University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Syracuse
Syracuse Downs Tar Heels, 9-7
April 25, 2014 | Women's Lacrosse
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. - Second-seeded Syracuse scored three goals in the final 8:28 of the game to defeat third-seeded North Carolina, 9-7, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Friday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. With the victory, the Orange advances to Sunday's championship game against top-seeded Maryland, which beat Virginia, 15-9, in Friday's first semifinal.
Syracuse took a 4-0 lead in the first half and led most of the game until Carolina went on a 5-0, second-half run and grabbed its first lead of the day at 7-6 on a goal by Aly Messinger with 13:35 to go. The Orange tied it five minutes later and added two more goals to take a two-goal advantage, then maintained possession and kept the Tar Heels from mounting a comeback in the final five minutes.
"I thought the first half we dug ourselves in a bit of a hole because of all our turnovers on the offensive end," Tar Heel head coach Jenny Levy said. "You just can't dig a big hole against a team like Syracuse. They have a very potent offense and we needed to pull the ball in the back of the net. You're not going to win a game scoring seven goals.
"Credit Syracuse. Their defense and entire team plays hard and they play together. We fell short in the end but our team did a good job in the second half of figuring out their defense. Down the stretch, in the last 12 minutes, there were certainly opportunities for us to take a two-goal lead and the ball hits the pipe. That's just how the game goes, and we have to be better than that and we'll certainly learn from it and we're looking forward to the NCAA Tournament."
Carly Davis led Carolina with two goals and an assist, and Molly Hendrick scored twice. Messinger, Taylor George and Sam McGee each scored one goal for the Tar Heels. Senior Abbey Friend did not score for the first time this season.
Sydney Holman, who injured her left knee late in Thursday's quarterfinal win over Boston College, did not play against Syracuse. She was in uniform and tried to warm up during pregame but was not able to play.
Katie Webster of Syracuse led all scorers with four goals, Alyssa Murray had a goal and two assists and Kayla Treanor tallied two goals and an assist. Amy Cross and Devon Collins both scored goals as well for the Orange.
Caylee Waters started in goal for Carolina and played the first half, making four saves and allowing six goals. Megan Ward came off the bench and played very well in the second half, making a season-high 11 saves (one off her career high).
Syracuse held UNC scoreless for the first 17:09 of the game, building a 4-0 lead until Hendrick scored the Tar Heels' first goal on a free position try with 12:51 left until the break. McGee scored Carolina's other first-half goal, and Syracuse led 6-2 at the half. The Tar Heels committed 11 first-half turnovers while being out-shot 13-8.
The Tar Heels seized momentum and rallied early in the second half, scoring four consecutive goals in the first 9:26 of the period to tie the score at 6-all. Messinger put the Tar Heels ahead for the first time with 13:35 to play on an unassisted goal.
Ward and the Carolina defense held the Orange scoreless for the first 21:32 of the second half until Treanor broke the long scoreless drought with an unassisted goal with 8:28 left to tie things at 7-all. Cross followed with an unassisted goal 1:08 later as Syracuse re-took the lead and forced a Tar Heel timeout. Webster cut down the middle of the UNC defense for the final goal with 5:49 to go.
Carolina awaits an NCAA Tournament bid in defense of its 2013 national championship. The NCAA will release the tournament field on May 4.
