North Carolina
Virginia
Taylor, No. 1 Carolina Handle No. 5 Virginia, 16-7
March 17, 2007 | Women's Lacrosse
March 17, 2007
CHAPEL HILL- No. 1 Carolina got five goals from freshman reserve Kristen Taylor and hat tricks from Christina Juras and Jess Allen as they rallied past No. 5 Virginia, 16-7, Saturday afternoon at Fetzer Field. The victory gave the Tar Heels their first ACC win of the season and moved their undefeated record to 8-0, the second-best start in team history. Coming off a 15-4 win over Maryland, Virginia suffered their first loss of the season and fell to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in ACC play.
Taylor, a freshman out of Manlius, New York, scored Carolina's first goal of the game that cut into Virginia's 2-0 lead at the 13-minute mark. After a goal from Kate Breslin brought the lead to 3-1, Virginia failed to score for the rest of the period as Carolina tacked on six goals in 13 minutes to gain a 7-3 halftime advantage. Taking part in the 6-0 run was Erica LaGrow, Jess Allen, and Taylor, who each had two goals apiece during the stretch.
Virginia would narrow the lead at the start of the second half to three goals off a Brittany Kalkstein goal, but it would get no closer. Goals from Chrissy Rude, Megan Bosica, Taylor, and Allen brought the Tar Heel lead to 12-4 and closed the door on any Cavalier comeback. Christina Juras, Carolina's leading goal scorer, was held scoreless until midway through the second, but added three insurance goals late to bring her season total to 19.
A strong Tar Heel defense also contributed to Carolina maintaining possession throughout. The Tar Heels dominated the ground balls by a 17-7 margin and forced 18 Cavalier turnovers. Kristen Hordy was strong in the cage, saving four of Virginia's 14 shots.
Carolina will return to action next Saturday when it travels to College Park to take on Maryland.
