Freshmen lead the way for women's lacrosse

The North Carolina women’s lacrosse team hosted a Florida squad Sunday that boasted the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.

But despite the five goals scored by Gator newcomers, it was a pair of UNC freshmen — Emily Garrity and Kara Cannizzaro — who turned the tide midway through the first half.

After falling behind 3-0, the Gators scored to close the gap to two, and might have scored more were it not for some nifty stickwork on the part of UNC goalie Logan Ripley.

Florida’s freshman midfielder Brittany Dashiell was bearing down on goal for another score when UNC’s Garrity forced a turnover and passed to fellow freshman Cannizzaro.

Cannizzaro ran the length of the field, slipped through two Gator defenders and put the ball in the back of the net. The Tar Heels would score twice more in the next six minutes and rolled to an 18-5 win.

The coast-to-coast link-up was just another example of the contributions UNC coach Jenny Levy’s freshmen midfielders have already made in the season’s first five games.

“They’re doing good things off the draw; they’re doing good things defensively. We really have a lot of confidence in their play all over the field,” Levy said. “And obviously offensively, we feel like they can score goals, too.”

The freshman midfield trio of Garrity, Cannizzaro and Jessica Griffin has combined for 14 goals already. And while there’s plenty of space on the score sheet, only Garrity has found her way into the starting lineup.

Still, Garrity says the competition for playing time has not caused a rift between the players.

“We all work hard, we’re all in competition, but on the field we’re teammates, and we connect with each other,” she said.

The three also connect off the field, where Cannizzaro and Griffin share a room.

The group’s development will be extremely important for the Tar Heels, who will lose senior midfielders and captains Jenn Russell and Megan Bosica to graduation this year.

“I said, ‘Hey look, you’re not just playing minutes this year, but you’ve got to put mental minutes in,’” Levy said.

For their part, the departing seniors recognize the importance of helping their future replacements realize their potential.

“They taught us our communication, how to step up when there’s a lull in the energy on the field,” Cannizzaro said. “They really bring us together and get us going again, and they don’t let anyone slack on the field. They hold everyone accountable.”

Though Cannizzaro credited the seniors for her early success, Bosica said she thinks the freshmen will be just fine once she and Russell graduate.

“From the get-go they’ve just done an amazing job for us, and they’re pushing all of us to work even harder,” Bosica said.

“They’re not going to have any problem filling our shoes once we leave here.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.