Women's Lacrosse Set For BC In NCAA Semis Friday

2021 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinal
Matchup: No. 1 seed North Carolina (20-0) vs. No. 4 seed Boston College (16-3)
UNC Ranks: No. 1/1/1 (IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse/USLacrosse polls)
Date: Friday May 28, 2021
Time: Noon
Site: Towson, Md. (Johnny Unitas Stadium)
Watch: ESPNU (watch online)

• Top-seeded North Carolina will make 12th appearance in the NCAA women's lacrosse final four when it plays No. 4 seed Boston College in a national semifinal at noon on Friday at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.
• ESPNU will televise the game live. Jay Alter (play-by-play), Sheehan Stanwick Burch (analyst) and Dana Boyle (sideline analyst) will have the call.
• The Tar Heels are making their ninth final four appearance in the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021).
• Carolina is seeking its third national championship, having won the NCAA title in both 2013 and 2016.

Tar Heel Tidbits
Team
• The 2021 Tar Heels are tied as the highest-scoring team in program history at 15.90 goals per game (tying the previous record of 15.90, set in 2017).
• The 2021 UNC defense leads the nation in scoring defense, posting the second-best goals per game allowed average (6.35) in school history and the best in 25 years. The school record is 5.52, set in 1997 (UNC's second year as a varsity program).
• Rankings: The Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1 in the nation by the IWLCA, Inside Lacrosse and USLacrosse every week in 2021.
• Scoring Run: Carolina has scored 10 or more goals in 35 of the last 36 games (dating to 2019 vs. Notre Dame, with the exception being the 2021 ACC Tournament final vs. Syracuse).
• Winning Streak: UNC has won 27 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in school history and the seventh-longest in NCAA history.
• During their 27-game winning streak, the Tar Heels have outscored their opponents, 455-184 (a +10.04 scoring margin).
• Host Start: Carolina is 20-0 in 2021, the best start to a season in program history (the previous record was 11-0 in 2014).
• Most Wins: UNC's 20 wins this season tie the school record for most in a season (set in 2016).
• Tough Schedule: UNC has maintained the No. 1 ranking in the nation all season despite playing perhaps the nation's toughest schedule. Carolina is 18-0 this season against IWLCA-ranked opponents, including 8-0 against top-10 foes.
• Among the NCAA Leaders: The Tar Heels are among the national leaders in several statistical categories: scoring margin (3rd, 9.55), scoring defense (1st, 6.35), scoring offense (11th, 15.90), save percentage (1st, .562), fewest turnovers committed (1st, 10.50), clearing percentage (6th, .921), assists per game (3rd 9.05) and shooting percentage (6th, .496).
• Stellar D: Carolina leads the nation in scoring defense at 6.35 goals allowed per game (second-best in school history). UNC has held opponents to single-digit goals in 17 of 20 games this season. UNC's defense has limited opponents to a shooting percentage of .281, best in school history.
• Scoring Margin: The Tar Heels have outscored their 2021 opponents by 191 goals in 20 games, 318-127 (a scoring margin of +9.55 goals per game that is third in the nation in 2021 and is the best in school history).
• Two of the Nation's Top Four Scorers: Jamie Ortega has 107 points this season, third in the nation. Katie Hoeg is fourth with 105 points.
• Two of the Top Five in ACC History: Katie Hoeg (366 career points, fourth in ACC history) and Jamie Ortega (350, fifth) are the top-scoring set of teammates in ACC history.

Jamie Ortega
• Attacker Jamie Ortega ranks second nationally with a shooting percentage of .669.
• Over her last 13 games, Ortega has scored goals on 59 of 86 shots, a blistering shooting percentage of .686 against the nation's best schedule.
• She ranks third in the nation in goals (81) despite missing one-and-a-half games (she sat out the season finale at Duke and the second half of the previous game against Virginia).
• Ortega is Carolina's career leader in goals and has scored two or more goals in 63 of 68 career games.
• Ortega's 350 career points are fifth in ACC history (teammate Katie Hoeg is just ahead of her with 366).
• Her 264 career goals rank 10th in NCAA history and are third in ACC annals (Jen Adams of Maryland is second with 267). Ortega is within striking range of moving into the top six in NCAA history in career goals this weekend,
• Against the nation's top competition at the ACC Tournament, she scored 12 goals on 19 shots, leading all players with her 12 goals scored.
• Ortega has scored five or more goals 26 times as a Tar Heel, including eight times in her last 14 games.
• Ortega has scored four or more goals in 14 of her 19 games this season,
• Ortega has scored at least one goal in 33 consecutive games.
• Ortega has tallied at least one point in 62 consecutive games and 67 of 68 in her career.
• Ortega is tied for fourth in Carolina history in career assists with 86.

Katie Hoeg
• Attacker Katie Hoeg is second in NCAA history and first in ACC annals in career assists with 232. She has 59 career multi-assist games.
• Hoeg is fourth in ACC history in career points with 366 (Amy Appelt of Virginia is third with 373).
• Hoeg leads the nation in 2021 with 70 assists and 3.50 assists per game.
• Hoeg's 70 assists in 2021 are the second-highest single-season total in school history (behind her own 73 in 2019).
• She is fourth in the nation in scoring with 105 points.

Taylor Moreno
• Goalie Taylor Moreno leads the nation in goals against average (a career-best 6.41) and is second nationally in save percentage (a career-high .556). Her goals-against average is nearly three goals per game better than her career average entering the 2021 season (9.12).
• Moreno has a career record of 48-5. The UNC career record for goalie wins is 49 (Caylee Waters, 2014-17).
• Moreno is a two-time ACC Tournament MVP (2018, 2021).
• In the 2021 ACC Tournament, she earned MVP honors for the second time after leading the Tar Heels to three wins. Moreno allowed just 4.78 goals per game in three UNC victories, posting a save percentage of .611.
• In the ACC quarterfinal against Louisville, she held the Cardinals scoreless for a span of 33:07 during a 10-0 run. In the semis against Notre Dame, Moreno held the Fighting Irish scoreless for a span of over 47 minutes during an 18-0 run. In the title game, she held Syracuse scoreless for the final 15:25 of the game in a 9-4 win. She made 22 saves and allowed just 14 goals against three ranked opponents in three ACC Tournament wins.
• Moreno has started 53 consecutive games in the cage for the Tar Heels, beginning with the final five games of the 2018 season.
• Moreno has 17 career games with 10 or more saves, including five in 2021 (and a season-high 11 on April 3 versus Syracuse).

Scottie Rose Growney
• Attacker Scottie Rose Growney is Carolina's third-leading scorer with 64 points, ranking 46th in the nation.
• Growney is second on the team behind Ortega in goals with 45.
• This season, Growney already has set career highs in goals (45), assists (19) and points (64).

Carolina's NCAA Tournament History
• UNC is 36-19 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and is making its 22nd NCAA appearance in 26 years as a varsity program (including 16 in a row).
• The Tar Heels have made 12 overall NCAA semifinal (Final Four) appearances (1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021), including nine in the last 12 tournaments.
• Carolina's 12 berths in the NCAA final four are tied as the third-most in the history of the sport behind Maryland (27) and Virginia (14). Northwestern also has 12.
• UNC has reached the NCAA title game four times, winning twice (2013, 2016).
• Carolina is 27-9 in the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, advancing to nine final fours and four national finals.
• Carolina is 27-3 at home in NCAA Tournament games, losing only in 2000 (to Loyola), 2014 (to Virginia) and 2017 (to Navy). UNC has won 26 of its last 28 home NCAA Tournament games.
• UNC is 18-1 with 18 consecutive wins in the NCAA Tournament second round.
• The Tar Heels are 12-9 in NCAA Tournament quarterfinal games and have won nine of their last 12. Carolina is 11-3 in quarterfinal games played in Chapel Hill and 1-6 on the road.
• Carolina is 4-7 in NCAA semifinal games and has won three of its last five (but lost two in a row).
• The Tar Heels are 2-2 in NCAA championship games, beating Maryland in 2013 and 2016 while losing to Northwestern in 2009 and Maryland in 2015.
• Head coach Jenny Levy has led Carolina to 22 NCAA Tournament berths, including 16 in a row. Levy's 36 NCAA Tournament wins are tied for fourth in the history of the sport.
• UNC was a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 for the 12th tournament in a row.
• Tar Heel sixth-year senior defender Caroline Wakefield was a member of the 2016 NCAA championship team, starting 10 games and appearing in 13.

Series History vs. the Eagles
• Carolina leads the all-time series with Boston College, 18-5. That includes a 21-9 win in Chapel Hill earlier this season on March 6.
• BC won the only previous NCAA Tournament meeting in the 2019 semifinals in Baltimore.
• The two teams didn't play in 2020 due to the cancelation of the season because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• In 2019, they met three times. The Eagles won, 14-8, in Chapel Hill, Carolina returned the favor by beating BC, 15-13, in the ACC championship game in Chestnut Hill, Mass. BC took the rubber match in double overtime, a 15-14 decision in the NCAA semifinal played in Baltimore, Md.
• In 2018, the Eagles beat the Tar Heels in Newton, Mass., in the regular season and Carolina beat the Eagles in the ACC Tournament championship game in Durham, N.C.

Earlier This Season Vs. BC
• Carolina ripped off a 7-0 run to start the second half and scored a season-high 21 goals, pulling away to beat 11th-ranked Boston College, 21-9, on March 6 at Dorrance Field.
• Jamie Ortega led the way with a game-high six goals for Carolina, which won its 13th consecutive game dating to last year and improved to 6-0 in 2021, including 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles fell to 3-1, 0-1.
• Carolina out-shot the Eagles, 41-20. Eight different Tar Heels scored goals with five having three goals or more.
• Aside from Ortega's six goals, Scottie Rose Growney had three goals and three assists and Ally Mastroianni had three goals and six draw controls. Tayler Warehime and Kerrigan Miller each also tallied hat tricks. Katie Hoeg dished out three assists, Elizabeth Hillman had a goal and an assist and Emily Nalls and Nicole Humphrey scored single goals.
• Charlotte North led the Eagles with three goals and eight draw controls.
• Taylor Moreno and the UNC defense limited BC to just two second-half goals.

Two Tar Heels Among Five Tewaaraton Finalists
• UNC seniors Taylor Moreno and Jamie Ortega are among the five finalists for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award. The award is presented annually to the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
• This is the first time the Tar Heels have had two Tewaaraton finalists in the same season.
• Moreno and Ortega are the eighth and ninth Tewaaraton finalists in Carolina women's lacrosse history, joining Christine McPike (2002), Amber Falcone (2009), Jen Russell (2010), Becky Lynch (2012), Kara Cannizzaro (2013) and Marie McCool (2017, 2018).

Seven USA Lacrosse All-America Picks
• USA Lacrosse magazine has named its 2021 All-America women's lacrosse teams, honoring seven Carolina players (most in the nation).
• Five Tar Heels, most in the nation, picked up first-team accolades: Katie Hoeg, Ally Mastroianni, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard.
• Catie Woodruff was on the third team defense, and Scottie Rose Growney grabbed honorable mention.

Seven All-South Region Picks
• Seven North Carolina players earned All-South region honors from the IWLCA for 2021.
• Five Tar Heels grabbed first-team honors: Katie Hoeg, Ally Mastroianni, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard.
• Scottie Rose Growney and Caroline Wakefield were on the second team.

Tar Heels Win 4 of 5 Top ACC Awards
• The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its women's lacrosse season award winners for 2021, and North Carolina won four of the five awards: Jamie Ortega (Attacker of the Year), Ally Mastroianni (Midfielder of the Year), Taylor Moreno (Defender of the Year) and Jenny Levy (Coach of the Year).

Seven Earn All-ACC Honors
• Carolina had six honorees on the two-team, 32-member 2021 All-ACC Team, including a league-high five first-team picks.
• Katie Hoeg, Ally Mastroianni, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard made the first team. Catie Woodruff was on the Second Team, and attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger made the All-Freshman Team.

ACC Dominance
• Carolina is 56-5 in its last 61 games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents (regular season and postseason) and has won five consecutive ACC Tournaments.
• UNC's five straight ACC titles are the second-longest streak in the event's history (behind Maryland's six straight from 2009-14).
• UNC's 15 consecutive ACC Tournament wins are the longest streak in the history of the tournament.
• Since the 2015 ACC Tournament final, UNC's' only losses to conference foes have come to Boston College (2018 and twice in 2019), Syracuse (2017) and Notre Dame (2019).

Moreno Is A 3x-National & ACC Defensive POW
• For a third time this season, Carolina goalie Taylor Moreno was the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week on April 20.
• Moreno stymied Virginia in a pair of North Carolina wins on April 16 and 18. She was dominant in the cage on both Friday and Sunday, as UNC limited the Cavaliers to single-digit goals in both games. On Friday, the native of Huntington, New York, made four saves in a 20-8 win, while also gathering two ground balls in 44:24 of action. On Sunday, she and the UNC defense limited Virginia to just four first-half shots in a 15-4 victory. She made four saves in the contest.
• Moreno also won the award on February 16 (after making 10 saves in the season opener against Stony Brook) and April 6 (after the 17-6 win over Syracuse, when she stymied the Orange on the way to a 16-2 Tar Heel scoring run after falling behind, 4-1).
• She also was a three-time IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week in 2021 (Feb. 16, April 6, May 4).

Mastroianni Wins Postgraduate Scholarship
• Senior midfielder Ally Mastroianni is among three Tar Heels and 52 ACC student-athletes selected as 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award recipients. Chris Gray (men's lacrosse), Rachel Jones (women's soccer) and Mastroianni (women's lacrosse) were part of the list of conference honorees announced on March 24.
• Teammate Katie Hoeg won the same honor in 2020.
• Mastroianni, from Martinsville, N.J., is pursuing a double major in media & journalism and communication studies and plans to pursue a master's degree in the field after graduation.
• The Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $6,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

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Players Mentioned

Scottie Rose Growney

Elizabeth Hillman

Katie Hoeg

Nicole Humphrey

Ally Mastroianni

Kerrigan Miller

Taylor Moreno

Emily Nalls

Jamie Ortega

Emma Trenchard

Caroline Wakefield

Tayler Warehime

Catie Woodruff

Caitlyn Wurzburger