In its home opener, the No. 1 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team defeated the Davidson Wildcats by a score of 22-5 on Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
What happened?
The Tar Heels opened up their high-scoring afternoon just over two minutes into the contest with a free-position goal from senior midfielder Marisa DiVietro, her first of the season. The aggressive offensive attack persisted for the next several minutes, when UNC established a 6-0 lead before Davidson called a timeout with 21:41 remaining in the first period.
While building the early lead, UNC’s goals were widely distributed, as the first seven goals were scored by six different Tar Heels.
Davidson’s first goal would not come until midway through the first period, when they cut into the deficit to make the score 7-1. UNC responded quickly, however, and scored four goals to widen its lead to 11-1 with ten minutes to play in the first period. With four more goals in the final ten minutes, the Tar Heels headed into intermission with a decisive 15-1 advantage.
Early in the second half, the Tar Heels carried the strong momentum from the first half into the second stanza to extend their lead to 17-1. From there, UNC continued its stifling defense and prolific offensive attack to hang on for a 22-5 victory.
Who stood out?
UNC was paced by a familiar tandem, as junior attacker Jamie Ortega and senior midfielder Katie Hoeg dazzled in scoring while setting the table for their teammates. Ortega finished with five goals on five shots, chipping in three assists. Conversely, Hoeg led the team with six assists and found the back of the net twice.
Nearly every player played a vital role in the victory, as 29 players received playing time with 13 contributing either a goal or an assist.
