University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina reached the NCAA final four in 2018 for the seventh time in 10 years.
2018 Season Review
June 5, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse
• The North Carolina women's lacrosse team (17-4, 6-1 ACC) posted another successful season in 2018, winning its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship and reaching the NCAA semifinals for the seventh time in the last 10 years.
• The Tar Heels won a pair of NCAA Tournament home games before losing to eventual national champion James Madison in the semifinals in Stony Brook, N.Y., improving to 23-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament home games. Â
• UNC has made 10 trips to the NCAA final four in its history, including seven in the last 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018).
• UNC in 2018 made its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 23 years as a varsity program, including its 14th in a row.Â
• The Tar Heels won 11 of their last 12 games in 2018, finishing No. 4 in the final IWLCA poll and No. 5 in the Cascade Media Poll.
MCCOOL NAMED TEWAARATON FINALIST FOR 2ND TIME
• Marie McCool was one of five finalists for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award. McCool was a finalist for the second year in a row, becoming the first UNC player to be a finalist twice.
• The five women's finalists were McCool, Stony Brook senior attacker Kylie Ohlmiller, Boston College's Sam Apuzzo, James Madison's Kristen Gaudian and Maryland's Megan Whittle.
• McCool (2017, 2018) is the sixth Tar Heel to be a Tewaaraton finalist, joining Christine McPike (2002), Amber Falcone (2009), Jen Russell (2010), Becky Lynch (2012) and Kara Cannizzaro (2013).
• Senior Ela Hazar was one of the top 50 Tewaaraton candidates.
SMASHING OFFENSIVE RECORDS
• Carolina rewrote its offensive record book in 2018. The Tar Heels set new school records for most goals (332), assists (179) and points (511).
• The quartet of Katie Hoeg, Jamie Ortega, Ela Hazar and Marie McCool was largely responsible for the offensive explosion in 2018.Â
• Hoeg (89 points), Ortega (86), McCool (84) and Hazar (82) all posted career highs in points in 2018. Their efforts represent four of the top six single-season point totals in UNC history, including Hoeg's school-record 89.
FOUR ILWOMEN ALL-AMERICAS
• Four Tar Heels earned All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse for 2018.Â
• Senior midfielder Marie McCool made the first team and sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg made the second team, while senior attacker Ela Hazar and freshman attacker Jamie Ortega made the third team.Â
• Sophomore defender Erin Kelly and redshirt freshman goalie Taylor Moreno were on the honorable mention list.
MCCOOL & ORTEGA GRAB ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
• Marie McCool won the ACC Midfielder of the Year award for the second year in a row. McCool, a three-time first-team All-America and All-ACC selection, is the first player in ACC women's lacrosse history to repeat as the ACC Midfielder of the Year.Â
• Jamie Ortega was the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year. She led all ACC freshmen and the Tar Heels with 70 goals, which also ranked second overall in the ACC. Her 86 points (70g, 16a) also led all ACC rookies and ranked fourth overall. The Centereach, N.Y., native was at her best late in the season, tallying a career-high seven goals versus Duke in the Tar Heels' regular-season finale, and scoring six goals in two ACC Tournament games against Syracuse in the quarterfinals and against Boston College in the title game. She totaled an ACC Tournament-record 15 goals in three games and was named to the all-tournament team. She had four goals and one assist in the NCAA semifinal against James Madison, earning All-NCAA Tournament Team honors.
SIX TAR HEELS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
• North Carolina placed six players on the 2018 All-ACC Women's Lacrosse Teams, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. Carolina and Boston College each had six players on the teams.
• Senior midfielder Marie McCool, sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg and junior defender Charlotte Sofield made the All-ACC first team.Â
• Senior attackers Ela Hazar and Maggie Bill and junior midfielder Kara Klages were second-team selections.
• McCool earned first-team honors for the third year in a row, becoming just the eighth Tar Heel to do so (joining Porter Wilkinson, Jenn Cook, Christina Juras, Amber Falcone, Corey Donohoe, Sloane Serpe and Abbey Friend.
• Bill and Hazar earned all-conference honors for the second time each, with Hazar having won first-team accolades in 2017 and Bill second-team in 2015.
HOEG'S CAREER YEAR
• Sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg posted a career-best season in 2018, grabbing a starting job for the Tar Heels for the first time and breaking school records along the way. She posted career highs in goals (39), assists (50) and points (89) in 2018.
• Hoeg finished the year with a UNC school-record 89 points, breaking the previous record of 83 in the NCAA quarterfinal win over Northwestern.Â
• She also had a UNC-record 50 assists, including four in the NCAA second round against Virginia Tech, three in the quarterfinals against Northwestern and two in the semifinals vs. James Madison.
ORTEGA POSTSÂ A DOMINANTÂ 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., lived up to her lofty billing. She won the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year award in a vote of the league's coaches and earned spots on both the All-ACC Tournament Team and the All-NCAA Tournament Team.
• Ortega tallied 70 goals and 16 assists for 86 points on the season, leading all ACC freshmen in goals and points and leading UNC in goals.
• Ortega's 70 goals and 86 points were both UNC freshman records.
• 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.Â
• 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.
• She was named the IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week on May 3 after her strong ACC Tournament performance.
HAZAR IS THE FIRST TAR HEEL EVERÂ TO COMPILE 100 CAREER ASSISTS
• Ela Hazar became the first UNC player to record 100 career assists on March 28 when she tallied her 100th against Virginia Tech.Â
• Hazar finished her career with Carolina records for most assists in a game (eight) and a career (121) Her 47 assists in 2018 were a career high and the second-highest total in UNC history (behind Katie Hoeg's 50 in 2018).Â
• Hazar set the UNC career record on March 17 at Northwestern, snapping the previous record of 92 set by Becky Lynch (2009-12).Â
• Hazar also set a school single-game record with eight assists in the same, 18-13 win at Northwestern on March 17. Â
• She was a 2018 Midseason All-America by ILWomen.com.Â
MARIE McCOOL ALL OVER THE FIELDÂ AGAIN AS A SENIOR
• Midfielder Marie McCool is among the most decorated players in the nation and was one of five finalists for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award (and the first two-time finalist in UNC history). She also was one of four candidates for the Honda Sport Award for Women's Lacrosse.
• She finished 2018 with a school-record 165 draw controls and a team-high 23 caused turnovers this season, as well as a career-high 61 goals (second on the team) and career-high 84 points (third on the team).Â
• 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 a three-time, first-team All-America and a three-time, first-team All-ACC pick. She also was the 2017 and 2018 ACC Midfielder of the Year and the 2017 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She also was one of four nominees for the 2017 Honda Award for Lacrosse. Â
• 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.
CAROLINA HAS WON 33 OF LAST 35 VS. ACC
• Carolina has won 33 of its last 35 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 51-7 IN LAST 58 GAMES
• The Tar Heels completed the 2018 season having won 51 of their last 58 games, dating to early in the 2016 season.Â
• Carolina closed its 2016 NCAA championship run on a 17-game winning streak, then went 17-3 in 2017 prior to this season. UNC is riding an 11-game winning streak entering the NCAA championship weekend in Stony Brook.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACKÂ ACC TOURNAMENT TITLES
• Carolina won its third consecutive ACC Tournament in 2018, beating Syracuse, Virginia Tech and previously unbeaten Boston College to take the crown in Durham, N.C.Â
• The Tar Heels have won four ACC Tournaments, including each of the last three (2002, 2016, 2017, 2018).
300 WINS FOR LEVY
• Head coach Jenny Levy became the third coach in NCAA Division I history to win 300 games with a win over Canisius in March 2017. Â
• Levy joined Navy's Cindy Timchal and Princeton's Chris Sailer in the 300-win club, and Virginia's Julie Myers and Florida's Amanda O'Leary have since joined the group.
• Levy has a record of 329-113 in her 23rd season as a head coach (all at Carolina).
LEVY NAMED HEAD COACH OFÂ U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
• UNC's Jenny Levy was named head coach of the United States women's national team on November 9, 2017.
• Levy takes over for Georgetown coach Ricky Fried, who led the U.S. to back-to-back Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships, including a 10-5 victory over Canada in the gold medal game in Guildford, England last summer. The U.S. has been the dominant force in international women's lacrosse for decades, winning eight of the 10 FIL World Cups held since 1982.
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• The Tar Heels won a pair of NCAA Tournament home games before losing to eventual national champion James Madison in the semifinals in Stony Brook, N.Y., improving to 23-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament home games. Â
• UNC has made 10 trips to the NCAA final four in its history, including seven in the last 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018).
• UNC in 2018 made its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 23 years as a varsity program, including its 14th in a row.Â
• The Tar Heels won 11 of their last 12 games in 2018, finishing No. 4 in the final IWLCA poll and No. 5 in the Cascade Media Poll.
MCCOOL NAMED TEWAARATON FINALIST FOR 2ND TIME
• Marie McCool was one of five finalists for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award. McCool was a finalist for the second year in a row, becoming the first UNC player to be a finalist twice.
• The five women's finalists were McCool, Stony Brook senior attacker Kylie Ohlmiller, Boston College's Sam Apuzzo, James Madison's Kristen Gaudian and Maryland's Megan Whittle.
• McCool (2017, 2018) is the sixth Tar Heel to be a Tewaaraton finalist, joining Christine McPike (2002), Amber Falcone (2009), Jen Russell (2010), Becky Lynch (2012) and Kara Cannizzaro (2013).
• Senior Ela Hazar was one of the top 50 Tewaaraton candidates.
SMASHING OFFENSIVE RECORDS
• Carolina rewrote its offensive record book in 2018. The Tar Heels set new school records for most goals (332), assists (179) and points (511).
• The quartet of Katie Hoeg, Jamie Ortega, Ela Hazar and Marie McCool was largely responsible for the offensive explosion in 2018.Â
• Hoeg (89 points), Ortega (86), McCool (84) and Hazar (82) all posted career highs in points in 2018. Their efforts represent four of the top six single-season point totals in UNC history, including Hoeg's school-record 89.
FOUR ILWOMEN ALL-AMERICAS
• Four Tar Heels earned All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse for 2018.Â
• Senior midfielder Marie McCool made the first team and sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg made the second team, while senior attacker Ela Hazar and freshman attacker Jamie Ortega made the third team.Â
• Sophomore defender Erin Kelly and redshirt freshman goalie Taylor Moreno were on the honorable mention list.
MCCOOL & ORTEGA GRAB ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
• Marie McCool won the ACC Midfielder of the Year award for the second year in a row. McCool, a three-time first-team All-America and All-ACC selection, is the first player in ACC women's lacrosse history to repeat as the ACC Midfielder of the Year.Â
• Jamie Ortega was the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year. She led all ACC freshmen and the Tar Heels with 70 goals, which also ranked second overall in the ACC. Her 86 points (70g, 16a) also led all ACC rookies and ranked fourth overall. The Centereach, N.Y., native was at her best late in the season, tallying a career-high seven goals versus Duke in the Tar Heels' regular-season finale, and scoring six goals in two ACC Tournament games against Syracuse in the quarterfinals and against Boston College in the title game. She totaled an ACC Tournament-record 15 goals in three games and was named to the all-tournament team. She had four goals and one assist in the NCAA semifinal against James Madison, earning All-NCAA Tournament Team honors.
SIX TAR HEELS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
• North Carolina placed six players on the 2018 All-ACC Women's Lacrosse Teams, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. Carolina and Boston College each had six players on the teams.
• Senior midfielder Marie McCool, sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg and junior defender Charlotte Sofield made the All-ACC first team.Â
• Senior attackers Ela Hazar and Maggie Bill and junior midfielder Kara Klages were second-team selections.
• McCool earned first-team honors for the third year in a row, becoming just the eighth Tar Heel to do so (joining Porter Wilkinson, Jenn Cook, Christina Juras, Amber Falcone, Corey Donohoe, Sloane Serpe and Abbey Friend.
• Bill and Hazar earned all-conference honors for the second time each, with Hazar having won first-team accolades in 2017 and Bill second-team in 2015.
HOEG'S CAREER YEAR
• Sophomore attacker Katie Hoeg posted a career-best season in 2018, grabbing a starting job for the Tar Heels for the first time and breaking school records along the way. She posted career highs in goals (39), assists (50) and points (89) in 2018.
• Hoeg finished the year with a UNC school-record 89 points, breaking the previous record of 83 in the NCAA quarterfinal win over Northwestern.Â
• She also had a UNC-record 50 assists, including four in the NCAA second round against Virginia Tech, three in the quarterfinals against Northwestern and two in the semifinals vs. James Madison.
ORTEGA POSTSÂ A DOMINANTÂ 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., lived up to her lofty billing. She won the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year award in a vote of the league's coaches and earned spots on both the All-ACC Tournament Team and the All-NCAA Tournament Team.
• Ortega tallied 70 goals and 16 assists for 86 points on the season, leading all ACC freshmen in goals and points and leading UNC in goals.
• Ortega's 70 goals and 86 points were both UNC freshman records.
• 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.Â
• 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.
• She was named the IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week on May 3 after her strong ACC Tournament performance.
HAZAR IS THE FIRST TAR HEEL EVERÂ TO COMPILE 100 CAREER ASSISTS
• Ela Hazar became the first UNC player to record 100 career assists on March 28 when she tallied her 100th against Virginia Tech.Â
• Hazar finished her career with Carolina records for most assists in a game (eight) and a career (121) Her 47 assists in 2018 were a career high and the second-highest total in UNC history (behind Katie Hoeg's 50 in 2018).Â
• Hazar set the UNC career record on March 17 at Northwestern, snapping the previous record of 92 set by Becky Lynch (2009-12).Â
• Hazar also set a school single-game record with eight assists in the same, 18-13 win at Northwestern on March 17. Â
• She was a 2018 Midseason All-America by ILWomen.com.Â
MARIE McCOOL ALL OVER THE FIELDÂ AGAIN AS A SENIOR
• Midfielder Marie McCool is among the most decorated players in the nation and was one of five finalists for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award (and the first two-time finalist in UNC history). She also was one of four candidates for the Honda Sport Award for Women's Lacrosse.
• She finished 2018 with a school-record 165 draw controls and a team-high 23 caused turnovers this season, as well as a career-high 61 goals (second on the team) and career-high 84 points (third on the team).Â
• 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 a three-time, first-team All-America and a three-time, first-team All-ACC pick. She also was the 2017 and 2018 ACC Midfielder of the Year and the 2017 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She also was one of four nominees for the 2017 Honda Award for Lacrosse. Â
• 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.
CAROLINA HAS WON 33 OF LAST 35 VS. ACC
• Carolina has won 33 of its last 35 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 51-7 IN LAST 58 GAMES
• The Tar Heels completed the 2018 season having won 51 of their last 58 games, dating to early in the 2016 season.Â
• Carolina closed its 2016 NCAA championship run on a 17-game winning streak, then went 17-3 in 2017 prior to this season. UNC is riding an 11-game winning streak entering the NCAA championship weekend in Stony Brook.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACKÂ ACC TOURNAMENT TITLES
• Carolina won its third consecutive ACC Tournament in 2018, beating Syracuse, Virginia Tech and previously unbeaten Boston College to take the crown in Durham, N.C.Â
• The Tar Heels have won four ACC Tournaments, including each of the last three (2002, 2016, 2017, 2018).
300 WINS FOR LEVY
• Head coach Jenny Levy became the third coach in NCAA Division I history to win 300 games with a win over Canisius in March 2017. Â
• Levy joined Navy's Cindy Timchal and Princeton's Chris Sailer in the 300-win club, and Virginia's Julie Myers and Florida's Amanda O'Leary have since joined the group.
• Levy has a record of 329-113 in her 23rd season as a head coach (all at Carolina).
LEVY NAMED HEAD COACH OFÂ U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
• UNC's Jenny Levy was named head coach of the United States women's national team on November 9, 2017.
• Levy takes over for Georgetown coach Ricky Fried, who led the U.S. to back-to-back Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships, including a 10-5 victory over Canada in the gold medal game in Guildford, England last summer. The U.S. has been the dominant force in international women's lacrosse for decades, winning eight of the 10 FIL World Cups held since 1982.
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Players Mentioned
Attacker/Midfielder
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Defender
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Goalkeeper
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Attacker
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Defender/Midfielder
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