Tar Heels Open ACC Tournament Play Thursday As No. 2 Seed

Thursday, April 26

Durham, N.C.

5:00 PM

North Carolina

Syracuse

Carolina is seeking its third consecutive ACC Tournament title.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

April 25, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse

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SECOND-SEEDED TAR HEELS TO FACE SYRACUSE IN ACC QUARTERFINAL THURSDAY
• The second-seeded North Carolina women's lacrosse team (12-3, 6-1 ACC) will face seventh-seeded Syracuse (9-8, 1-6) in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday in Durham, N.C. The Tar Heels and Orange are scheduled to take the opening draw at 5 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke University campus.
• Carolina and Syracuse will be facing off in the ACC Tournament for the fifth year in a row, splitting the four previous meetings.
• The game will be televised by RSN and streamed live by ACC Network Extra.
• Carolina is the two-time defending ACC champion, having won the 2016 title in Blacksburg, Va., and the 2017 crown in Richmond. UNC is seeking its fourth ACC championship overall and its third in a row.
• The Tar Heels have won six consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
• Carolina has scored 20 or more goals in three consecutive games for the first time in program history.
• The winner of Thursday's game will advance to Friday night's second semifinal to play either No. 3 seed Virginia Tech or No. 6 seed Duke.
• Carolina is ranked No. 5 this week in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 5 in the Cascade media poll. the Tar Heels have been ranked fifth for each of the last six weeks.
• Syracuse is ranked No. 17 in the IWLCA poll and No. 19 in the media poll.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SYRACUSE
• The all-time series between Carolina and Syracuse is tied, 6-6, including a 20-11 Tar Heel win in the Carrier Dome two weeks ago.
• UNC has won two games in a row against Syracuse and four of the last five meetings in the series (since the start of the 2016 season).
• Carolina is 2-2 against Syracuse in ACC Tournament play, with the Tar Heels beating the Orange in the ACC Tournament championship game in each of the last two years (2016 in Blacksburg and 2017 in Richmond).
• Last year, the Orange beat UNC in Chapel Hill in the regular season and the Tar Heels returned the favor in the ACC Tournament final two weeks later in Richmond.
• These two teams have met twice in each of the last five seasons (regular season and ACC Tournament each year).

2018 REGULAR SEASON IN SYRACUSE:
UNC 20, SYRACUSE 11 (April 14, 2018)
• Carolina went on a 7-2 run in the second half and Kara Klages scored a career-high five goals in a 20-11 win at No. 15 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on April 14. Marie McCool added five goals, one assist and 12 draw controls for UNC.
• After Carolina led, 8-5, at halftime and Syracuse scored the first goal of the second half to cut its deficit to two goals, the Tar Heels went on their 7-2 run to take a 15-8 lead and seize the game's momentum. UNC outscored the Orange, 12-6, in the second half.
• The Tar Heels also got four goals and one assist from Maggie Bill and two goals and three assists from Ela Hazar. Katie Hoeg scored once and dished out three assists, Jamie Ortega had two goals and an assist and Olivia Ferrucci had one goal and one assist.

2017 ACC FINAL VS. THE ORANGE:
UNC 18, SYRACUSE 11 (April 30, 2017)
• The top-seeded University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team got a career day from Most Valuable Player Molly Hendrick and beat second-seeded Syracuse, 18-11, on April 30, 2017, in the ACC Tournament final at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va.
• Carolina closed the game on a 9-0 run over the final 15:40 and held Syracuse scoreless for the final 18:38 of the game. For the Tar Heels, it was their second consecutive ACC title and their third overall (2002, 2016, 2017).
• Hendrick tied her career high with seven goals (set in the 2017 regular season finale at Duke) and set a new career best with nine points.
• Carolina overcame a 4-0 deficit in the opening 12 minutes, then responded to a 5-0 Syracuse run early in the second half with its 9-0 run to seize the championship.

LAST TIME OUT:
TAR HEELS BLITZ DUKE, 20-10
(Saturday, April 21, 2018)
• Fifth-ranked Carolina got a career-high seven goals from Jamie Ortega, closed the first half on a 10-0 run and defeated No. 22 Duke by a 20-10 score on April 21.
• Ortega's seven goals and eight points were season highs for the freshman, and the seven goals were just one off the UNC single-game record of eight set by Kellie Thompson in 2002. Ortega increased her season total to 43, the most goals scored by a UNC freshman in a season since Corey Donohoe had 50 in 2008.
• Marie McCool had four goals and one assist for the Tar Heels, while Katie Hoeg had a goal and four assists. Maggie Bill finished with two goals and two assists, and freshman Taylor McDaniels scored twice. Kara Klages, Charlotte Sofield and Marisa DiVietro each scored once.

ORTEGA HAVING A DOMINANT FRESHMAN SEASON
• Freshman attacker Jamie Ortega was rated the nation's top incoming attacker prior to the 2018 season, and the freshman from Centereach, N.Y., has lived up to that billing.
• Ortega has 43 goals and 12 assists for 55 points this season. Her 43 goals are tied as the third most among ACC freshmen while breaking into an experienced Tar Heel offensive lineup.
• She was the ACC's co-Offensive Player of the Week on April 24 after talling a career-high seven goals and an assist on April 21 against Duke for a career-high eight points. The seven goals were one shy of the UNC single-game record of eight set by Kellie Thompson against UMBC in 2002.
• Ortega also earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors on April 3 and IWLCA National Player of the Week honors on April 4 after she totaled nine points on eight goals and one assist in wins over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.

HAZAR IS THE FIRST TAR HEEL EVER TO COMPILE 100 CAREER ASSISTS
• Hazar became the first UNC player ever to record 100 career assists on March 28 when she tallied her 100th against Virginia Tech.
• Hazar holds Carolina records for most assists in a game (eight), a season (40, in 2017) and a career (110).
• She needs five assists to break her own UNC single-season record of 40, set last year.
• Hazar set the UNC career record on March 17 at Northwestern, snapping the previous record of 92 set by Becky Lynch (2009-12).
• Hazar also set a school single-game record with eight assists in the same, 18-13 win at Northwestern on March 17.
• She was a 2018 Midseason All-America by ILWomen.com. She leads the ACC and is ninth in the nation in assists and assists per game.

MARIE McCOOL ALL OVER THE FIELD AGAIN AS A SENIOR
• Midfielder Marie McCool is among the most decorated players in the nation and was a 2018 Midseason All-America by ILWomen.com.
• She has a team-high 48 goals, 107 draw controls and 16 caused turnovers this season, as well as 59 points (second on the team).
• 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 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.

McCOOL, HAZAR & KELLY NAMED MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAS BY ILWOMEN
• Tar Heel seniors Marie McCool (midfield) and Ela Hazar (attack) both earned first-team midseason All-America honors this week (March 29) from Inside Lacrosse.
• Sophomore defender Erin Kelly was on the third team.