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CHAPEL HILL — Top-ranked North Carolina’s biggest early test early in the women’s lacrosse season just showed more evidence that the Tar Heels are again one of the best teams in the country. After UNC (2–0) blanked No. 7 Florida in the first half, the Gators’ first scoreless half since their inaugural season 13 years ago, the contrast between the teams was evident.
CHAPEL HILL — Even after losing six multiple-year All-Americans from last season’s undefeated national champions, the No. 1 North Carolina’s women’s lacrosse team doesn’t look any less dominant. With the type of leadership junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzberger gave the Tar Heels on Wednesday, they look hard to beat again.
You can relive North Carolina’s amazing undefeated run to the NCAA women’s lacrosse championship in the documentary “Road to Redemption,” which is available on YouTube. The UNC Hussman School of Media and Journalism production, in conjunction with UNC Athletics, includes interviews with Coach Jenny Levy and numerous players as well as highlights of key games on the Tar Heels’ way to finishing off a perfect 22–0 season.
When it’s UNC’s turn during ACC Network School Takeovers on Tuesday, you’ll see 10 memorable victories in nine sports from the last school year that aired on an ESPN channel. You won’t see the Tar Heels’ Final Four victory over Duke because that aired on TBS, but you’ll get a chance to relive their 94–81 victory in Durham to ruin Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game (6 p.m.), a softball no-hitter, an amazing football comeback and three ACC Tournament championship wins.
Led by the national champion women’s lacrosse team, North Carolina finished sixth in the final Division I Directors’ Cup standings for the 2021–22 school year. Coach Jenny Levy’s unbeaten Tar Heels team was one of eight UNC teams to finish in the top 10 in NCAA championship play to help the school finish with an ACC-leading 1,087.25 points. Her team earned UNC 100 points and Coach Hubert Davis’ men’s basketball team earned 90 for playing in the national championship game.
It was a perfect finish to a perfect season and a perfect 24th birthday for Sam Geiersbach. No. 1-ranked and No. 1 seed Carolina used a late 4–1 run on its way to a 12–11 victory over Boston College in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field to earn the Tar Heels’ third national championship and first since 2016. UNC (22–0) avenged a national semifinal loss last season to Boston College, which won the NCAA title. The Eagles finished 19–4, with three of those losses to the Tar Heels.
Put this one in the Carolina sports history books alongside the 1974 men’s basketball rally from eight points down with 17 seconds left against Duke. In one of the most amazing comebacks in UNC sports history, the unbeaten No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seed Tar Heels erased an eight-goal third-quarter deficit to take an incredible 15–14 victory over No. 4-seed Northwestern in the NCAA women’s lacrosse national semifinals Friday at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field in Baltimore.
he similarities to last season continue for a Carolina women’s lacrosse team that’s ready to flip the script. Just like last season, the Tar Heels beat Stony Brook to enter the Final Four undefeated, No. 1-ranked and No. 1 seeded, taking a 20-game unbeaten streak into a national semifinal against a team they defeated handily at home. In both cases, that earlier win was on March 6. A year ago, Boston College, which UNC blew out 21–9 in March, ousted the Tar Heels 11–10 in the semifinals on its way to a national championship. A year later, to the day, of that early-season win over BC, Carolina rolled over Northwestern by a similar score of 20–9.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina is back in the women’s lacrosse Final Four but, for the second consecutive season, Stony Brook and its vexing zone defense didn’t make it easy. Just like in last year’s quarterfinals, the undefeated, No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Tar Heels (20–0) had to rally against the Seawolves to keep their season alive. UNC rebounded from the lowest-scoring half of the season (three first-half goals) and used a four-goal second-half run to advance Thursday at Dorrance Field. The Tar Heels’ 8–5 NCAA tournament quarterfinal victory over the No. 7-ranked Seawolves (16–3) was their 33rd consecutive home win.
CHAPEL HILL — What does domination look like? That was on display as North Carolina’s top-ranked and No. 1-seed women’s lacrosse team overwhelmed No. 15-ranked Virginia in the second round of the NCAA tournament. After falling behind in their last two ACC Tournament games, the unbeaten Tar Heels, who got a first-round bye, took charge early Sunday and left little doubt. Carolina scored the game’s first 13 goals and the last 11, dominating draws early in a 24–2 victory at Dorrance Field behind senior attacker Jamie Ortega’s four goals and five assists. That was the most goals in an NCAA tournament game in program history.
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