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No. 6 women’s lacrosse falls to No. 1 North Carolina at home

With the loss, the Cavaliers have dropped their second consecutive match

<p>The Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run late in the game to secure the win.</p>

The Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run late in the game to secure the win.

Virginia women’s lacrosse lost to No. 1 North Carolina Saturday afternoon at home in its first match of conference play. While the Cavaliers (4-2, 0-1 ACC) held on offensively for most of the game, the Tar Heels (5-0, 1-0 ACC) had a late run that ultimately secured their 18-12 win. 

Virginia took the first offensive stab of the game, with senior midfielder Nora Bowen scoring two goals in a row — both off of assists from senior midfielder Sammy Mueller. The Cavaliers were also able to find a defensive rhythm and didn’t allow North Carolina to score a goal until the 20:40 mark. 

Goals from sophomore midfielder Lillie Kloak and junior midfielder Halle Graham expanded Virginia’s lead to three, making the score 4-1. However, the Tar Heels responded with back-to-back goals to narrow their deficit. Thanks to a turnover from North Carolina, Bowen was able to find the back of the net yet again to give the Cavaliers a two-point lead with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. 

However, the Tar Heels began to find an offensive rhythm at the end of the first half, allowing them to score three unanswered goals and take their first lead of the game with 3:30 to go. Not to be outdone, Virginia rallied and both junior attacker Taylor Regan and Mueller scored to secure a one-point lead going into halftime. 

North Carolina came out of the break fighting and were able to score twice before Regan netted a point for the Cavaliers yet again, tying the game 8-8. The teams began to exchange goals until freshman midfielder Kiki Shaw scored her first goal of the game for the Cavaliers to ensure an 11-10 lead for Virginia with 15:06 remaining. 

However, the Tar Heels then went on a run that proved too powerful for the Cavaliers to surmount, scoring seven unanswered goals in just over 10 minutes to lead 17-11. While junior midfielder Halle Graham was able to cut the deficit to 17-12, North Carolina scored again with just over a minute remaining in the game to win 18-12. 

While Virginia led in ground balls and had only nine turnovers to North Carolina’s 16, the Tar Heels’ late offensive dominance showed in their leading of shots — 33-29 — and draw controls — 21-12. 

Both Regan and Bowen led Virginia with three goals each. Mueller secured her 16th goal of the season in the game, the most of anyone on the team.  

“We got a little tired and sloppy with some of the decisions we made, and as we got tired, Carolina got stronger,” Coach Julie Myers said. “We faltered and as soon as we got a little bit off, [North Carolina] sniffed it, and they pounded on that. Credit goes to them, but it is disappointing to play well enough for a long period of time to feel good about it. To come up short is pretty tough.” 

Virginia will have a chance for redemption in its consecutive home game Wednesday evening against George Mason. The game will begin at 5 p.m. in Klockner Stadium.

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