No. 1 Women’s Lacrosse Tops No. 7 Florida, 12-5

Saturday, February 18

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon ET

North Carolina

#7 Florida

1-1

UNCWLAX

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 18, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The top-ranked University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team took care of business on Saturday afternoon, posting a 12-5 win over No. 7 Florida at Dorrance Field in its first top-10 matchup of the season.

Following the win, the Tar Heels improve to 3-0 on the season while the Gators drop to 1-1.

How It Happened

Marissa White started started things off at the halfway mark of the first quarter, scoring the lone goal in what proved to be a defensive battle during the opening frame.
A free position goal from Melissa Sconone sparked a five-goal run for Carolina that would last until the break, giving the home team a 6-0 advantage after 30 minutes of play.
Florida came into the second half aggressive, cutting its deficit in half within the first three minutes of the third quarter.
White put a stop to Florida's 3-0 run with her second goal of the day, marking the eighth of the season for the freshman.
Kiley Mottice's goal at the 6:14 mark in the third quarter prompted a five-goal scoring streak from UNC that would not be broken by UF until the 4:09 mark in the fourth.
A goal from Darcy Felter with just under six minutes remaining put UNC up 12-4, its largest lead of the game.

Inside the Box Score

Alecia Nicholas made 10 saves – five in each half – between the pipes, her second 10+ save performance this year.
Reilly Casey had a game-high five points from three goals and two assists, her third hat trick in as many games.
Carolina held a 34-23 advantage in shots over Florida, including a 26-15 edge in shots on goal.
Kaleigh Harden's game-high six draw controls contributed to UNC's total of 14, double the seven the Gators had.
UNC had 11 ground balls to UF's seven with Mottice and Brooklyn Walker-Welch recording two each. Walker-Welch also had three caused turnovers.
It was a physical game with seven total yellow cards being showing throughout.
Carolina's 12 goals came from nine different players.

Tar Heel Tidbits

It was the first time the Tar Heels had an opening-half shutout since Mercer on March 27, 2021.
The Tar Heels have now won 43 consecutive regular season games, the second longest streak in NCAA history.
Carolina has now won 36 consecutive home games, the longest streak in program history.
UNC has now scored double-figure goals for the 60th time in the last 62 games. It has also won 52 of their last 53 games, and 60 of their 62 games.
Following today's win, head coach Jenny Levy is two wins away from reaching 400 career victories.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will have their first road test of the season in Blacksburg, Va., on Friday, Feb. 24, to face Virginia Tech. First draw is set for 7 p.m. ET at Thompson Field and the game will be aired on ACC Network.

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