University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: The Other Side
May 17, 2014 | Women's Lacrosse, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
By Turner Walston
A lot can change in a year. Last May, the Carolina women's lacrosse team needed three overtimes to defeat 10-time national champion Maryland in the NCAA title game. It was the Carolina program's first national championship, and it put the target squarely on their backs for the following season.
The Tar Heels answered the bell. Coach Jenny Levy added an outstanding freshman class to the defending national champions, and the team began the 2014 season 11-0 to extend a reel off a program-best 15-game win streak. The team suffered injuries but endured. In the fall, it was Kelly Devlin who tore an ACL. Sammy Jo Tracy, who netted the game-winner in the title game, would not play in 2014 due to a foot injury. Morgan Rubin was limited to just four games. Senior All-America Brittney Coppa suffered a torn ACL on the eve of the opener, and ACC Co-Freshman of the Year Sydney Holman tore her ACL in the ACC Tournament. Still, the Tar Heels entered the NCAA Tournament seeded third overall and at 15-4 on the year.
Saturday's game saw Virginia come to Fetzer Field with a trip to the NCAA semifinal on the line. The Tar Heels were looking to get back to that round for the fifth time in sixth years; the Cavaliers were looking to get past the Tar Heels. Carolina had won nine straight against the Cavaliers, and Virginia had seen their season end at the hands of the Tar Heels three times in the last four years.
The game went Carolina's way for the first 34 minutes. The home team led 8-4 early in the second half, and then something happened: With their season on the line, Virginia began to dominate the draw and get to the loose balls, giving themselves opportunities. As there is no shot clock or stall warning in women's lacrosse, the Cavaliers took their time attempting to probe the Tar Heel defense. To their credit, Carolina's defenders did not make things easy; Virginia's opportunities primarily came off of ground balls and in transition. The Cavaliers scored a goal. And another. And another. And another. All along, they were controlling the draw, playing a patient game despite the deficit. Virginia needed fewer than 14 minutes to tie the game, and then added two more for a 10-8 lead.
Virginia was content to run out the clock, but Tar Heel goalkeeper Megan Ward made a big save to win back possession, and senior Abbey Friend –UNC's all-time leading scorer– pulled the Tar Heels within one with 4:17 to play. Still, the ball continued to bounce the way of the Cavaliers, and when Mary Alati intercepted a Carly Davis pass attempt, the game went the way of the visitors.
It was heartbreak on one end of the sideline, and exuberance on the other.
So while the 2014 season won't end with a national championship for the Tar Heels, it does end on a hopeful note. Carolina bids farewell to a decorated senior class, one with a national title and a tradition of leadership that will continue to echo through the years. “They definitely have left a legacy at Carolina to be very proud of,” Levy said. The nation's best freshman class will become the nation's best sophomores next year, and Holman and Coppa will return healthy. Levy has built this program from the ground up into one that will be vying for national titles every year. And while that's little consolation today, it means that defeat is going to hurt. Conversely, it means that opponents are going to see every rare win as precious.
“This is the biggest win I've had in four years,” said Cavalier senior attacker Liza Blue. “UNC is always a very tough opponent. They're very athletic and they fought really hard today. I think some balls bounced our way in the second half and we kind of grinded [sic] away. This win means everything to us.”
The Tar Heels were the defending national champions. For there to be a new national champion, Carolina was going to have to be knocked off the mountain. On Saturday, Virginia was the team to do it.
So no, the 2014 season won't end with a national championship for the Tar Heels, but that only means that 2015 offers the opportunity to climb the mountain again.
