The No. 3 North Carolina women’s lacrosse team will face No. 2 Northwestern (19-2) in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament tonight at 5 p.m. in Villanova, Pa.
The game will mark the fourth time in the last five years the two teams have met in the tournament, and the third time in the last four years they’ve played each other in the Final Four.
The Tar Heels (16-3) are seeking to advance to the championship game for only the second time in school history, and for the first time since UNC fell to the Wildcats in the 2009 title game.
Here are some notes on the game as the Tar Heels look to receive a chance to play the winner of the other semifinal game between No. 1 Maryland and No. 4 Syracuse in the championship on Sunday:
Drawing from the first meeting
Tonight’s game will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. The then-No. 5 Tar Heels defeated then top-ranked Northwestern 11-8 in February — a game in which the Wildcats dominated UNC in draw control, winning 16 out of 21 of the game’s draws.
Northwestern is led in the draw by junior midfielder and draw control specialist Alyssa Leonard, who UNC coach Jenny Levy said will present a challenge to the Tar Heels tonight. Leonard won 12 draw controls in the regular season contest.
“It’s definitely a concern for us going into the game on Friday,” Levy said in a teleconference on Monday. “She did really well against us last time and that’s something we’ll try to make a game plan for. Her hands are so quick and her sense for the ball once it goes up is exceptional. There are a lot of great kids out there who can do it but she’s separated herself even from the great ones. It’s certainly going to be a challenge for us.”
UNC’s defeat of the Wildcats in February was arguably freshman goalkeeper Megan Ward’s breakout game of the season. At a point early in the year in which UNC split time between its two goalies — Ward and senior Lauren Maksym — the freshman was essential to UNC’s upset. After coming in for Maksym at the start of the second half, the freshman recorded six saves and helped the Tar Heel defense fend off a tough Northwestern attack down the stretch.
Since then Ward distinguished herself as UNC’s top goalkeeper, and has started every game in the postseason. Levy said the freshman will be vital to the team’s chances of making it to the title game, but that she appreciates having an experienced two-year starter in Maksym ready to play if needed.
“We have a lot of confidence in both keepers,” she said. “(Megan’s) a freshman but doesn’t play like one. She’s aggressive, confident, and has been making some great saves that has given our team some opportunities to create momentum during games.”
For junior attacker Abbey Friend, the biggest takeaway from the February game was the confidence the Tar Heels gained — something she hopes UNC will take into tonight’s game.
“I think the biggest thing we took away from the win is it proved to us how good we were. I think that was really important,” she said. “It was a really big win for us to beat the defending national champions and a team that has had a really successful run in the past decade or so. I think it just really gave us confidence and we’ll use that for the next game.”
Facing a tough defense
While UNC has had little trouble offensively thus far in the tournament, having scored 32 goals in two games, the Tar Heel attack will face a tough Northwestern defense, which is known to faceguard opponents.
Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said the Wildcats will focus on stopping a potent UNC offense with a team defensive effort led by junior defender Kerri Harrington.
“I think in general Kerri is a great competitor in whatever role we give her in specific games,” she said in the teleconference on Monday. “She was more of a specialist in her younger years but all season long she’s been a stable defender for us and whatever role we’ve given her she’s been ready to go. I think for this game plan with UNC we really need to focus in on team defense and Kerri is really going to be a part of that.”
The Tar Heels are led offensively by Friend and senior midfielder Kara Cannizaro, who have combined for 97 goals this season and have a combined 17-for-24 in the tournament. But Cannizaro said she has faith in UNC’s balanced attack to produce if she is met with a faceguard.
“If they do (faceguard) I think our team would adjust,” she said. “We’re definitely not a one-dimensional offense. I could be completely taken out and have faith that my team could put up at least 15 or 16 goals against anyone. They’re so many options on our offense.”
For Friend, the game plan heading into tonight offensively is simply to play with poise against Northwestern’s defense.
“They play a really pressure and aggressive defense. It’s kind of like what we play so it’s nice to be able to play against something like that every day,” Friend said. “Offensively, it’s just about being confident, knowing what we can do and being poised at the same time — knowing what good shots are without turning the ball over.
A continued “work in progress”
Looking back at UNC’s 12-8 loss in the ACC championship game in April to top-ranked Maryland, Levy has a few ways in which she thinks the Tar Heels can improve heading into their second championship weekend of the season.
“In the ACC championship game we really hurt ourselves with turnovers. You get into championship weekend you really have to be sharp — everything you do has to be point on,” Levy said. “If you’re not going to be engaged, play smart and be aware then you’re going to have a really tough time having success during the weekend. So we’re looking to come out, be poised and play our hardest.”
And Levy, who believes her team is still growing despite it being late in the season, said the Tar Heels that will face Northwestern tonight for a spot in the title game is the one of the most resilient teams she’s had in her 18 years at UNC.
“This team has been a work in progress all year. We don’t have a big senior class but they’ve been great leaders for us — Kara, Emily (Garrity), Jess (Griffin) and Lauren Maksym,” she said. “The four of them have just paved the way for this group, which has just had a toughness about them all year.
“At different points in the season we’ve challenged them to do things better and they’ve always risen to the occasion.”
Other notes:
- UNC defeated Loyola 19-9 in the second round and Virginia 13-9 in the quarterfinals to advance to the Final Four. Northwestern did so by knocking off Stanford and Penn State.
- In the two previous Final Four meetings between the two teams, the Wildcats defeated UNC 15-10 in 2010 and 11-10 in 2011. The Tar Heels fell to Northwestern 21-7 in the 2009 national championship game.
- Northwestern is 8-0 all-time in the semifinal game and has won all seven of its national titles in the last eight years while making it to the title game every year during the span.
- The Tar Heels are 1-6 all-time in the Final Four. UNC’s lone semifinal game victory was in 2009 against Maryland.
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