Wurzburger, Mastroianni Lead 12-11 WLAX Win At Duke

Friday, April 23

Durham, N.C.

5 PM

North Carolina

15-0, 9-0ACC

Duke

9-6, 4-6ACC

North Carolina

Duke

Ally Mastroianni had two key ground balls and scored the game-winning goal.

Photo by: Reagan Lunn/Duke Athletics

April 23, 2021 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)

DURHAM, N.C.—Freshman Caitlyn Wurzburger and senior Ally Mastroianni came up with big plays down the stretch to lead top-ranked North Carolina to a 12-11 victory at No. 7 Duke on Friday at Koskinen Stadium.

In the final 90 seconds, Mastroianni came up with a huge ground ball on the defensive end off a Duke turnover, then turned another ground ball into the game-winning goal with 17.9 seconds to play.

Mastroianni picked up a ground ball in front of the UNC cage with 1:29 to play, leading to a Tar Heel timeout. Carolina attacked the Blue Devil defense patiently, awaiting a good shot opportunity that finally came on a free position attempt for Kerrigan Miller with under 20 seconds to go.

Duke's Sophia LeRose saved Miller's free position try, but Mastroianni picked up the ensuing ground ball and immediately volleyed it in the back of the net for a 12-11 lead with 17.9 seconds remaining.

Wurzburger continued her hot streak, netting a season-high five goals and six total points, including four in the first half. She has 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points in the last four games.

Mastroianni finished with three goals, three draw controls and two ground balls. Miller scored twice, and Katie Hoeg had a goal while tying her season high with five assists. Melissa Sconone came off the bench to record a goal and an assist.

The Tar Heels played without leading scorer Jamie Ortega, who missed the first game of her career. Ortega's absence came five days after taking a hard fall in last Sunday's home win over Virginia and heading into next week's ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels (15-0, 9-0 ACC) won their 22nd consecutive game, extending the longest win streak in program history.

The UNC win clinched the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship with a 9-0 record. Carolina will be the top seed in the ACC Tournament, to be played April 28-May 2 in Chapel Hill.

UNC started the game on an 8-1 run to grab an early lead, then allowed Duke to score the last two goals of the first half to make it 8-3 at the break. The Blue Devils ran off a 6-1 run beginning the second half to tie the score at 9-all with 20:26 to play.

Kimber Hower (1-0) came into the game at that point in relief of Taylor Moreno in goal, settling the defense as UNC retook the lead, 11-9, after goals by Wurzburger and Mastrianni.

In the final four minutes of regulation, however, Duke called timeout and scored back-to-back goals to tie the score at 11-11 with 3:02 to go.  Mastroianni followed with her two key ground balls and the game-winner.

Led by Maddie Jenner, who finished with 12 draw controls, Duke won the first 12 draws of the second half during its rally. Final draw numbers were 17-8 in the Blue Devils' favor.  Duke also held an edge in shots and 6-5 advantage in ground balls.

Carolina will return to action on Wednesday at noon in the quarterfinal of the ACC Tournament.

Notes:
• Carolina won its 22nd consecutive game, extending the longest winning streak in school history (the previous record of 20 was set in 2016 and '17).
• UNC is off to a 15-0 start in 2021, the best start in school history (the previous record was 11-0 in 2014).
• UNC scored double-figure goals for the 31st game in a row.
• Duke's 11 goals were a season high by UNC opponents. Carolina has held 13 of 15 opponents to single-digit goals in 2021.
• Wurzburger is enjoying the best three-game stretch of her young college career. On April 18 against Virginia, two days after posting a season-high five points against UVA, she topped that with a season-high six points on two goals and a season-high four assists. Her six points on Friday matched her season high.
• In the last four games, Wurzburger has 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points.