University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tournament Time: Looking Back On The 2002 ACC Title
April 22, 2020 | Women's Lacrosse
If not for the cancellation of all sports, among several other things, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship would be kicking off Wednesday in Chapel Hill. In its absence, GoHeels.com will take a look back at each of North Carolina's five ACC titles between now and Sunday.
Six seasons into the program's existence, the North Carolina women's lacrosse team had already experienced its fair share of success, making the NCAA Tournament five times and reaching the national semifinals twice.
But the Tar Heels had yet won an ACC championship, despite appearing in two of the conference tournament's first five title games.
On April 21, 2002, though, UNC finally broke through. Behind five goals by ACC Player of the Year Christine McPike, second-seeded and fourth-ranked Carolina defeated fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked Maryland, 11-10, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, claiming its first ACC title.
"I credit every player that has come through the Carolina program," said head coach Jenny Levy at the time. "We started from scratch with club players who were the ones who petitioned to get this program started with a little help from Title IX. We've consistently been a very hardworking team. We've always played with a lot of heart and these guys are the benefactors of a lot of previous hard work. They've been able to focus their energies in a very positive direction. I was very happy to see them reach a goal of ours for this season."
In hindsight, that could've very easily not happened.
Facing third-seeded and seventh-ranked Duke two days earlier in the ACC Tournament semifinals, the Tar Heels quickly fell behind 5-2. Then, with 10:02 left in the first half, the game went into a weather delay that lasted one hour and 48 minutes. That gave UNC a chance to regroup, and that it did, outscoring the Blue Devils 10-3 the rest of the way for a 12-8 win.
Awaiting Carolina in the championship game were the Terrapins, winners of four of the first five ACC Tournaments. Two years earlier, in the 2000 title game, Maryland had scored seven of the game's first eight goals to run away with a 17-6 victory over the Tar Heels.
But in 2002, UNC never really lost control.
After senior midfielder Lindsay Stone scored within the first minute to hand Carolina a 1-0 lead, Maryland connected on two of the next three goals, tying the score at 2. That tie remained intact until the 8:32 mark of the first half, when sophomore attacker Rachel Szakmary registered her first goal of the season – and just the second of her career. The goal proved to be the first of five straight for the Tar Heels, who never trailed the rest of the way.
The Terrapins threatened in the final minutes, scoring three consecutive goals to cut UNC's lead to 11-10 with 46 seconds left. And although they had their chances in the final seconds to spoil Carolina's celebration, they couldn't take advantage of any of them, as Tar Heel goalkeeper Katelyn Hoffman closed the door.
McPike's five goals matched her career high and netted her ACC Tournament MVP honors. Joining her on the All-ACC Tournament team were fellow seniors Kellie Thompson and Porter Wilkinson, junior Andy Fortino, and sophomore Meghan Kelly.
Seeded No. 3 in the NCAA Tournament, UNC went on to reach the national semifinals, where it fell to eventual national champion Princeton. With a 17-3 record, the Tar Heels set a new school record for most wins in a season. None, however, was bigger than the victory over Maryland.
"Winning the ACC title showed our players that they can do it if they're mentally tough," said Levy heading into the 2003 season. "We want our teams to be hard-nosed, tough and hardworking. Last year's group was that kind of team, and we hope it will be a stepping stone to continued success."
And that it was.
Six seasons into the program's existence, the North Carolina women's lacrosse team had already experienced its fair share of success, making the NCAA Tournament five times and reaching the national semifinals twice.
But the Tar Heels had yet won an ACC championship, despite appearing in two of the conference tournament's first five title games.
On April 21, 2002, though, UNC finally broke through. Behind five goals by ACC Player of the Year Christine McPike, second-seeded and fourth-ranked Carolina defeated fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked Maryland, 11-10, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, claiming its first ACC title.
"I credit every player that has come through the Carolina program," said head coach Jenny Levy at the time. "We started from scratch with club players who were the ones who petitioned to get this program started with a little help from Title IX. We've consistently been a very hardworking team. We've always played with a lot of heart and these guys are the benefactors of a lot of previous hard work. They've been able to focus their energies in a very positive direction. I was very happy to see them reach a goal of ours for this season."
In hindsight, that could've very easily not happened.
Facing third-seeded and seventh-ranked Duke two days earlier in the ACC Tournament semifinals, the Tar Heels quickly fell behind 5-2. Then, with 10:02 left in the first half, the game went into a weather delay that lasted one hour and 48 minutes. That gave UNC a chance to regroup, and that it did, outscoring the Blue Devils 10-3 the rest of the way for a 12-8 win.
Awaiting Carolina in the championship game were the Terrapins, winners of four of the first five ACC Tournaments. Two years earlier, in the 2000 title game, Maryland had scored seven of the game's first eight goals to run away with a 17-6 victory over the Tar Heels.
But in 2002, UNC never really lost control.
After senior midfielder Lindsay Stone scored within the first minute to hand Carolina a 1-0 lead, Maryland connected on two of the next three goals, tying the score at 2. That tie remained intact until the 8:32 mark of the first half, when sophomore attacker Rachel Szakmary registered her first goal of the season – and just the second of her career. The goal proved to be the first of five straight for the Tar Heels, who never trailed the rest of the way.
The Terrapins threatened in the final minutes, scoring three consecutive goals to cut UNC's lead to 11-10 with 46 seconds left. And although they had their chances in the final seconds to spoil Carolina's celebration, they couldn't take advantage of any of them, as Tar Heel goalkeeper Katelyn Hoffman closed the door.
McPike's five goals matched her career high and netted her ACC Tournament MVP honors. Joining her on the All-ACC Tournament team were fellow seniors Kellie Thompson and Porter Wilkinson, junior Andy Fortino, and sophomore Meghan Kelly.
Seeded No. 3 in the NCAA Tournament, UNC went on to reach the national semifinals, where it fell to eventual national champion Princeton. With a 17-3 record, the Tar Heels set a new school record for most wins in a season. None, however, was bigger than the victory over Maryland.
"Winning the ACC title showed our players that they can do it if they're mentally tough," said Levy heading into the 2003 season. "We want our teams to be hard-nosed, tough and hardworking. Last year's group was that kind of team, and we hope it will be a stepping stone to continued success."
And that it was.
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Saturday, April 25
UNC Women's Lacrosse: Tar Heels Breeze Past Syracuse into ACC Final, 19-9
Saturday, April 25
WLAX: Tar Heels Breeze Past Syracuse into ACC Final, 19-9
Friday, April 24
UNC Baseball: DeCaro, McDuffie Lead Tar Heels to Game 1 Win at Duke, 3-1
Friday, April 24