With the meat of North Carolina’s schedule set to begin on Saturday, and his team slumping, UNC men’s lacrosse coach Joe Breschi opted to shake up his starting lineup for Wednesday’s matchup with Dartmouth.
DURHAM — It was a familiar scene for North Carolina on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. After dominating its contest with Duke for the duration of play, UNC found itself up against a hard-charging Blue Devils squad in the final 10 minutes.
Heading into Sunday’s matinee matchup with N.C. State University, North Carolina’s best means of defeating the Wolfpack was hard to miss.
In discussing the talented crop of freshmen at her disposal this season, North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell likes to point out that her rookies have the kind of winner’s mentality that can help carry UNC deep in postseason play.
Out of the spotlight and fresh off a 13-day break, No. 19 UNC erased the memory of the squad that faltered mightily in the final stretch of its season with a 4-1 win against the Tribe.
Coach Anson Dorrance refers to Ali Hawkins as one of the greatest leaders in the history of UNC women’s soccer, a three-year captain with the power to command a room when she speaks.
With injuries hampering its defense, slowed production from its go-to scorers and two losses in its past three games, a road trip to Florida didn’t sound too appealing to the North Carolina women’s soccer team, especially considering recent history.
Brigman is a critical piece of the UNC roster, a fact that was evident in the Tar Heels’ 5-1 victory against N.C. State on Friday. The junior back struck a 25-yard blast for the game-winning goal, her third tally of the season, and coordinated an inexperienced backline that muzzled the Wolfpack attack throughout the latter 70 minutes of UNC’s win.
If there has been one differentiating factor threaded through the success of North Carolina women’s soccer over the years, it has been the program’s tremendous depth.
Through her first three seasons at North Carolina, Courtney Jones witnessed UNC’s veterans come through in tight spots for the Tar Heels time and again, year after year.
