Tar Heel Women Dominate Inside Lacrosse Top 50 Player List

CHAPEL HILL—Six University of North Carolina women's lacrosse players were among 50 men's and women's players nationwide named to Inside Lacrosse's rankings of the Top 50 players in college men's & women's lacrosse in 2022. The magazine released its player rankings over the last week.

Fifth-year senior attacker Jamie Ortega tops the Tar Heels on the list, coming in at No. 2 behind only reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Charlotte North of defending NCAA champion Boston College.

Carolina's six players on the list are No. 2 Ortega, No. 7 Taylor Moreno, No. 8 Emma Trenchard, No. 11 Ally Mastroianni, No. 19 Olivia Dirks and No. 33 Andie Aldave. Dirks and Aldave are both transfers new to the Tar Heel program in 2022.

Below is a list of Tar Heel women who made the Inside Lacrosse top 50 list, along with comments from the @ILWomen staff on each player.

2. Jamie Ortega
"A dynamic offensive player who's already the leading goal-scorer in Carolina history, Ortega is incredibly efficient: she scored on 66% of her shots last season and has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.22-to-1. She's one of the most valuable weapons an offense can have — the defense knows where the ball's going but is powerless to stop Ortega."

7. Taylor Moreno
"A three-time All-American and one of the nation's top goalies since breaking out during her freshman campaign in 2018, she has 17 games with 10 or more saves. A Tewaaraton finalist, she's as game changing as a goalie can be."

8. Emma Trenchard
"It's hard to decide what's scarier: UNC's offense or defense. Trenchard is a three-time first-team All-American, the best 1v1 defender in the game and a surefire Team USA regular. She's started all 71 games in her career."

11. Ally Mastroianni
"Finishing ninth nationally in draw controls with 112, Mastroianni also helped carry the load at the offensive end, contributing 31 goals and four assists to finish sixth on the team in scoring. A 5-9 grad student from Bridgewater-Raritan, N.J., she was a captain in 2021, as well."

19. Olivia Dirks
"As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Dirks broke out for the Nittany Lions, finishing as their second-leading scorer with 31 goals and 12 assists. She transferred to North Carolina in the offseason, joining coach Jenny Levy's juggernaut and adding more punch to the offense."

33. Andie Aldave
"Aldave will use her final year of eligibility in the ACC, but has traded in her Irish green for Carolina blue. The former Player of the Year candidate battled injuries in 2021, but still managed 27 points and 82 draws."

Players Mentioned

Andie Aldave

Olivia Dirks

Ally Mastroianni

Taylor Moreno

Jamie Ortega

Emma Trenchard

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