By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s latest step toward another women’s lacrosse national title looked like it would be a semifinal between heavyweights. On the field Friday, it looked like a team that knew exactly what it wanted to be and how to impose it.
The reigning NCAA champion Tar Heels dominated Maryland 16–6 at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill., closing the game on a 13–3 run and holding the Terrapins to one goal over the final 27 minutes.
No. 2-seed UNC (19–1) won its 10th straight game, snapped Maryland’s six-game winning streak and ended the Terrapins’ season at 18–4.
“Well, obviously we’re really excited,” UNC coach Jenny Levy said. “Congratulations to Maryland on a great season. It was really fun to play them again. We really appreciate them, and all of the years that we’ve battled against them.”
The Tar Heels will get the chance to avenge their only loss when they meet top-seeded Northwestern (18–3) in the championship game at noon Sunday on ESPNU. The Wildcats dispatched No. 4 Johns Hopkins 16–11 in the second semifinal.
Levy said the blowout does not change the team’s mindset.
UNC’s numbers underscored how thoroughly Carolina controlled the day. UNC took 37 shots and put 27 on goal, compared with 23 shots and 12 on goal for Maryland. The Tar Heels also got five goals and an assist from Tewaaraton Award favorite Chloe Humphrey, five goals from Addison Pattillo and a hat trick from Kate Levy, then turned the final quarter into a runway.
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Jenny Levy admitted she did not fully expect the margin, even as she saw the game turning in Carolina’s direction.
“I’m really thrilled. I thought we played great,” she said. “All these guys up here contributed to just an electric game. I’m a little surprised by the final score, but not really. I thought our defense was really incredible today, putting them in positions that made them uncomfortable, and our offense found different ways to score.”
That discomfort was not accidental. Defender Sam Forrest said the plan was rooted in a belief that Maryland had not consistently faced Carolina’s level of pressure.
“Obviously, our game plan today was just to go in and play us,” Forrest said. “We felt as if they had not faced a defense as high-pressure and as aggressive as ours. So, we wanted to really just go out there and show them what we had, and we’ve been honing that in all season.”
Forrest also pointed to the steadying influence of Charlotte Corkins as the unit evolved.
“We’ve had some change in players, and I think Charlotte Corkins has done a really good job of bringing a positive energy back into our defensive unit,” Forrest said. “We’ve been kind of stressed out and figuring stuff out. We are all big thinkers, but she’s done a great job on the field playing-wise and also on the emotional side of it, she’s been a great leader in that sense.”
On the other end, Carolina’s young scorers kept coming in waves. Humphrey, who continues to draw national attention, said her approach is to narrow her focus until it becomes simple.
“It definitely is a balance. There’s a time and place for it,” she said. “And on game day, I’m not looking on my phone or letting any of the external talk or pressure come to me. I have to just look to my left and right and all my teammates, and that’s all I need on the field. Especially once it hits game time, I’m not thinking about any of that, and I’m just thinking about what I can show up and give to my team and what’s needed from me on that given day.”
Pattillo, who posted her fifth consecutive hat trick, said her expanded role has come with an emphasis on trust and preparation, and she welcomed Maryland’s defensive approach.
“It’s nice to be out there for a second year, getting more time out there,” Pattillo said. “But I’ve really just been relying on my teammates. They have really instilled a lot of confidence in me. And I think we’ve obviously played a lot of zone teams this year. So it was exciting to play man today, and we prepared really well for that all week. The growth that we have had all year as a unit has been really special.”
Carolina’s production leaned heavily toward underclassmen again, with 15 of the 16 goals scored by sophomores and freshmen, but Humphrey and Pattillo both made the same point: the foundation came from older players who set the tone long before the first whistle.
“Although we show up on the stat sheet, I give so much credit to the leaders,” Humphrey said. “Ever since we set foot on campus, these are the most welcoming girls I’ve ever been a part of, honestly. They are so supportive. They emphasize that it doesn’t matter what your year is. You step into your role, and that’s going to be your role. They have just instilled so much confidence in all of us, and it’s been really incredible to just be led by them through our young careers.”
“They are super encouraging,” Pattillo said. “I think especially Kaleigh Harden and Kiley Mottice, they do a really good job. They are really easy to watch in practice, and they are always doing the right thing. So it’s easy for us to follow what they are doing and get out there and do the same thing.”
For Jenny Levy, the approach is an extension of how she prefers to play and coach when games tighten.
“I would rather be the hammer or the nail,” she said. “That’s kind of my mentality in life. So, I think I probably coach that way, too. But it’s disciplined, and it’s calculated, and it’s intentional.”
Levy also singled out freshman Charlotte Rathjen for stepping up at the draw circle, and credited the Tar Heels’ goaltending as part of the bigger defensive picture.
“I thought Charlotte Rathjen was great, a freshman stepping up on the draw circle,” she said. “And our goalies played really well, too.”
With the semifinal handled, North Carolina now turns to Sunday, when it will play in its seventh NCAA championship game, seeking its fifth national title.
“We are just looking at the standard of play that we played with, and is it to the standard, and where can we tweak it to be even better?” she said. “So, we are still on a journey of improvement, and we get one more day to tweak it a little bit more and get ready.”
No. 2 UNC 16, No. 3 Maryland 6
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
