Tar Heels Set To Open Stadium Saturday Vs. Northwestern

Saturday, March 2

Chapel Hill

12:30 PM

North Carolina

Northwestern

Katie Hoeg

Photo by: Greg Fiume

February 28, 2019 | Women's Lacrosse

Watch Live Stats UNC Notes

TAR HEELS TO HOST NORTHWESTERN TO OPEN NEW STADIUM
• North Carolina will open its new UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium by hosting Northwestern in a matchup of top-five teams on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
• Third-ranked Carolina and fifth-ranked Northwestern are scheduled to take the opening draw at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, following the UNC men's lacrosse game against Denver that will begin at 10 a.m.
• The ACC Network Extra will stream the game live.
• Carolina (3-1) and Northwestern (3-1) are meeting in the regular season for the 15th consecutive year.
• After starting the season 3-0, Carolina is coming off a 13-12 overtime loss at No. 2 Maryland last Sunday.
• The Tar Heels are ranked No. 3 in the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse D1 Media polls this week. The Wildcats lost, 15-14, at Syracuse last Sunday before winning, 20-6, at Canisius on Monday.

NEW STADIUM
• The University of North Carolina will open its new, on-campus UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium on Saturday March 2 by hosting a men's and women's doubleheader.
• The No. 15-ranked Tar Heel men will host the No. 8-rated Denver Pioneers on Saturday at 10 a.m. (previous announced time was 11 a.m.).
• The third-ranked women's team will host fifth-ranked Northwestern at 12:30 p.m. in a matchup of traditional national powers in the sport. The previous game time had been listed as 2 p.m.
• There will be no admission charge for either game.
• Saturday will mark the inaugural events in the facility that has been under construction since May 2017. It is built on the site of the old Fetzer Field, which housed six sports on campus from 1935 through 2017. The current name of the new facility is the UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWESTERN
• Northwestern leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 11-9.
• The Tar Heels have won seven of the last eight meetings between these two teams, including five in a row (after Northwestern won 10 of the first 12 meetings in the series between 2005-12).
• Carolina is 5-3 against Northwestern in Chapel Hill.
• Saturday will be the 16th meeting in the series in the last 11 seasons (since 2009).
• These two programs have met in the regular season 15 seasons in a row (every year since 2005).
• Tar Heel assistant coach Katrina Dowd played at Northwestern from 2007-10. She was a two-time first-team All-America, a three-time NCAA champion and the 2010 IWLCA Attacker of the Year as a Wildcat.

LAST YEAR IN CHAPEL HILL IN THE NCAA QUARTERFINAL
CAROLINA BEATS NORTHWESTERN, 19-14 (Saturday, May 19, 2018)
• Taylor Moreno tied her career high with 17 saves and six Tar Heels scored multiple goals as second-seeded North Carolina defeated Northwestern, 19-14, in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Chapel Hill on May 19, 2018.
• 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.

LAST YEAR IN EVANSTON
CAROLINA BEATS NORTHWESTERN, 18-13 (Saturday, March 17, 2018)
• Ela Hazar had a record-setting day as fourth-ranked North Carolina (6-2) beat ninth-ranked Northwestern, 18-13, on March 17, 2018, at Martin Stadium. UNC outscored the Wildcats, 11-5, in the second half after Northwestern led, 8-7, at halftime.
• Hazar had eight assists for the Tar Heels, besting the previous single-game UNC record of six set by Amy Fine in 1997 and tied by Sydney Holman in 2014. Hazar also became the school's career leader in the category, passing Becky Lynch (who had 92 assists from 2009-12).
• In addition to Hazar, the Tar Heels got big games from Katie Hoeg with four goals and three assists and Marie McCool with three goals, two assists and five draw controls. Jamie Ortega had three goals and an assist, Ally Mastroianni scored three times and Marisa DiVietro had two goals and an assist. Kara Klages, Gianna Bowe and Maggie Bill each scored once for the Tar Heels.
• Northwestern (5-3) got four goals each from Selena Lasota and Claire Quinn.

TAR HEELS DROP OT DECISION AT MARYLAND
• Caroline Steele scored with 2:46 left in overtime to give second-ranked Maryland (3-0) a 13-12 win over third-ranked North Carolina (3-1) at Capital One Field on Feb. 24.
• Carolina survived playing three players down for a portion of overtime due to two yellow cards and a green card for too many players on the field. UNC goalie Taylor Moreno made her 11th save of the day on a free position try to close the first three-minute segment of the extra stanza and keep Tar Heel hopes alive.
• Maryland won the draw to start the second half of overtime, however, and Steele delivered the goal to give the Terrapins their 79th consecutive home win.
• Jamie Ortega and Gianna Bowe each scored three goals for Carolina, while Ally Mastroianni added two goals and a career-high 10 draw controls. Katie Hoeg had a goal and two assists, and Kara Klages had a goal and one assist. Olivia Ferrucci and Elizabeth Hillman scored single goals for UNC.
• For Maryland, Jen Giles had three goals and two assists, Kali Hartshorn had three goals and Steele scored twice.

HOEG & MORENO SWEEP ACC WEEKLY AWARDS (FEB. 12)
• Carolina junior attacker Katie Hoeg has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 12, while UNC goalie Taylor Moreno was selected as ACC Defensive Player of the Week.
• Hoeg had career highs with six assists and nine points as No. 2 North Carolina beat defending NCAA champion and fourth-ranked James Madison. Hoeg scored the eventual game-winning goal and assisted on three of teammate Jamie Ortega's five goals in the Tar Heel victory.
• Moreno was dominant in the cage in Carolina's 18-7 win over James Madison, making 10 saves and adding a caused turnover and a ground ball. Moreno helped limit the 2018 NCAA champion Dukes to just seven goals, and the 11-goal margin of victory was the biggest in the history of the UNC-JMU series.

PRESEASON ALL-ACC POLL & INDIVIDUAL HONORS
• The Atlantic Coast Conference released its preseason coaches poll on Feb. 6, and the conference's coaches predicted North Carolina will finish second in the league behind Boston College.
• Three Tar Heels made the 2019 Preseason All-ACC Team: junior attacker Katie Hoeg, sophomore attacker Jamie Ortega and sophomore goalie Taylor Moreno.
• The ACC head coaches made Boston College the conference favorite after the Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament final a season ago. BC received 63 points in voting from the ACC coaches, and UNC was second with 55 points. The rest of the preseason ACC poll was No. 3 Virginia Tech, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Syracuse, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Duke and No. 8 Louisville.

SIX TAR HEELS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS FROM ILWOMEN
• Katie Hoeg, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard all earned 2019 preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse's 2019 Face-Off Yearbook. Hoeg earned first-team honors at attack, Ortega was a second-team attacker and Trenchard was a third-team defender.
• Three Tar Heels earned honorable mention All-America honors, including senior midfielder Kara Klages, senior defender Charlotte Sofield and sophomore goalie Taylor Moreno.
• Hoeg, a junior, earned first-team All-America honors in 2018 after leading Carolina with a career-high and school-record 89 points and a UNC single-season record 50 assists.
• Ortega was the 2018 ACC Rookie of the Year. She posted what is likely the best freshman season in Carolina history, setting school freshman records for most goals with 70 (20 more than the previous freshman record of 50) and most points with 86. Her 86 points were the second-most by a Tar Heel in UNC history (behind Hoeg's 89). Ortega's 70 goals were the second-most in a season by a Tar Heel (Molly Hendrick had 72 in 2017).
• Trenchard earned a spot with the U.S. Women's National Training Team in the fall of 2018 under head coach Jenny Levy. She started all 21 games at defender for the Tar Heels last spring.

SIX TAR HEELS LEAD U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TRAINING TEAM ROSTER
• Six current and former Carolina women's lacrosse players led the way as the U.S. Women's National Training Team played at the President's Cup in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., last November.
• Tar Heels Kristen Carr (UNC '10), Molly Hendrick ('17), Marie McCool ('18), Emily Garrity Parros ('13), Sloane Serpe ('14) and Emma Trenchard ('21) were among the 25 players named to the training team in October 2018. Trenchard is among six current college players on the team and one of three sophomores, the youngest group on the squad.
• Carolina's six players on the team are the most of any school in the nation. Maryland was second with five, and Syracuse had four. UNC's Jenny Levy is the head coach of the team.

HILLMAN, HOWER & NEUMEN MAKE U.S. U19 TRAINING TEAM ROSTER
•Three UNC freshmen women's lacrosse players are among 23 players on the 2019 U.S. U19 women's national team following the late January Spring Premiere in California, head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller announced.
• First-year UNC midfielder Elizabeth Hillman, goalie Kimber Hower and defener Brooklyn Neumen all made the squad.
• From an initial pool of 110 players that participated in tryouts last summer, US Lacrosse took 34 players to Stanford University for a training weekend at Spring Premiere, a six-team women's event featuring the U.S. senior and U19 teams, national teams from Japan and England, and college teams from Fresno State and Stanford.

A TOP FRESHMAN CLASS
• The Tar Heels boast one of the top freshman classes in the nation, led by midfielder Elizabeth Hillman, Inside Lacrosse's pick as the top overall freshman in the country.
• Hillman and classmates Tayler Warehime, Kimber Hower, Gabi Hall, Brooklyn Neumen and Amanda Fedor have been ranked among the top 100 recruits nationally.

CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR LEVY THROUGH 2023
• Two-time national champion and United States National Team women's lacrosse coach Jenny Levy has signed a contract extension with the University of North Carolina, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham announced on Dec. 19, 2018. Levy's contract now runs through 2023.
• In her 24th season as the North Carolina head coach, Levy is among the best coaches in women's lacrosse history. She ranks third in NCAA Division I history in career wins and is a two-time National Coach of the Year. She was named the head coach of the United States National Team in November of 2017.
• Levy boasts a career record of 332-113, including 72-31 in ACC play, in her 24th season.
• Levy has led the Tar Heels to 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, including seven in the last 10 years. Her 32 NCAA Tournament wins rank fifth in NCAA history. She is the eighth coach to win multiple NCAA titles.

UNC, EPOCH AGREE TO MULTIYEAR EQUIPMENT CONTRACT
• The University of North Carolina and two-time NCAA champion head coach Jenny Levy have agreed to a multiyear contract with Epoch Lacrosse, the industry leader in lacrosse technology, to be the exclusive supplier of hard goods such as stick heads, shafts, gloves and other select equipment to the Tar Heel women's lacrosse program, UNC announced in January.

NINE TAR HEELS DOT 2019 WPLL ROSTERS
• Nine former UNC players dot 2019 rosters for teams in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL). Carolina assistant coach Katrina Dowd is on a roster as well, making 10 players with Tar Heel ties in the WPLL this season.
• Former Carolina players on WPLL rosters for 2019 include Ela Hazar (New England), Laura Zimmerman (Baltimore), Marie McCool (Baltimore), Sammy Jo Tracy (Upstate), Kristen Carr (Upstate), Lindsey Scott (New York), Aly Messinger (Philadelphia), Courtney Waite (Philadelphia) and Caylee Waters (Philadelphia).
• Dowd was one of 14 new players drafted by WPLL teams, joining the New York Fight.

HOEG POSTS CAREER YEAR IN 2018
• Junior attacker Katie Hoeg posted a career-best season thus a year ago in 2018, grabbing a starting job for the Tar Heels for the first time and breaking school records along the way.
• She set career highs in goals, assists and points in 2018, posting a UNC-record 87 points, breaking the previous record of 83. She also had a UNC-record 48 assists on the year.

ORTEGA BACK FOR MORE AFTER DOMINANT FRESHMAN SEASON
• 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 billing by posting what is perhaps the top rookie season in Carolina history.
• She was the 2018 National Rookie of the Year (Inside Lacrosse), the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year and a third-team All-America (Inside Lacrosse).
• Ortega set UNC freshman records for most goals with 70 (20 more than the previous freshman record of 50) and most points with 86.
• Her 86 points were the second-most by a Tar Heel in UNC history (behind teammate Katie Hoeg's 89). Her 70 goals were the second-most in a season by a Tar Heel (Molly Hendrick had 72 in 2017)
• Ortega all ACC freshmen and the UNC team in goals with 70 (second overall in the ACC) and also led all ACC freshmen in points (86).

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 54-8 IN LAST 62 GAMES
• The Tar Heels enter Saturday's game having gone 54-8 over the last three-plus seasons (dating to early in the 2016 season).

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK 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.
• The Tar Heels have won four ACC Tournaments, including each of the last three (2002, 2016, 2017, 2018).

KATRINA DOWD RETURNS
• Jenny Levy hired Katrina Dowd as associate head coach in the summer of 2018, marking Dowd's return to the team she helped guide to a pair of national championships in four previous years as a Tar Heel assistant.
• Dowd returned to Carolina after two years as the head coach at Oregon, where she compiled a record of 18-17 from 2017-18.
• Dowd serves as UNC's offensive coordinator and draw specialist coach. She also assists Levy and longtime assistant coach and director of recruiting Phil Barnes in scouting, recruiting and all other aspects of guiding the Carolina program.