No. 2 UNC Fends off Late BC Comeback in front of Alumni Stadium Crowd
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Charlotte North had the ball with under 30 seconds to go Sunday afternoon. Boston College lacrosse was riding a game-changing, and potentially game-saving, 6-1 run that drew the Eagles within one goal of North Carolina.
North had to beat Emma Trenchard, UNC's fifth-year defender who was tasked yet again with guarding the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner.
But it wasn't that simple. North, who finished with four goals and seven draws, got around Trenchard but was trapped by Tar Heel freshman Brooklyn Walker-Welch. She lost control of possession, resulting in anticlimactic finish to another classic between two ACC heavyweights that have been trading blows the last five years.
UNC held on for a 16-15 win in front of an Alumni Stadium crowd of 5,937 fans.
"Unfortunately, I think we made some mental errors, starting with me," North said. "We wish we could have had those back."
No. 1 BC (8-1, 2-1 ACC) had a step on No. 2 UNC (9-0, 3-0) after a pretty even first quarter. The Eagles got out to a 2-0 lead and were up, 4-3, by the end of the opening frame. Andie Aldave scored two of the Tar Heels' first three goals, sneaking free inside the eight-meter arc for a pair of pop shots.
It was the theme of the first half for UNC: transfer contributions. Aldave, from Notre Dame, and Sam Geiersbach, from Richmond, combined for five goals in the opening two quarters of play. Geiersbach starred in the second period, scoring a pair of goals with the same spin move at the cage's doorstep.
"They're working within our offense," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said. "Our offense is unselfish and pretty dynamic. I think we had nine goal scores today. And they're a part of that."
UNC dominated the second quarter, winning 4-of-5 draws in the period and outshooting BC, 11-5. Of those five Eagles shots, only two were on net. UNC joined Denver as just the second team this season to hold BC scoreless in a quarter.
The Tar Heels entered the break with an 8-4 advantage and continued what ended up being a 6-0 run at the start of the third frame. Eventually, the Eagles stopped the bleeding and, thanks to a four-goal spurt in the span of 3:01, made it a 10-8 game midway through the quarter.
Not only was BC back on track offensively, but it won six of the period's first seven draws. Then, however, the momentum swung back to UNC, which closed the quarter on a 3-1 run. Aldave notched a scoop-and-score rebound goal just in front of the crease, Nicole Humphrey made the most of an Olivia Dirks feed and middie Elizabeth Hillman squeezed by Courtney Taylor for the second of her two goals.
BC's 6-1 run started with Jenn Medjid dropping UNC defender Emily Nalls with a stop-and-go move and firing a shot past Tar Heel goalie Taylor Moreno. The stretch also featured some fluid ball movement where Caitlynn Mossman dialed up a pass for a cutting Belle Smith, who cashed in for goal.
North got BC within two, courtesy of a wraparound goal, and Kayla Martello polished off a hat trick to make it a one-possession game with 67 seconds to go.
North won the ensuing draw. And that's when she was stifled by UNC's defense.
The late-game push was too little, too late for BC as the Tar Heels avenged last year's Final Four defeat, improving to 36-1 in their last 37 games.
"Unfortunately against really good teams you can't wait 45 minutes into the game to play like you're expected to play," BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "Unfortunately, we did that today. And we had to climb out of a rut. Against a good team, that's really hard to do."
