Tar Heels Dominate Louisville, 16-6

Saturday, April 7

Chapel Hill

3:00 PM

North Carolina

9-3, 4-1ACC

Louisville

6-8, 0-5ACC

Louisville

North Carolina

Katie Hoeg had a career-high five goals and seven points on Saturday.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

April 7, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Photos Final Stats

CHAPEL HILL—Fifth-ranked North Carolina got big games from Katie Hoeg and Jamie Ortega in a 16-6 win over Louisville at rainy Kenan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Hoeg finished with a career-high five goals and two assists for a career-high seven points, while Ortega had three goals and three assists for the Tar Heels.

With the victory, Carolina improved to 9-3 overall this season and 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC has won five of its last six games. Louisville fell to 6-8, 0-5.

In addition to the output of Hoeg and Ortega, Carolina also got two goals and two assists from Ela Hazar, a goal and two assists from Maggie Bill and two goals from freshman Scottie Rose Growney. Marie McCool had a goal and six draw controls, while Gianna Bowe scored once and Taylor McDaniels had an assist.

Ally Hall and Caroline Blalock led Louisville with two goals apiece.

"I like where we are as a team right now," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said afterward. "We play a very competitive schedule, and it challenges us to get better. With 12 games under our belt, we have a better idea of our strengths and our weaknesses. There's obviously room for improvement, but we're coming together nicely and I like where we are."

The Tar Heels dominated the team stats, including a 38-20 shot advantage, a 16-8 edge on the draw and a 26-18 ground ball margin. The teams combined for 41 turnovers on the wet field, 21 by the Cardinals.

Elise Hennessey (6-2) played the first 57:47 in goal for Carolina and picked up the win, making six saves and allowing six goals. Amanda Dionne made her first appearance in the cage in the final 2:13 of the game but did not face a shot. Lexie Ball made 10 saves in 60 minutes for the Cardinals, allowing 16 scores to fall to 6-8 this season.

In the first half, Carolina out-shot the Cardinals, 20-9, and built a 7-1 lead when Ortega scored with 3:07 remaining. Sarah Blalock scored with 2:05 left in the half to make it 7-2. Hoeg and Ortega had two goals and an assist apiece in the opening 30 minutes.

Carolina scored three goals in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half to take a 10-2 lead and eventually started the half on a 6-1 run to open up a 10-goal lead and put the game out of reach.

The Tar Heels will return to action next Saturday at noon at Syracuse.