Opponent preview: Everything to know about No. 5 North Carolina women’s lacrosse

Get the most recent Syracuse information delivered proper to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports activities e-newsletter right here.

No. 1 Syracuse remained atop the Inside Lacrosse Girls/Intercollegiate Girls’s Lacrosse Coaches Affiliation rankings following a 19-10 victory over then-No. 19 Clemson final Saturday.

The 2 groups confronted off at Cicero North Syracuse Excessive Faculty for a Syracuse residence sport away from the JMA Wi-fi Dome. After happening 1-0, the Orange responded with 4 straight targets. Then, a tightly contested second quarter put Syracuse forward 9-4 going into the half.

Clemson narrowed the result in three with eight minutes left within the third quarter, however SU answered the bell by scoring eight out of the following 9 targets to leap out to a 17-7 lead. Olivia Adamson set profession highs in factors and draw controls — seven and 14 respectively — in opposition to the Tigers, whereas Meaghan Tyrrell and Emma Ward mixed for 11 factors.

Now, in a extremely anticipated matchup, No. 1 Syracuse will tackle No. 5 North Carolina, the one different crew to carry the primary rating this season. Syracuse will look to be the primary crew to enter Chapel Hill and beat the Tar Heels in 4 years.
Right here’s all there’s to find out about UNC (11-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast):

All-Time Collection

North Carolina leads 11-5.

Final time they performed

Syracuse narrowly misplaced to UNC when the 2 groups met in April 2022. It was a back-and-forth first half with three lead adjustments, and Meaghan drove residence three unassisted targets within the first quarter to maintain her crew within the sport, scoring with 4 seconds left within the interval to tie it 4-4.

The second body was the same story, as Natalie Smith had a pair of targets. Syracuse didn’t report any assists within the first half, however went into halftime tied at seven.

The Tar Heels ended up breaking by means of with 4 unanswered targets within the third quarter to make it 11-8. Then, Syracuse shaved the lead down to 1 heading into the ultimate interval after consecutive Adamson and Sam Swart targets.

Within the fourth, UNC tacked on two extra and Syracuse responded with two of its personal. With three minutes left, the Orange have been a purpose away from tying the sport up once more. However, North Carolina’s Jaime Ortega scored her fifth purpose of the day with 90 seconds left to place the sport out of attain, and UNC handed the Orange their third lack of the season.

SU was with out a number of key gamers in that sport, as Sierra Cockerille and Emma Tyrrell have been each on the sidelines with season-ending ACL accidents.

The Tar Heels Report

North Carolina went undefeated final season, capping off the 12 months with a 12-11 win within the Nationwide Championship over Boston School. However the crew’s prime 4 purpose scorers from 2022 graduated, in addition to its beginning goalie.

Nonetheless, the Tar Heels began off the season because the No. 1-ranked crew, however misplaced that rating to Syracuse after they fell 13-9 to Northwestern following a 7-0 begin. Since then, UNC has received 4 of its final 5 video games, dropping one to Notre Dame.

Caitlyn Wurzburger is the one returning participant who was prime 5 in factors on the crew final 12 months. She now leads the crew in factors and ranks sixth within the convention in factors per sport. Wurzburger can be seventh within the ACC in assists per sport, along with her teammate Reilly Casey one spot forward of her.

The crew additionally has one of many premier goalies within the convention. Sophomore Alecia Nichols’ .500 save proportion is nice for third within the convention.

How Syracuse beats North Carolina

In contrast to final time round, it’s key that Emma is wholesome for this sport. Head coach Kayla Treanor described her as “everyday” after not showing within the crew’s win over Clemson final week. Emma is Syracuse’s third-highest scorer and can be fourth on the crew in factors.

SU additionally has an opportunity to dominate possession in opposition to the Tar Heels. UNC forces the least turnovers of any ACC crew, and Syracuse doesn’t cough up the ball too usually. North Carolina additionally has picked up the least quantity of floor balls by far within the ACC, whereas Syracuse leads the convention in that stat.

UNC isn’t notably good on the draw both, averaging slightly below 15 per sport. Since Kate Mashewske’s damage, Syracuse has been attempting to fill the void on the draw and has gotten higher with time. The Orange have received no less than 15 attracts in every of the final 5 video games. SU has the flexibility to actually management the ball all through the sport, which can be large if it hopes to knock off No. 5 UNC.

Stat to know: 8.92

The Tar Heels’ 8.92 turnovers per sport leads the nation. Syracuse, however, offers up the ball over 13 instances every contest. UNC might not take command of the draw, floor balls or turnovers, nevertheless it’ll play a clear sport and received’t make many unforced errors.

Participant to observe: Marissa White, assault, No. 21

Freshman Marissa White is a harmful goal-scorer. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native leads the crew in targets with 33, however she solely has two assists. It’ll be vital for Syracuse to observe the place White is reducing and never let her get a transparent line of sight to the online. She scores on over half her pictures and takes probably the most on the crew by 13 with 64 makes an attempt.