Tar Heels Earn 7th Final Four Trip In 10 Years, Downing Wildcats, 19-14

Saturday, May 19

Chapel Hill

1:00 PM

North Carolina

17-3

Northwestern

15-6

Northwestern

North Carolina

Taylor Moreno (30) and the Tar Heels are headed to the NCAA final four.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Tar Heels Earn 7th Final Four Trip In 10 Years, Downing Wildcats, 19-14

May 19, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Final Stats Bracket Photo Gallery Final Four Tickets

CHAPEL HILL—Taylor Moreno made 17 saves and six Tar Heels scored multiple goals as second-seeded North Carolina (17-3) defeated Northwestern (15-6) by a score of 19-14 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.  With the victory, Carolina clinched its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament final four in the last 10 seasons.

The Tar Heels advanced to next weekend's NCAA semifinals, where they will face James Madison, which beat Florida on Saturday. Maryland and Boston College will round out the final four teams next weekend.

The win was Carolina's fifth in a row over the Wildcats and its seventh in the last eight meetings in the series.

"That obviously was a really tough quarterfinal game against a really good Northwestern team that puts a lot of pressure on you all over the field, especially on the offensive end," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said afterward.  "I think the overall play of our team has gotten better of the course of the season, and it's a true team.  So many different kids are contributing, and I'm really proud of this group.

"Most of the stats were pretty equal, but I thought the leadership of our group and the poise we had during certain stretches when we weren't in control of the game really made a difference for us."

Jamie Ortega led the Tar Heels with five goals and an assist, while Marie McCool added three goals, three assists and 11 draw controls, breaking the UNC single-season draw control record in the process. Ela Hazar also had three goals and three assists, and Maggie Bill added two goals and two assists. Olivia Ferrucci and Kara Klages each scored twice, and Scottie Rose Growney scored once.

Katie Hoeg had a goal and three assists and broke the UNC single-season scoring record. She entered the game with 83 points, tying Kara Cannizzaro (2013) and Molly Hendrick (2017) for the most in school history. She now has 87 points entering next weekend's action.

Selena Lasota led the Wildcats with five goals, and Shelby Fredericks had four assists. Danita Stroup, Nicole Beardsley and Holly Korn all scored twice.

Moreno (7-1) started for Carolina in goal and posted her fourth consecutive game with double-digit saves, finishing with 17 to tie her career high.  Julie Krupnick started in goal for the Wildcats and took the loss, making three saves and allowing 14 goals in 43:50 in the cage.

Northwestern out-shot UNC, 40-38, and had 16 ground balls to Carolina's 10. The Tar Heels won 20 draws to the Wildcats' 15.

Carolina scored first just 25 seconds into the game and led by four goals at 6-2 at the 22:11 mark of the opening half. From that point, the Wildcats scored four consecutive goals in less than four minutes to tie it at 6-6 and force a Tar Heel timeout. UNC responded with back-to-back goals and closed the first half on a 5-2 run for an 11-8 halftime edge.

Northwestern cut the UNC lead to as few as two goals at 13-11 with 23:06 to go in the second half, but the Tar Heels then ripped off three consecutive goals to regain control and cruise the rest of the way to the win.