GoHeels Exclusive: Ready To Rock And Roll

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

For much of last season, the first injury-free campaign of her North Carolina women's lacrosse career, Olivia Ferrucci was just trying to readjust.

A freshman when UNC won the 2016 NCAA championship, she appeared in only nine games before sustaining a season-ending injury. She then sat out the entire 2017 campaign due to a left knee injury and subsequent surgery. So, in her return to the field last season, she had to reacclimate herself to playing lacrosse.

Just as, if not more, important, though, was developing chemistry with her teammates, many of whom she hadn't played with before.

"The connections you make on the field are just completely different than off the field," Ferrucci said. "So I was fixing that up last year. Now this year, I'm feeling healthy, happy, friendly with my teammates and ready to rock and roll."

That's been evident throughout this season, during which she's started all but two games and set career highs in almost every statistical category. And it was certainly the case Sunday.

In leading third-seeded Carolina to a 15-11 win over unseeded Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Ferrucci scored a team-high five goals. That total matched the career high she set against Duke on April 20. The multi-goal game also marked her seventh of the season.

With the victory, UNC advances to the NCAA quarterfinals, where they'll face sixth-seeded Virginia on Saturday in Chapel Hill. Ferrucci enters the contest with a six-game goal scoring streak, tied for the longest of her career. She's tallied 16 goals and six assists in that span.

A highly touted recruit coming out of Barron Collier High School in Naples, Fla., Ferrucci, the first Tar Heel women's lacrosse player from the state of Florida, scored in each of the first six games of her career. Three games later, she suffered the knee injury that prematurely ended her season. And she's been striving to regain her freshman form since then.

Now that she has, she has Carolina one win away from reaching the NCAA semifinals for the eighth time in 11 years.

"She's a tough kid," Jenny Levy said. "She's a focused kid. We're all impressed by her every day because she's like a second coach on the field. You can give her feedback, she knows exactly what's supposed to happen, she communicates well. So to see her have this kind of game is really important for us."

But it was particularly vital given the Gators' impressive defensive effort against UNC's two stars, Katie Hoeg and Jamie Ortega.

Sunday was a special day for both players. Ortega set the school record for goals in a season when she scored her 73rd late in the first half. The goal also helped her become the first Tar Heel to ever reach the 100-point plateau. Just before then, Hoeg dished out the 122nd assist of her career, surpassing Ela Hazar's school record.

Yet Florida limited Ortega and Hoeg overall.

The duo combined for seven points – four more than they finished with in Carolina's 11-9 win over the Gators on March 16, but still three shy of their season average (10.3). Ferrucci stepped up, though. So, too, did Scottie Rose Growney, who notched a career-high four goals.

"It's something we've been working on in practice, just having Jamie and Katie getting shut down late in the season because everybody is always so excited to play them," said Ferrucci, who ranks third on the team behind Ortega and Hoeg in points (50).

"Scottie and I have been working really hard in practice and our defense has been preparing us to help out Jamie when she's getting shut down and help out Hoeg so we can fill those gaps on the offense."

Ferrucci did that from the onset Sunday, scoring UNC's first two goals. From there, the Tar Heels stretched their lead to five goals four times. But Florida never went away.

After Ferrucci's fourth goal pushed Carolina's lead to 13-8 with 13:49 left, the Gators reeled off three unanswered goals. Kara Klages, however, eventually snapped the run with 5:52 remaining. Moments later, Ferrucci all but sealed the win when she drove toward the cage and powered a shot past the Florida goalkeeper. Her teammates didn't expect anything less.

"It's really awesome having her being that other leader," Growney said. "She doesn't necessarily have the title (of captain), but at the same time, she doesn't need it in order for us to listen to her. She's just a really good role model, a really good person to look up.

"When times get tough, we look to her to score goals. And that's what she's done for the past four years here."

A redshirt junior, Ferrucci has a year of eligibility left. But as of now, she's unsure if she'll stay for another season; she's one class away from graduating, and said it'll depend on how she's feeling physically after this season.

One thing is certain, though: She's determined to return to the national championship game.

"I want to be back there," she said. "Winning it on the bench is an amazing feeling, and I'll never forget that feeling. But I would love to get back there again as a senior leading this group."

Sunday, she took a step toward accomplishing that.

Players Mentioned

Olivia Ferrucci

Scottie Rose Growney

Ela Hazar

Katie Hoeg

Kara Klages

Jamie Ortega

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