No. 2 WLAX Visits Pitt Thursday For ACC Opener

Thursday, February 24

Pittsburgh, Pa.

4 PM

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Elizabeth Hillman scored a career-high three goals in last weekend's win at Florida.

Photo by: University of Florida Athletics

February 23, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse

UNC Notes Watch Live Stats

• The second-ranked University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team will look for its fourth win in a row to start the 2022 season when it visits new Atlantic Coast Conference member Pitt on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The game will be televised live nationally by ACC Network and is the ACC opener for each team this season.
• Following Thursday's game, the Tar Heels will return home to begin a four-game homestand over the next two weeks, beginning with a contest against Jacksonville at Dorrance Field this Sunday at 11 a.m.

Series vs. the Panthers
• Thursday will mark the first meeting between UNC and Pitt, which is the ACC's newest member in women's lacrosse.

Ortega Poised to Break UNC Career Points Record
• Fifth-year senior attacker Jamie Ortega is on pace to rewrite the UNC, ACC and NCAA record books in 2022.
• Ortega could break the UNC program record for career points on Thursday vs. Pitt. She has 368 career points, second in school history behind former teammate Katie Hoeg (370) and needs just three points for the record.

• Ortega needs:
- Three points to be UNC's career points leader (she has 368; Katie Hoeg had 370)
- 78 points to be ACC's career points leader (she has 368; record is 445 by Jen Adams of Maryland)
- 68 goals to be NCAA's career goals leader (she has 274; the record is 341)

• Ortega is Carolina's career leader in goals and has scored two or more goals in 65 of 72 career games.
• Ortega's 368 career points are fifth in ACC history (teammate Katie Hoeg is just ahead of her with 370).
• Her 274 career goals are seventh in NCAA history and third in ACC annals (Charlotte North of BC is first in ACC history with 284).
• Ortega has scored five or more goals 27 times as a Tar Heel, including nine times in her last 18 games.
• Ortega has scored at least one goal in 37 consecutive games.
• Ortega has tallied at least one point in 66 consecutive games and 71 of 72 in her career.
• Ortega is third in Carolina history in career assists with 94.
• 2022 Preseason Honors: Preseason First-Team All-America (USA Lacrosse, Inside Lacrosse), No. 2 overall player in the nation (men's and women's; Inside Lacrosse), Preseason All-ACC, Tewaaraton Award Watch List

ACC Dominance
• Carolina is 56-6 in its last 62 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 a loss in the 2015 ACC Tournament final, UNC's' only losses to conference foes have come to Boston College (four times), Syracuse (once, in 2017) and Notre Dame (once, in 2019).

Moreno Snaps UNC Career Wins Record
• Graduate student goalie Taylor Moreno has a career record of 51-6 in the cage and became Carolina's all-time leader in goalie wins on Feb. 16 against Furman.
• She was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 22 after the wins over Furman and Florida.
• Moreno eclipsed the record of Caylee Waters (2014-17), who had 49 victories.
• Moreno has started 57 consecutive games in the cage for the Tar Heels, beginning with the final five games of the 2018 season.
• 2022 Preseason Honors: Preseason National Goalie of the Year (USA Lacrosse), Preseason ACC Defensive Player of the Year (Inside Lacrosse), Preseason First-Team All-America (USA Lacrosse, Inside Lacrosse), No. 7 overall player in the nation (men's and women's; Inside Lacrosse), Preseason All-ACC, Tewaaraton Award Watch List
• In 2021, Moreno finished second in the nation in goals against average (a career-best 6.65) and save percentage (a career-high .549). Her goals-against average was nearly three goals per game better than her career average entering the 2021 season (9.12).
• She 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.
• Moreno has 17 career games with 10 or more saves, including five in 2021 (and a season-high 11 on April 3 versus Syracuse).

Hillman Leads Way As Tar Heels Grind Out Win At No. 7 Florida, 15-11
• Three Tar Heels had hat tricks and Taylor Moreno came up big in goal as the second-ranked North Carolina women's lacrosse team beat seventh-ranked Florida, 15-11, on the road on Saturday afternoon at Dizney Stadium.
• Elizabeth Hillman recorded her first career three-goal game and also had a team-high five draw controls for Carolina.
• Jamie Ortega and Scottie Rose Growney each added three goals and an assist. Andie Aldave scored twice for UNC. Eight different Tar Heels scored in a balanced offensive attack.

Tar Heels Dominate Furman In Home Opener
• Graduate student Taylor Moreno broke the North Carolina program record for most career wins by a goalie as the second-ranked Tar Heels cruised by Furman, 20-7, in their home opener on Wednesday Feb. 16 at Dorrance Field.
• Moreno made two saves and allowed two goals in 30 minutes of work in improving to 50-6 in her career in the cage. She passes Caylee Waters, who had 49 wins between 2014 and 2017.
• Jamie Ortega led Carolina offensively, posting five goals (on six shots) and tallying two assists for seven points. She moved into third place in ACC history in career goals with 271, passing Jen Adams of Maryland (1998-2001), who had 267. Sam Apuzzo of Boston College holds the record with 283 and BC's current player Charlotte North is second with 280.
• Ten Tar Heels scored goals in the game. Cailtyn Wurzburger had three goals and three assists Andie Aldave had a hat trick with three goals. Scottie Rose Growney chipped in two goals and an assist, Tayler Warehime scored twice, Sam Geiersbach had a goal and an assist and Melissa Sconone had two assists. Livi Lawton and Brooklyn Neumen scored single goals, while Emily Nalls had an assist.
• Carolina jumped out to a quick, 7-0 lead in the first 10 minutes, led 14-2 at halftime and never let the Paladins into the game.

Tewaaraton Award Watch List Includes Six Tar Heels
• Six UNC players made the intitial watch list for the 2022 Tewaaraton Award, most of any school in the nation.
• The list includes the top players in NCAA lacrosse and highlight the early contenders for the 2022 Tewaaraton Award, given to the national Player of the Year.
• Tar Heels on the list include Olivia Dirks, Ally Mastroianni, Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega, Emma Trenchard and Caitlyn Wurzburger.
• Moreno and Ortega both were among the five finalists for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award.

Nine Preseason ILWomen All-Americas
• Carolina placed nine players on the 2022 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America Team, leading all schools nationally in total players on the list (nine), players on the first-, second- and third-team teams (seven) and first-team honorees (five).
• Tar Heels on the ILWomen preseason first team include players at all four positions on the field: attacker Jamie Ortega, midfielders Olivia Dirks and Ally Mastroianni, defender Emma Trenchard and goalie Taylor Moreno. Ortega, Mastroianni, Trenchard and Moreno all were consensus first-team All-Americas after the 2021 season.
• UNC attackers Andie Aldave and Caitlyn Wurzburger both grabbed spots on the third team, while attacker Scottie Rose Growney and defender Emily Nalls both made honorable mention.
• Carolina's five first-team honorees were the most in the nation, followed by Syracuse's three.

#2 In The National Polls
• Carolina is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the ILWomen/IWLCA rankings this week. Boston College is in the top spot.
• Pitt is unranked in this week's poll.

Preseason ACC Poll & All-ACC Team
• The ACC's coaches made their predictions for the 2022 ACC order of finish, and they picked North Carolina to finish second in the conference behind defending NCAA champion Boston College.
• The Eagles received 76 points in the voting to take first place. The Tar Heels, who have won five consecutive ACC championships, garnered 74 points. Syracuse (63) was picked third, and Notre Dame (56) was fourth. All four of the ACC's top four picks are ranked in the top five in the national preseason polls.
• At the same time, the coaches named their 2022 Preseason All-ACC Team, which includes four Tar Heels: attacker Jamie Ortega, midfielder Ally Mastroianni, defender Emma Trenchard and goalie Taylor Moreno. All four were consensus first-team All-Americas last year, and Ortega and Moreno both were among the five finalists for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation's top player.
• Boston College and Syracuse both also placed four players on the 18-player team. Notre Dame had three.

Tar Heels in the National Spotlight
• Six UNC games will be televised nationally by ESPNU and the ACC Network in 2022, the networks announced on Monday.
• UNC's six national broadcasts on the networks lead all schools in the nation. No other school has more than four. Tar Heel national broadcasts include:
• February 24 at Pitt, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
• March 6 vs. Northwestern, Noon (ESPNU)
• March 20 at Boston College, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
• April 9 at Syracuse, 2 p.m.(ESPNU)
• April 14 at Virginia, 8 p.m. (ACCN)
• April 21 vs. Duke, 8 p.m. (ACCN)

• All Carolina home games not listed above will be streamed live by ACC Network Extra, which is available on smart TVs and via the ESPN app.
• The ACC Network will air the entire 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, and ESPNU will televise all games of the 2022 NCAA Championship weekend on May 27-29.

Tar Heel Tidbits
Team
• Scoring Run: Carolina has scored 10 or more goals in 39 of the last 40 games (dating to 2019 vs. Notre Dame, with the exception being the 2021 ACC Tournament final vs. Syracuse).
• UNC has won 30 of its last 31 games. Carolina won 27 in a row, the longest winning streak in school history and the seventh-longest in NCAA history, prior to the season-ending loss in the 2021 national semifinal to Boston College.
• The 2021 Tar Heels were the third-highest scoring team in program history at 15.64 goals per game.
• UNC led the nation in scoring defense in 2021, posting the second-best goals per game allowed average (6.58) 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).
• Among the 2021 NCAA Leaders: The Tar Heels finished among the final 2021 national leaders in several statistical categories: scoring margin (3rd, 9.05), scoring defense (1st, 6.57), scoring offense (12th, 15.62), save percentage (1st, .553), fewest turnovers committed (1st, 10.43), clearing percentage (6th, .922), assists per game (3rd, 8.90) and shooting percentage (10th, .485).
• Stellar D: Carolina led the nation in 2021 in scoring defense at 6.57 goals allowed per game (second-best in school history). UNC held opponents to single-digit goals in 17 of 21 games in 2021. UNC's defense limited opponents to a shooting percentage of .289, best in school history.
• In the 2022 preseason, Inside Lacrosse ranked the Carolina defensive and midfield units as best in the nation and its attack group as the nation's second-best (behind Boston College).

Noting ACC Lacrosse
• The ACC grows to nine programs this year as Pitt plays in its inaugural season and moves to 10 in 2023 with Clemson making its debut.
• The ACC leads all leagues with 31 players, including 10 of the 13 first-teamers, on the preseason Inside Lacrosse All-America Team. Eight ACC programs are represented. UNC led all schools with nine players on the team, while BC and Syracuse had seven honorees.
• The ACC returns three of the five Tewaaraton finalists from last season: BC'S Charlotte North and UNC's Jamie Ortega and Taylor Moreno.
• Thirteen of the 16 First-Team All-ACC honorees from last season are back for 2022.
• Each of the ACC's 2021 season award winners return this season: UNC's Jamie Ortega (Attacker of the Year), Ally Mastroianni (Midfielder of the Year) and Taylor Moreno (Defender of the Year) and BC's Belle Smith (Freshman of the Year). UNC's Emma Trenchard (2019 ACC Defender of the Year) and Syracuse's Sarah Cooper (2019 ACC Freshman of the Year) also are back.
• There are three new coaches in ACC women's lacrosse this year: Pitt's Emily Boissonneault, Syracuse's Kayla Treanor and Virginia Tech's Kristen Skiera.
• Three ACC head coaches rank among the top 10 active Division I head coaches in wins: UNC's Jenny Levy (3rd, 373), Virginia's Julie Myers (5th, 338) and Duke's Kerstin Kimel (6th, 316).
• ACC teams will play an eight-game conference schedule this year.

Mastroianni Wins Postgraduate Scholarship
• Senior midfielder Ally Mastroianni was 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.
• Former teammate Katie Hoeg won the same honor in 2020.
• Mastroianni, from Martinsville, N.J., earned a degree in 2021 with a double major in media & journalism and communication studies. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in media and communication.

Last Year
• Carolina went 20-1 overall in 2021, including 9-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, won its fifth consecutive ACC championship and made its 12th appearance in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament final four.
• The Tar Heels made their ninth final four appearance in the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021).