University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Tar Heels Dominate Notre Dame, 18-4, To Advance
April 24, 2015 | Women's Lacrosse
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – Second-ranked North Carolina got a career-high six goals from Aly Messinger and dominated Notre Dame, 18-4, on Friday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals at Klockner Stadium. The Tar Heels went on a 9-0 run in the first half to seize control early, turning a 1-1 tie into a 10-1 Carolina lead in a span of over 20 minutes.
The Tar Heels advance to the ACC championship game for the ninth time overall and the fifth time in the last six years. Carolina will face sixth-seeded Syracuse, which eliminated second-seeded Duke in the semifinals, in the title game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Carolina is seeking its second ACC title and first since 2002.
The 14-goal margin of victory is the biggest in ACC Tournament history, surpassing the previous record of 13 set by Maryland in 2006 (versus Boston College) and Duke in 2008 (versus Virginia Tech). Carolina's biggest previous win in the ACC Tournament was by 11 goals (set on two occasions).
“We are extremely happy and satisfied with our performance today,” Tar Heel head coach Jenny Levy said afterward. “Last time we played Notre Dame we eeked out a win by one goal, but really felt like they outplayed us in South Bend. Today we wanted to show that we could play at a higher level more consistently with more fire, passion and heart. I thought every player today, and our sideline, completely committed to be the best team we could be.”
Messinger tied her previous career high with five goals in the first half alone, adding another goal after halftime. Her six goals are one off the tournament single-game record of seven, set by Maryland's Jen Adams in 1999 and Virginia's Tyler Leachman in 2006. Messinger, who scored twice in Thursday's quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech, has eight goals in two games this weekend. The ACC record for most goals in an ACC Tournament is 11, set by Leachman in 2006.
“We did a really good job at coming out right away in the first half,” Messinger said. “It sparked a fire in us to continue to play the whole game with that same level of inspiration and determination to win.”
Maggie Bill tied her career high with four goals, adding two assists for Carolina. Sam McGee had two goals and three assists, Kelly Devlin had two goals and an assist, Marie McCool scored twice and Sammy Jo Tracy had two goals and two assists.
Rachel Sexton scored twice to lead the Fighting Irish, who also got goals from Stephanie Toy and Abi Cullinan.
Carolina scored 13 goals on 17 shots in the first half, finishing with 18 scores on 26 shots in the game.
Caylee Waters started in goal for Carolina and went the distance, finishing with 13 saves to tie her career high. Liz O'Sullivan started in goal for Notre Dame and allowed 11 goals and making one save in 24:17 of action. Jennifer Blum came in to relieve O'Sullivan, finishing with three saves and seven goals allowed in 35:43 minutes.
