No. 1 UNC women's lacrosse overpowers Duke, 18-6, winning ACC regular season title

No. 1 ranked UNC women’s lacrosse (15-0, 9-0 ACC) defeated No. 10 Duke (12-3, 6-4 ACC), 18-6, Thursday night at Koskinen Stadium to claim the ACC regular season championship title. 

North Carolina came out hot, winning the faceoff. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Kaleigh Harden then passed the ball to senior attacker Olivia Vergano who netted in the first goal from the right side of the goal. 

Harden caused Duke to turnover the ball, putting UNC back on offense. Graduate attacker Ashley Humphrey was behind the goal and passed it to her sister, redshirt first-year attacker Chloe Humphrey, who slammed in another goal from the right side. 

Two minutes later, first-year midfielder Eliza Osburn found the back of the net to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead. 

North Carolina took advantage of having a man up as Ashley Humphrey found herself behind the net once again. She passed the ball to junior attacker Caroline Godine who netted her 13th goal of the season. 

A defensive stop by the Tar Heels sent the ball to the other side of the field. Ashley Humphrey sent a ground ball to Vergano who picked it up and slammed it in. Shortly after, Harden came from the outside and knocked in another.

With less than a minute left in the first quarter, the Blue Devils finally found the back of the net to close the quarter out 6-1. 

Duke started the second quarter hot, continuing its newfound momentum as Ava Biancardi gave the Blue Devils their second goal. 

As Duke attempted to clear, Chloe Humphrey checked Kerry Nease, picked up the dropped ball and sprinted toward the goal. Running through defenders, she performed a backside spin to extend the Tar Heels’ lead. 

With the ball back in Harden’s stick head, she spun around her defender and knocked the ball in. 

On the next play, redshirt sophomore attacker Marissa White stole the ball off the face off and gave it to Chloe Humphrey who smashed in her third goal from left field. 

Duke responded with Carly Bernstein running around and behind the goal to sneak the ball into the net from the right side. But White was quick to give North Carolina its 10th goal off a free position. Vergano netted in her third of the night shortly after from mid-circle. 

A save by redshirt-first year goalie Betty Nelson sent the ball back to the other side of the field with graduate midfielder Sophie Student. Student passed the ball to first-year attacker Addison Pattillo who sneakily got the ball in from the left side. 

UNC’s 13th goal was another sister-sister connection with Ashley Humphrey sending the ball from the right side to Chloe Humphrey who was positioned in the middle of the circle to give the Tar Heels a 10 point lead at the half.

“It's been truly an honor to be beside her,” Ashley Humphrey said. “She's probably the greatest player I've ever played with. It's been amazing to be a part of it, but it's so fun to just watch her do her thing.”

This was Chloe’s 62nd goal of the season, putting her now tied for seventh all-time in UNC single-season scoring history. 

“I've always had team goals and the individual goals have just fallen,” Chloe Humphrey said.

Coming out of the locker room, Chloe Humphrey was given a free position shot, securing her ninth game with five goals this season. On the next play, Godine gave the ball back to Chloe Humphrey who matched her career-high six goals and gave UNC a 15-3 lead.

Despite the efforts by Duke’s defense, it was no match for Nelson, who saved seven goals on the night, three of them occurring in the third quarter. 

Pattillo scored her second of the night after coming from behind the goal, faking her defender and slamming the ball in from the left to put North Carolina up 16-3 entering the final quarter. 

The Tar Heels subbed in most of their starters for the fourth quarter, giving graduate attacker Reilly Casey the opportunity to score her second goal of the season. 

Ashley Humphrey was then awarded a free position shot that she sent over to Pattillo who went up the middle to score UNC’s 18th goal of the game. 

After a scoreless quarter, Duke finally found the back of the net with three consecutive goals by Biancardi Bernstein and Reagan Digby. 

Despite Duke’s late offensive surge, it was no match for UNC’s dominance on both sides of the ball as North Carolina defeated the Blue Devils 18-6. 

The Tar Heels will travel to Charlotte on Wednesday, April 23 to play Virginia Tech at 11 a.m. as the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament. 

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