#1 UNC Uses Late Surge to Pull Away from JMU in NCAA Round of 16

Sunday, May 16

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon

James Madison University

12-5

North Carolina

19-0

James Madison

North Carolina

#1 UNC Uses Late Surge to Pull Away from JMU in NCAA Round of 16

5/16/2021 4:01:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – James Madison kept it close with the nation's top team for the majority of the game, but a late four-goal run by top-seeded North Carolina gave the Tar Heels a 14-9 victory in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday afternoon at Dorrance Field.

The Tar Heels improved to 19-0 and advance to next weekend's quarterfinal against No. 8 seed Stony Brook, while JMU's season came to a close at 12-5 overall.

Jamie Ortega paced UNC's offense with four goals, while Katie Hoeg scored two goals with a game-high four assists. Tayler Warehime had three goals and an assist, and Melissa Sconone added a goal and three helpers.

Leading the way for the Dukes was Isabella Peterson, who tied game-high honors with four goals and led all players with a career-best seven draw controls. Scoring two goals apiece were Daria Lucchesi and Ava Frantz.

Lizzy Fox was active all over the field, recording three caused turnovers, two ground balls and a pair of draws. Emma Johnson collected a game-high four ground balls, finishing her career ranking second in program history with 180.

JMU jumped out to an early lead, as Peterson scored twice in a two-minute span to give the Dukes a 4-2 advantage with 18:44 to go in the half. The Tar Heels responded with four in a row to take a 6-4 lead with 10:43 to play and eventually took a 9-6 halftime lead.

The Dukes held UNC at bay for much of the second half, pulling within 10-8 with 15:15 to play off a pair of Peterson tallies. The Heels capitalized off multiple JMU turnovers and strong play in the circle, answering with four in a row in a span of three minutes to extend their lead to 14-8 with under nine minutes to go.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

UNC out-shot JMU 32-26, including 19-18 in shots on goal. UNC used a 16-8 shots lead in the second half to win that stat for the game.
The Dukes held a slight advantage in the circle, winning 13 draw controls, to UNC's 12.
Teams also tied in both caused turnovers (7) and ground balls (15).
Both teams shot 33% from the 8-meter, as JMU was 1-for-3 and UNC was just 3-for-9.
UNC had three fewer turnovers, with 12 to JMU's 15.

SEASON NUMBERS

Rachel Matey led JMU with 62 draw controls in 2021, which is eighth best in JMU single-season history. Isabella Peterson also won 48 draws, which is tied for 16th.
Emma Johnson had 30 caused turnovers this season, good for a tie for 17th, to help her break JMU's career record with 126.
As a team, JMU dished out 120 assists, the third most in the program's 53-season history.
Adding in their 219 goals, the Dukes accrued 339 points, which ranks eighth on the team's single-season list.

SENIOR SEND OFF

Sunday marked the final game for five JMU seniors: Emma Johnson, Daria Lucchesi, Elizabeth Murphy, Charlotte Haggerty and Sarah Reilly.
Johnson, who played in five seasons, leaves the Dukes as the winningest student-athlete in program history with a 69-18 record.
Lucchesi, Murphy, Haggerty and Reilly finished their respective careers with a 55-11 record.