Heading into Friday night’s game against top-ranked Northwestern, No. 5 North Carolina women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy said the plan was to play goalkeeper Lauren Maksym in the first half and bring in the senior’s freshman counterpart, Megan Ward, after halftime to play the rest of the game.
Despite facing definite pressure to maintain a 7-4 halftime lead, Ward took the weight of the challenge upon the shoulders of her 5-foot-2 frame, helping the Tar Heels hold off a tough Wildcat attack and claim an 11-8 victory.
“It was a big decision at halftime,” Levy said. “I said (to goalkeeping coach Logan Ripley), ‘What do you think?’ and she said, ‘I don’t know,’ so I just said, ‘Well, go with your gut.’
“We put in Megan, and she made some unbelievable saves.”
After Levy gave her the second-half nod, Ward said, she tried to keep the responsibility to maintain the lead out of her head.
“I’m just telling myself that I have to stop the first one and then I’ll get on a roll,” Ward said of what goes through her mind before entering a game.
Junior attacker Abbey Friend commended the freshman for being able to “step up in big moments.”
“Any freshman playing in a Northwestern game is really big,” Friend said. “(Ward) had some shots against Tewaaraton finalists and All-Americans but was able to save them.”
For Ward, it was Maksym — a member of the 2013 Tewaaraton Award watch list — to whom she owes her strong performance. The award is presented each year to the NCAA men’s and women’s player of the year.
