No. 1 UNC Visits No. 7 Virginia For ACC Opener

Caroline Wakefield
University of North Carolina Women's Lacrosse v Maryland
UNC Lacrosse Soccer Stadium
Chapel Hill, NC
Saturday, February 22, 2020

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 28, 2020 | Women's Lacrosse

By: Pat James

The North Carolina women's lacrosse team will face its second straight top-10 opponent when it opens Atlantic Coast Conference play against Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will take the opening draw at 12 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Off to its best start since 2014, UNC (4- 0) is ranked No. 1 in all three national polls. UVA (4-1) is No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse DI Media Poll and the Nike/US Lacrosse DI poll and sits at No. 7 in the IWLCA poll.

The game will be aired on ACC Network Extra.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA

Carolina leads the all-time series with Virginia 27-13. The Tar Heels have won 16 of the last 17 games in the series, including seven in a row.
UNC beat the Cavaliers twice in 2019. In their regular-season meeting, Carolina scored two goals in the final seven minutes to overcome a one-goal deficit and defeat UVA, 13-12, in Chapel Hill. The two teams met again in Chapel Hill in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, when the Tar Heels won, 14-7, to advance to their eighth NCAA final four in the 11 years.
In its last trip to Charlottesville, UNC used a 9-3 run in the second half to hand Virginia a 13-9 loss on March 10, 2018. Jamie Ortega, then a freshman, finished with zero points, marking the only time in 46 career games she's been held scoreless.
Carolina head coach Jenny Levy played at Virginia from 1988-92, where she was a teammate of UVA head coach Julie Myers. Levy, then known as Jenny Slingluff, was a two-time first-team All-America attacker. She was also the Most Outstanding Attacker of the 1991 NCAA Tournament, leading the Cavaliers to their first-ever NCAA championship by scoring three goals in the title game.

UNC IN ACC OPENERS

The Tar Heels are 16-7 all-time in ACC openers. Since going 3-5 in their first eight league openers from 1997-2004, Carolina is 13-2 in such games.
UNC enters Saturday having won nine straight ACC openers. The last time it began conference play with a loss was in 2010, when Virginia's Ainsley Baker scored a career-high five goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to lift the Cavaliers to a 13-12 win in Charlottesville.
Saturday will mark the 13th time in 14 seasons that the Tar Heels have opened ACC play against Virginia.

A STRONG START

Carolina's 4-0 start is its best since 2014, when the Tar Heels started a program-best 11-0 before losing to Northwestern. That loss snapped a 15-game winning streak, dating back to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
UNC's 80 goals are its most through the first four games of a season since scoring 84 in 2014. Through Wednesday's games, Carolina ranked top 10 nationally in assists per game (first, 11.00), points per game (second, 31.00), scoring offense (second, 20.00) and shot percentage (seventh, .563).
The 21 goals the Tar Heels have allowed are the fewest they've surrendered through four games. The previous low of 22 came in 2006. UNC ranked first nationally in scoring defense (5.25 goals per game) through Wednesday.

TAR HEELS NOTCH HISTORIC WIN OVER RIVAL MARYLAND

Scottie Rose Growney scored a career-high six goals and Jamie Ortega added four goals and three assists as North Carolina downed then-No. 3 Maryland, 19-6, last Saturday at Dorrance Field.
UNC's 19 goals marked its most in 41 all-time games against the Terrapins, surpassing its previous best of 17, set on two occasions. The Tar Heels' 13-goal margin of victory was also their largest in the history of the rivalry, besting Carolina's 13-7 win in the 2016 national championship game.
UNC's 19 goals were the most surrendered by the Terrapins since they gave up 19 against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals on April 28, 2006.
Maryland's six goals matched its fewest ever against the Tar Heels. They were also the Terrapins' fewest against any opponent since scoring six against Carolina on April 25, 2008.

GROWNEY GARNERS IWLCA, ACC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Coming off the win over Maryland, Scottie Rose Growney was named the IWLCA Division I and Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
Growney, from Berwyn, Pa., scored a career-high six goals in UNC's 19-6 victory over the then-No. 3 Terrapins. She also recorded a ground ball and a draw control. Her six goals were the most scored by a Tar Heel against Maryland since Erin McGinnis (1996-99) had six on April 24, 1999.
Through four games this season, Growney has scored 13 goals, including four free-position goals.
Over her last seven games, dating back to last season, she's scored 23 goals.

SEVEN TAR HEELS ON 2020 WPLL PROTECTED ROSTERS

Seven former Carolina women's lacrosse players dot the protected rosters of teams in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL), as announced by the league and revealed by Inside Lacrosse on Thursday.
Former Tar Heels on WPLL rosters for the 2020 season include Molly Hendrick (Brave), Marie McCool (Brave), Emily Garrity Parros (Brave), Charlotte Sofield (Pride), Sammy Jo Tracy (Pride), Courtney Waite (Brave) and Caylee Waters (Fight).
Maryland is the only school with more players on protected rosters than UNC.
Carolina associate head coach Katrina Dowd is also on the protected roster of the WPLL Fight, meaning at least eight players with Tar Heel ties will be in the league next season.
The WPLL also announced the hiring of new league leadership in coaching and management positions on Thursday. Among the changes was the hiring of former Carolina and U.S. national team player Amber Falcone McKenzie as the league's Futures Director. In that position, she'll oversee the league's youth developmental arm and ongoing partnership with U.S. Lacrosse and its Under-15 and Under-17 teams.

UNC SWEEPS HIGH POINT, DAVIDSON BEHIND RECORD-SETTING OFFENSE

The Tar Heels erupted for 46 total goals as they cruised to a 24-3 win at then-No. 25 High Point on Feb. 14 and a 22-5 victory over Davidson on Feb. 16.
In the win over the Panthers, UNC tied the school record for goals in a game, set against Longwood on April 15, 2007 and against Canisius on Feb. 19, 2014. The 24 goals were also the most scored by Carolina in a road game and its most in any game since a 23-4 win over Liberty on Feb. 18, 2018.
In the Tar Heels' home opener against the Wildcats, 13 different players combined for 38 points, the most in program history. Carolina had registered its previous high of 37 points on two occasions, against Longwood on April 15, 2007 and against Canisius on April 15, 2018.
UNC also finished with a school-record 16 assists against Davidson. The Tar Heels had previously tallied 15 assists on four occasions, most recently against Canisius on April 15, 2018.
Katie Hoeg and Jamie Ortega led the way for Carolina, finishing with eight points each in both games. Hoeg logged six total goals and 10 assists, while Ortega posted 11 goals and five assists.
UNC led 15-1 at halftime of both games.

FOUR TAR HEELS MAKE TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LIST

North Carolina women's lacrosse players Katie Hoeg, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard are part of the 50-player watch list for the 2020 Tewaaraton Award, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced Feb. 13. The Tar Heels' four selections tied with Maryland for the most among all schools.
This marks the second straight year Hoeg, Moreno and Ortega have been named to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award. Moreno and Ortega were among the 25 nominees for the 2019 award.

MORENO NAMED ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Coming off the season-opening win over James Madison, North Carolina goalkeeper Taylor Moreno was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Feb. 11. It was the fourth time in her career that she received the honor.
Moreno, a redshirt junior, was stellar in UNC's 15-7 win over the then-17th-ranked Dukes, making 12 saves and allowing just three goals while facing 15 shots on goal. She also gathered a ground ball and caused a turnover in 43 minutes, 34 seconds of playing time.
The performance marked the 17th of her career with double-digit saves.

TAR HEELS BLOW PAST JMU IN 2020 OPENER

Second-ranked North Carolina kicked off the 2020 season in emphatic fashion on Feb. 8, beating then-No. 17 James Madison 15-7 at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg, Va.
Senior Katie Hoeg led the way for UNC with eight points (2g, 6a). She was followed closely by fellow Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American Jamie Ortega, who opened her junior campaign with seven points (3g, 4a).
Three other Tar Heels logged multi-point performances, including junior Scottie Rose Growney and sophomore Tayler Warehime, who each scored three goals to join Ortega with hat tricks. Freshman Melissa Sconone also added three points (2g, 1a) in her Carolina debut.

KATIE HOEG, JAMIE ORTEGA A DYNAMIC DUO

Any conversation about the Tar Heels' offense revolves around senior Katie Hoeg and junior Jamie Ortega – and rightfully so. The duo combined for 216 of Carolina's 490 points last season, becoming the first pair of 100-point scorers in program history. Through four games this season, they've totaled 59 of UNC's 124 points.
Ortega finished her sophomore season with a UNC-record 112 points in 2019. The previous school record was 89 points, set in 2018 by Hoeg – who had 104 points in 2019, just behind Ortega.
Ortega also broke the Carolina record for goals in a season, finishing with 81. The previous school record was 72, set by Molly Hendrick in 2017.
Entering Saturday's game against Virginia, Ortega is already tied for sixth in school history in scoring with 228 points and is tied for fifth in goals with 169. She needs 30 goals to break Abbey Friend's school record of 198 and 29 points to surpass Corey Donohoe's school-record mark of 256.
With 238 points already to her credit entering Saturday, Hoeg ranks fourth on UNC's career points list and will potentially have a chance to break Donohoe's record before Ortega. Only Marie McCool (246), Friend (250) and Donohoe are currently ahead of Hoeg.
After tallying a school-record 50 assists in 2018, her first year as a starter, Hoeg obliterated that mark last season, finishing with 73. Of those, 33 came on goals by Ortega.
With 17 assists through the first four games of this season, Hoeg has extended her school record to 149 career assists. Ela Hazar held the previous record with 121.

CONFERENCE CONSISTENCY

Carolina has won 42 of its last 47 games against ACC opponents and four consecutive ACC Tournaments.
UNC's four straight ACC titles are the second-longest streak in the event's history. Maryland won six straight from 2009-14. UNC's 12 consecutive ACC Tournament wins are also the second-longest streak in the tournament's history.
Carolina's five ACC titles overall are tied with Virginia for second-most behind Maryland's 11.
Since the 2015 ACC Tournament final, UNC's only league losses have come to Boston College (2018 and twice in 2019), Syracuse (2017) and Notre Dame (2019).

SIX TAR HEELS RECEIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS FROM ILWOMEN

Katie Hoeg, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard all grabbed spots on Inside Lacrosse's 2020 preseason first-team All-America team, the magazine announced on Jan. 22. Junior defender Kayla Wood and senior defender Catie Woodruff earned honorable mention All-America honors.
UNC's four selections to the 13-member first team were the most of any school. Northwestern and Syracuse each had two.

UNC CHOSEN AS ACC PRESEASON FAVORITE

The Atlantic Coast Conference released its preseason coaches poll on Feb. 4, and the conference's coaches picked North Carolina as the 2020 ACC women's lacrosse preseason favorite.
Winners of the last four ACC Tournaments, the Tar Heels received 62 points in voting from the ACC coaches, and Syracuse was second with 52. Notre Dame was third in the poll, followed by No. 4 Boston College, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Duke and No. 8 Louisville.
UNC also tied Syracuse for the most selections to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Four Carolina players grabbed spots on the 17-member team: senior attacker Katie Hoeg, redshirt junior goalkeeper Taylor Moreno, junior attacker Jamie Ortega and junior defender Emma Trenchard.

A TOP FRESHMAN CLASS

The Tar Heels boast one of the top freshman classes in the nation, led by midfielder/defender Livi Lawton, Inside Lacrosse's pick as the top freshman defender in the country.
Lawton, from Downingtown, Pa., is listed by IL as the No. 10 overall newcomer in the nation. Joining Lawton in the top 50 are midfielder Nicole Humphrey (No. 16), midfielder Briana Lantuh (No. 28), midfielder Julia Dorsey (No. 32), midfielder Emily Nalls (No. 39) and attacker Melissa Sconone (No. 47).
Additionally, attacker Katherine Thompson is listed among IL's first-year players "On The Rise."

HILLMAN, NEUMEN WIN GOLD AT U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

UNC sophomores Elizabeth Hillman and Brooklyn Neumen were two of 18 players on the U.S. Women's U19 lacrosse team that captured the gold medal at the 2019 World Lacrosse Women's U19 World Championship in August in Peterborough, Ontario.
In the gold-medal game against Canada, Hillman, one of two co-captains on the U.S. squad, scored early in the second half to put the Americans up 9-2. They went on to win 13-3, giving the U.S. its fifth U19 world title.

UNC WELL-REPRESENTED ON U.S. FALL CLASSIC ROSTER

Of the 27 players who Jenny Levy selected to the United States women's national team for the 2019 Fall Classic, seven were Tar Heels. Junior Emma Trenchard was one of just five current college players on the roster and the only junior. Alumnae Kristen Carr, Molly Hendrick, Marie McCool, Emily Garrity Parros, Courtney Waite and Caylee Waters gave Carolina the most players of any school.