No. 1 Women's Lacrosse Defeats No. 12 James Madison, 14-9, In Season Opener

Saturday, February 11

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 p.m. ET

North Carolina

1-0

#12 James Madison

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JMU

UNCWLAX

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

No. 1 Women's Lacrosse Defeats No. 12 James Madison, 14-9, In Season Opener

February 11, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Behind five goals from freshman Marissa White in her Tar Heel debut, the No. 1 University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team defeated No. 12 James Madison, 14-9, in the 2023 season opener Saturday afternoon at Dorrance Field.

How It Happened

Caitlyn Wurzburger scored the first two goals for Carolina in what was a back-and-forth start between the Tar Heels and Dukes.
Two-straight goals in under a minute from White gave Carolina a 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Two saves by Alecia Nicholas near the end of the first half maintained the Tar Heels' 7-5 lead at the break.
Nicole Humphrey prompted a 4-0 run for the home team after scoring at the 8:16 mark in the third.
White notched her third goal for a hat trick in her first collegiate game four minutes into the third quarter, while Reilly Casey did the same at the start of the fourth.
White's fourth goal of the day in the last quarter put the Tar Heels up 12-6, their largest lead of the game.
After giving up three-straight JMU goals in the final frame, White netted her fifth with 4:40 remaining to make it 13-9 in favor of the home team.
Wurzburger's third assist of the day on Melissa Sconone's goal in the final two minutes marked her 62nd career assist, cracking into the top-10 all-time in program history.

Inside the Box Score

White had a game-high-tying five goals while Casey had a game-high-tying six points.
In her first career start, Nicholas made 14 saves between the pipes.
UNC out-shot JMU 10-7 in the fourth quarter, recording 29 total to JMU's 30.
Playing in her first game in Carolina blue, junior transfer Sophie Student led all players with seven draw controls.
Seven different Tar Heels scored at least once, while JMU's nine goals came from only three players.

Tar Heel Tidbits

The Tar Heels have now won 41 consecutive regular season games, tied as the third-longest streak in NCAA history.
Carolina has now won 34 consecutive home games, the longest streak in program history.
UNC has now scored double-figure goals for the 58th time in its last 60 games. It has also won 50 of their last 51 games, and 58 of their last 60 games.
In her first career start, Casey's team-high six points nearly matched the nine she recorded during the entire 2022 season.
White became the first freshman to score at least five goals in one contest since Wurzburger did the same on April 23, 2021.
After tallying three assists, Wurzburger is now tied for 10th all-time in program history for career assists. She's one away from being tied for ninth and two away from being tied for eighth.
Following today's win, head coach Jenny Levy is four away from reaching 400 career victories.
Six of Carolina's eight freshmen made their Tar Heel debuts, including three in the starting lineup.

Up Next
The top-ranked Tar Heels return home to Dorrance Field on Wednesday, Feb. 15, for a 5 p.m. ET tilt with Liberty. The game will be streamed on ACCNX and tickets are available for purchase here.

Stay up to date with UNC women's lacrosse by following the Tar Heels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.