UVa. women’s lacrosse falls in NCAAs at #3 UNC

The UVa. women’s lacrosse team’s season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship with a 13-9 loss at No. 3 North Carolina.

North Carolina took early control of the game scoring three goals on fastbreaks off the draw control, going up 3-0 in the first 54 seconds of the game. Carolina added afourth score before Kelly Boyd (Fr., Baltimore, Md.) netted the first goal of the game for the Cavaliers.

The Tar Heels scored 10 goals on 10 shots in the first half, taking a 10-2 lead into halftime.

Virginia outscored UNC 7-3 in the second half, but couldn’t overcome the early deficit.

“We knew it was going to take a perfect game on our end to be able to come up with the win today and we clearly weren’t perfect,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “The opening minute when we let three goals in made us play it a little behind the ball for a bit too long. If we could redo that first minute, I think we’ve got ourselves a good chance at a win. I am proud of our effort, especially in the second half. We challenged the girls at halftime to come out better, strong and faster and to play with the spirit we are used to seeing. I think our fourth-years in particular led the charge and our team followed along. I’m proud of our fight, especially in that comeback run of the second half.”

Virginia’s first half woes also included having a goal scored by Ashlee Warner (Jr., Corning, N.Y.) that would have made it a 6-3 game disallowed after it was determined Warner had an illegal stick and having North Carolina’s final goal of the half trickle into the net after deflecting off a Virginia defender.

The Tar Heels started the second half in the same fashion as the first half, scoring on a fast break off the draw to extend the lead to 11-2.

Boyd began Virginia’s initial comeback attempt, scoring the second of her three goals in the game off a free position attempt with 28:13 remaining. Liza Blue (So., Butler, Md.) added a goal five minutes later to cut the deficit to 11-4, but UNC scored a pair to lead 13-4 with 18:06 remaining.

Virginia scored the final five goals of the game, with Courtney Swan (So., Vero Beach, Fla.) contributing two, to finish with a four-point deficit.

“Every game you have to start off strong, especially in the [NCAA Quarterfinals],” said team co-captain Megan Dunleavy. “You can’t come out slow, so that was frustrating. I think all season we have done a good job of fighting back and answering back to anything an opponent did, whether it is a ground ball, a goal or a draw. I think we did a really good job of fighting back, but we just didn’t have enough time at the end.”

Boyd led the Cavalier attack with her second career hat trick, scoring the three goals on three shots. Blue and Swan had two goals apiece. Casey Bocklet (So., South Salem, N.Y.) had three points with a goal and two assists.

Kim Kolarik (Sr., Olney, Md.), in the final game of her collegiate career, logged five saves, all in the second half, with three ground balls. Lelan Bailey (Sr., Millersville, Md.), also playing in her final game, had three ground balls with a draw control.

North Carolina won the draw controls, 16-8, and outshot the Cavaliers 24-19.

The Cavaliers finish the season with an 11-10 record. With the victory, North Carolina (16-3) advances to the NCAA semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons and will face the winner of Saturday night’s quarterfinal game between second-seeded Northwestern and seventh-seeded Penn State.