroianni and Trenchard were also named First Team All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine.
Since April 1, 2019, the Tar Heels have only lost two games, both of which were by a single goal each to Boston College in the NCAA Tournament.
UNC has been to 10 Final Fours in the last 13 years.
They Said It
“Holding (Stony Brook) to five goals is great. I thought the middle of our field did great, our draw crew did great. Our offense, it wasn't the performance they wanted, but they gutted it out. Sometimes you don't have to win pretty, you just need to advance.”
— UNC head coach Jenny Levy
“It takes every unit to win a national championship. To get through these hard games, credit to our defense and Taylor (Moreno) — it starts with her with the big saves.”
— UNC attacker Andie Aldave
Scouting Northwestern
The fifth-seeded Wildcats beat Central Michigan, Michigan, and Syracuse to reach the national semifinals. Northwestern has been powered by its offense, which averages 15.95 goals per-game, a mark that is 10th best in the nation.
But UNC is better, on paper and on the field. The Tar Heels have the nation’s second-best scoring offense this season, scoring 17.15 goals per-game. UNC also already beat Northwestern earlier this season, taking a 20-9 victory in a non-conference clash at Dorrance Field on March 6. Sam Geiersbach netted five goals for the Tar Heels.
Friday’s game between UNC and Northwestern from Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University will air live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. EST. ESPN will carry Sunday’s championship match-up at noon EST.
