Tar Heels To Host Hokies Wednesday

Wednesday, March 28

Chapel Hill

5 p.m.

North Carolina

Virginia Tech

Charlotte Sofield

Photo by: Mark Burch

March 27, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse

Watch Live Stats Game Notes

• The North Carolina women's lacrosse team (6-3, 1-1 ACC) returns home and will host No. 17 Virginia Tech (9-3, 2-0) on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
• The game will be streamed live by ACC Network Extra.
• It will be the first of two Carolina home games this week and of three consecutive home dates overall for the Tar Heels. UNC will host Notre Dame on Saturday March 31 and Louisville on Saturday April 7.
• Carolina has won three of its last four games, including a 17-11 loss at No. 2 Boston College last Saturday.
• Carolina is ranked No. 5 this week in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 5 in the Cascade media poll.
• The Hokies are ranked No. 17 in both polls.

KENAN STADIUM CHANGES
• Fans attending Tar Heel home games beginning on March 28 should note that seating changes are underway in Kenan Stadium. Fan seating has been moved to the north side of the stadium with concession stand service available near Gate 2.
• Earlier this season, fan seating for lacrosse games was on the south side of Kenan. Renovations are underway at the stadium to replace bench seating with individual seats prior to the start of the 2018 football season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA TECH
• Carolina leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 24-0.
• UNC is 11-0 in Chapel Hill against Virginia Tech.
• Carolina is 19-0 against the Hokies in regular season games.

2017 REGULAR SEASON VS. THE HOKIES:
UNC 14, VIRGINIA TECH 6 (March 28, 2017)
• Second-ranked Carolina got three goals from Molly Hendrick and picked up a road ACC win at No. 12 Virginia Tech, 14-6, on March 28, 2017, in Blacksburg, Va.
• The Tar Heels boasted a balanced offensive attack with with eight different scorers, including Hendrick scoring three times and Ela Hazar adding two goals and an assist. Marie McCool, Carly Reed and Kara Klages each scored twice. Sydney Holman had a goal and an assist while Maggie Bill and Sammy Jo Tracy each scored once. Charlotte Sofield added an assist.

LAST GAME:
CAROLINA FALLS AT BC, 17-11 (Saturday, March 24, 2018)
• Second-ranked Boston College scored six consecutive goals late in the game and beat fifth-ranked North Carolina, 17-11, at the Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Field in Newton, Mass., on March 24, 2018.
• After Marie McCool scored back-to-back goals for Carolina to cut the BC lead to 11-10 with 13:46 to play in the second half, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach.
• Maggie Bill led Carolina with three goals and three assists on the day. McCool and Katie Hoeg each had two goals and an assist, and Jamie Ortega scored twice. Marisa DiVietro and Ally Mastroianni both scored once.
• The Eagles got four goals and five assists from Sam Apuzzo, along with three goals and two assists from Emma Schurr and two goals and three assists from Dempsey Arsenault.

HAZAR NEEDS ONE ASSIST TO REACH 100 FOR HER CAREER
• Senior attacker Ela Hazar enters Wednesday's game with 99 career assists, ranking first in school history in the category. Against Northwestern on March 17, she broke the previous record of 92 set by Becky Lynch (2009-12).
• With one more assist, she will become the first player in Tar Heel history to tally 100 in her career.
• Hazar also set a school single-game record with eight assists in the 18-13 win at Northwestern on March 17.
• Hazar had a school-record 40 assists last season and now owns UNC records for most assist in a game, a season and a career.

HAZAR NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior attacker Ela Hazar was named the ACC Women's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week on March 20.
• Hazar set a UNC program record with eight assists in Carolina's 18-13 win at ninth-ranked Northwestern on March 17. In the process, she also became Carolina's career assist leader with 98, eclipsing the previous record of 92 set by Becky Lynch from 2009-12. Hazar also had three goals and five assists in the March 13 12-1 win over Elon, along with two ground balls. For the week, Hazar tallied 16 points on three goals and 13 assists in two games.

TAYLOR MORENO MAKES 17 SAVES
AT VIRGINIA
• Redshirt freshman Taylor Moreno made her first career start in goal on March 10 at Virginia and posted a season-high 17 saves. Moreno went the distance in the cage and held the Cavaliers to three second-half goals as UNC overcame a 6-4 halftime deficit to win, 13-9, in Charlottesville.
• Moreno was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week on March 12 for her efforts.

McCOOL & TRENCHARD SWEEP ACC HONORS AFTER MARYLAND WIN
• Following an overtime win over top-ranked Maryland, North Carolina senior midfielder Marie McCool was named the ACC Women's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, while teammate freshman defender Emma Trenchard was the ACC Defensive Player of the Week (February 27).
• McCool led UNC to a 16-15 overtime win over No. 1 Maryland with four goals, one assist, eight draw controls, two caused turnovers and a ground ball. McCool assisted on teammate Ela Hazar's game-tying goal with 22 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. In the extra period, she scored the game-winner off an assist from Jamie Ortega.
• Trenchard led a strong Tar Heel defensive effort, controlling four draws, collecting three ground balls and causing three turnovers. Trenchard controlled the draw to start overtime, then brought the ball into the offensive end to start the possession that included the game-winning goal by McCool. The Windsor, Conn., native helped guide a UNC defense that held Maryland scoreless for the final 9:25 of the game.

MARIE McCOOL BACK FOR MORE AS A SENIOR
• Midfielder Marie McCool is among the most decorated players in the nation and is primed to earn more national honors as senior in 2018.
• She leads the Tar Heels with 33 goals, 39 points and 68 draw controls this season.
• The do-it-all McCool tied her career high with seven goals on Feb. 18 versus Liberty and controlled a career-high 13 draws on March 3 against Florida.
• McCool won ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Feb. 27 after tallying four goals, an assist and eight draw controls in UNC's win over Maryland.
• She was one of five 2017 finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, the highest individual honor in the sport, as well as one of four nominees for the 2017 Honda Award for Lacrosse. She is a two-time, first-team All-America and two-time, first-team All-ACC pick. She also was the 2017 ACC Midfielder of the Year and the 2017 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
• McCool also was one of just two college players on the United States National Team that won a gold medal at the World Cup in England in July of 2017.

BILL'S BACK
• Fifth-year senior midfielder Maggie Bill returned to the field for her first game action in nearly a year when she came off the bench to play against Florida on March 3.
• Bill, who suffered a lower leg injury on April 8 last year against Louisville, scored a goal against the Gators.

CAROLINA HAS WON 24 OF LAST 26 VS. ACC
• Carolina has won 24 of its last 26 games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, losing only to Syracuse in 2017 and Boston College in 2018 since the 2015 ACC Tournament final.

TAR HEELS ARE 40-6 IN LAST 46 GAMES
• The Tar Heels enter Wednesday's game having won 40 of their last 46 games, dating back to early in the 2016 season.
• Carolina closed its 2016 NCAA championship run on a 17-game winning streak, then went 17-3 in 2017.