Women's lacrosse season cut short in 10-9 loss to Virginia

All good things must come to an end. The North Carolina women’s lacrosse team's mission to win another NCAA championship ended when Virginia pulled the 10-9 upset in the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday at Fetzer Field.

The momentum switched between the Tar Heels and the Cavaliers in the first half. As the Tar Heels tried to continue to extend their lead, the Cavaliers answered each time to cut the lead to within at least two points.

At the half, the game seemed to be going the Tar Heels' way. With the help of freshmen scorers, UNC led 7-4 going into the locker room. Freshman Carly Reed led all scorers with three goals. Freshman Maggie Bill and redshirt freshman Carly Davis each had a goal. Senior Abbey Friend contributed two goals.

At the start of the second half, the Tar Heels were attempting to pull away from the Cavaliers. Senior Taylor George scored a goal to give UNC the largest lead of the game at 8-4 with 26 minutes and 30 seconds left.

But Virginia used ball possession and the clock to its advantage. By slowing down the tempo of the game and winning draw controls, the Cavaliers were able to score six straight goals to take a 10-8 lead over the Tar Heels. 

Virginia's strategy of controlling the ball during its run resulted in UNC being held scoreless for 22 minutes and 13 seconds. 

Coach Jenny Levy didn't believe Virginia stalling the ball was the reason her team lost the game, but there should be a rule to prevent stalling in women’s lacrosse.

“We’re still in the 1990s right now in our game because we refuse to put a rule on the field for stalling,” Levy said. “Nothing to do with why we lost the game, but there should be a stall rule for our game for the betterment of it.”

UNC was able to regain possession, and Friend scored to cut the lead to 10-9 with four minutes and 17 seconds left. The Tar Heels defense proceeded to put pressure on the Cavaliers.  

Friend was able to cause a turnover from the Virginia goalie, which gave George an open look at the goal. But a Virginia defender caused George’s shot to go wide — giving the Cavaliers possession of the ball.

With less than a minute left, the Tar Heels were able to force one more turnover, but the Tar Heels would turn the ball back over and the Cavaliers would run the clock down to zero to win the game.

The most difficult part for the team was not the loss, but the loss of the seniors who played their last game as Tar Heels.

“When we came in here they didn’t treat us as freshmen,” Molly Hendrick said. “They brought us in and played just like we were any other senior on the field. They didn’t treat us any differently. All the seniors, on the sideline or in the game, had so much leadership. They taught us a lot on the field and off the field. We’re really going to miss them next year.”

Friend, who was holding back tears, said she'd always cherish her time on the team, no matter the final outcome.

“Obviously, this isn’t the situation that we want to end with,” Friend said. “But I think the seniors did a really good job all four years, and I wouldn’t have wanted to graduate with a different class. And I think it was really nice to have a group of 37 girls that you love to death.”

Levy said that although Virginia was a tough loss, the team had a lot to be proud of.

“We obviously had a great season,” Levy said. “We finished going into this game today 15-4. We finished ranked with the top three seed in the country. There’s nothing to hang our heads on what we’ve accomplished with this group this year.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.