Opponent preview: Everything to know about No. 5 North Carolina women’s lacrosse
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No. 1 Syracuse remained atop the Inside Lacrosse Women/Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association rankings following a 19-10 victory over then-No. 19 Clemson last Saturday.
The two teams faced off at Cicero North Syracuse High School for a Syracuse home game away from the JMA Wireless Dome. After going down 1-0, the Orange responded with four straight goals. Then, a tightly contested second quarter put Syracuse ahead 9-4 going into the half.
Clemson narrowed the lead to three with eight minutes left in the third quarter, but SU answered the bell by scoring eight out of the next nine goals to leap out to a 17-7 lead. Olivia Adamson set career highs in points and draw controls — seven and 14 respectively — against the Tigers, while Meaghan Tyrrell and Emma Ward combined for 11 points.
Now, in a highly anticipated matchup, No. 1 Syracuse will take on No. 5 North Carolina, the only other team to hold the number one ranking this season. Syracuse will look to be the first team to go into Chapel Hill and beat the Tar Heels in four years.
Here’s all there is to know about UNC (11-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast):
All-Time Series
North Carolina leads 11-5.
Last time they played
Syracuse narrowly lost to UNC when the two teams met in April 2022. It was a back-and-forth first half with three lead changes, and Meaghan drove home three unassisted goals in the first quarter to keep her team in the game, scoring with four seconds left in the period to tie it 4-4.
The second frame was a similar story, as Natalie Smith had a pair of goals. Syracuse didn’t record any assists in the first half, but went into halftime tied at seven.
The Tar Heels ended up breaking through with four unanswered goals in the third quarter to make it 11-8. Then, Syracuse shaved the lead down to one heading into the final period after consecutive Adamson and Sam Swart goals.
In the fourth, UNC tacked on two more and Syracuse responded with two of its own. With three minutes left, the Orange were a goal away from tying the game up again. But, North Carolina’s Jaime Ortega scored her fifth goal of the day with 90 seconds left to put the game out of reach, and UNC handed the Orange their third loss of the season.
SU was without several key players in that game, as Sierra Cockerille and Emma Tyrrell were both on the sidelines with season-ending ACL injuries.
The Tar Heels Report
North Carolina went undefeated last season, capping off the year with a 12-11 win in the National Championship over Boston College. But the team’s top four goal scorers from 2022 graduated, as well as its starting goalie.
Nonetheless, the Tar Heels started off the season as the No. 1-ranked team, but lost that ranking to Syracuse after they fell 13-9 to Northwestern following a 7-0 start. Since then, UNC has won four of its last five games, dropping one to Notre Dame.
Caitlyn Wurzburger is the only returning player who was top five in points on the team last year. She now leads the team in points and ranks sixth in the conference in points per game. Wurzburger is also seventh in the ACC in assists per game, with her teammate Reilly Casey one spot ahead of her.
The team also has one of the premier goalies in the conference. Sophomore Alecia Nichols’ .500 save percentage is good for third in the conference.
How Syracuse beats North Carolina
Unlike last time around, it’s key that Emma is healthy for this game. Head coach Kayla Treanor described her as “day to day” after not appearing in the team’s win over Clemson last week. Emma is Syracuse’s third-highest scorer and is also fourth on the team in points.
SU also has a chance to dominate possession against the Tar Heels. UNC forces the least turnovers of any ACC team, and Syracuse doesn’t cough up the ball too often. North Carolina also has picked up the least amount of ground balls by far in the ACC, while Syracuse leads the conference in that stat.
UNC isn’t particularly good on the draw either, averaging just under 15 per game. Since Kate Mashewske’s injury, Syracuse has been trying to fill the void on the draw and has gotten better with time. The Orange have won at least 15 draws in each of the last five games. SU has the ability to really control the ball throughout the game, which will be huge if it hopes to knock off No. 5 UNC.
Stat to know: 8.92
The Tar Heels’ 8.92 turnovers per game leads the country. Syracuse, on the other hand, gives up the ball over 13 times each contest. UNC may not take command of the draw, ground balls or turnovers, but it’ll play a clean game and won’t make many unforced errors.
Player to watch: Marissa White, attack, No. 21
Freshman Marissa White is a dangerous goal-scorer. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native leads the team in goals with 33, but she only has two assists. It’ll be important for Syracuse to watch where White is cutting and not let her get a clear line of sight to the net. She scores on over half her shots and takes the most on the team by 13 with 64 attempts.
