UNC women’s lacrosse advances to ACC Tournament semis

CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 10: Lacrosse pylon with University of North Carolina and Atlantic Coast Conference logos during a game between Bryant and North Carolina at Dorrance Field on March 10, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Six days after beating Duke to cap off the regular season, the top-seeded Carolina women’s lacrosse team handed the eighth-seeded Blue Devils a 15-11 loss in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday.

Unlike the first matchup, in which UNC had to overcome a halftime deficit, the Tar Heels built a 7-4 lead at the break and pushed it to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter. Senior Darcy Felter matched her career high with five goals, and sophomore Chloe Humphrey added four goals to give her a Division I-leading 83 on the season. Sophomore goalies Betty Nelson and Lexi Zenk split time in goal again, with Nelson stopping three of six shots in the first half and Zenk stopping four of 12 in the second.

Carolina outshot Duke 36-27, with shots on goal even at 17 each. The Tar Heels lost the turnover and ground ball battles 11-6 and 10-3 respectively, but they dominated in draw controls, winning 20 of 27. It was a stark turnaround from the first matchup with Duke, which saw UNC win eight of 18 draw controls.

Carolina faces #4 seed Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Friday at 5:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network. The Tar Heels beat the Orange 13-9 on Feb. 13.