University of North Carolina Athletics
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Tournament Time: Looking Back On The 2018 ACC Title
April 25, 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've kicked off Wednesday in Chapel Hill. In its absence, GoHeels.com is taking a look back at each of North Carolina's five ACC titles between Wednesday and the tournament's scheduled finish on Sunday.
Between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, North Carolina rolled through the ACC, winning 23 of 24 games against league opponents and capturing consecutive regular season and tournament titles.
The only team to defeat the Tar Heels during that stretch was Syracuse. But after three straight years of facing off against the Orange in the ACC Tournament final, the 2018 season introduced a new challenger for UNC's conference crown.
Coming off a miraculous run to the 2017 national championship game, Boston College cemented itself as one of the nation's top teams in 2018. The Eagles went undefeated throughout the regular season, winning 17 games, including seven against ACC foes. None, however, stood out more than their 17-11 victory over the Tar Heels in Newton, Massachusetts.
That result proved to be the difference in ACC Tournament seeding, as BC and Carolina entered the event seeded first and second, respectively. By the end of it, though, UNC would make a statement: It was still the team to beat in the league.
Behind six goals from freshman attacker Jamie Ortega and an MVP performance from redshirt freshman goalie Taylor Moreno, the Tar Heels beat the Eagles, 14-11, in the ACC Tournament final at Duke's Koskinen Stadium, claiming their third straight league title.
"We had to play tough all game to make sure we took care of the details, starting with the draw," said head coach Jenny Levy afterward. "The last time we played them, the last 13 minutes of the game we didn't touch the ball because we couldn't win the draw. Honestly it's effort and it's focus and scrappiness. BC is really good and we had to do a really good job of possession, and it starts with our defense getting stops and our offense handling their pressure."
Neither of which Carolina did that well in the early going.
Having scored 36 goals in the tournament's first two games, BC came out firing, recording the first five shots of the title game, two of which found the back of the net. At that point, though, UNC flipped a switch, going on a 5-0 run that handed it a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Ortega led the way, scoring three goals in that span. Her six goals on the day gave her 15 on the weekend, a tournament record. But she wasn't the only Tar Heel with a standout performance.
Moreno was sensational in goal, making 11 saves while facing 22 shots on goal. She was particularly great in the second half, during which she registered eight saves and helped Carolina hold the Eagles to just five goals. For that, and her ACC Tournament-record 33 overall saves, she earned MVP honors. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Ortega, Katie Hoeg, Emma Trenchard and Marie McCool – who tallied 11 draw controls in the championship game.
UNC stretched its lead over BC to as many as six goals, going up 14-8 on a goal by Ela Hazar with 11:25 left. That was the last goal scored by the Tar Heels, but a last-ditch effort by the Eagles in the final 10 minutes of play wasn't enough to preserve its undefeated record.
The same would apply a year later.
Between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, North Carolina rolled through the ACC, winning 23 of 24 games against league opponents and capturing consecutive regular season and tournament titles.
The only team to defeat the Tar Heels during that stretch was Syracuse. But after three straight years of facing off against the Orange in the ACC Tournament final, the 2018 season introduced a new challenger for UNC's conference crown.
Coming off a miraculous run to the 2017 national championship game, Boston College cemented itself as one of the nation's top teams in 2018. The Eagles went undefeated throughout the regular season, winning 17 games, including seven against ACC foes. None, however, stood out more than their 17-11 victory over the Tar Heels in Newton, Massachusetts.
That result proved to be the difference in ACC Tournament seeding, as BC and Carolina entered the event seeded first and second, respectively. By the end of it, though, UNC would make a statement: It was still the team to beat in the league.
Behind six goals from freshman attacker Jamie Ortega and an MVP performance from redshirt freshman goalie Taylor Moreno, the Tar Heels beat the Eagles, 14-11, in the ACC Tournament final at Duke's Koskinen Stadium, claiming their third straight league title.
"We had to play tough all game to make sure we took care of the details, starting with the draw," said head coach Jenny Levy afterward. "The last time we played them, the last 13 minutes of the game we didn't touch the ball because we couldn't win the draw. Honestly it's effort and it's focus and scrappiness. BC is really good and we had to do a really good job of possession, and it starts with our defense getting stops and our offense handling their pressure."
Neither of which Carolina did that well in the early going.
Having scored 36 goals in the tournament's first two games, BC came out firing, recording the first five shots of the title game, two of which found the back of the net. At that point, though, UNC flipped a switch, going on a 5-0 run that handed it a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Ortega led the way, scoring three goals in that span. Her six goals on the day gave her 15 on the weekend, a tournament record. But she wasn't the only Tar Heel with a standout performance.
Moreno was sensational in goal, making 11 saves while facing 22 shots on goal. She was particularly great in the second half, during which she registered eight saves and helped Carolina hold the Eagles to just five goals. For that, and her ACC Tournament-record 33 overall saves, she earned MVP honors. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Ortega, Katie Hoeg, Emma Trenchard and Marie McCool – who tallied 11 draw controls in the championship game.
UNC stretched its lead over BC to as many as six goals, going up 14-8 on a goal by Ela Hazar with 11:25 left. That was the last goal scored by the Tar Heels, but a last-ditch effort by the Eagles in the final 10 minutes of play wasn't enough to preserve its undefeated record.
The same would apply a year later.
Players Mentioned
Attack
/ Women's Lacrosse
Attacker
/ Women's Lacrosse
Midfielder
/ Women's Lacrosse
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Lacrosse
Attacker
/ Women's Lacrosse
Defender
/ Women's LacrosseTuesday, June 23
Sunday, June 21
Sunday, June 21
Saturday, June 20