VILLANOVA, P.A. — At halftime of its NCAA Tournament semifinal game against No. 2 Northwestern, the No. 3 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team finds itself with a 4-1 lead, having played a sharp first half on both sides of the field.
Offensively, junior attacker Abbey Friend leads the Tar Heels with two goals on two shots. Freshman attacker Aly Messinger and senior midfielder Jessica Griffin have accounted for UNC’s other two goals, having scored on one shot attempt.
As a team, UNC is shooting 4-for-7 while all seven shots have been on goal.
Northwestern has struggled so far to put points on the scoreboard. The Wildcats have only found the net once in eight shot eight attempts while only four of those attempts have been on goal.
Wildcat attacker Amanda Macaluso scored her team’s only goal of the half after Northwestern was held scoreless for nearly 14 minutes to start the game.
Both goalkeepers have played tough in the cage for their teams. UNC’s Megan Ward and Northwestern’s Bridget Bianco each have tallied three saves.
After the Wildcats dominated UNC in draw control in the first meeting between the two teams in February, both teams have controlled three draws in the first half of the semifinal game.
The Tar Heels will be looking to play similarly in the second half in order to advance to the championship for only the second time in school history.
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