Women's Lacrosse Takes First NCAA Title

The ACC title for the baseball team was good but the women's lacrosse team topped it.

The Tar Heels won their first ever NCAA Championship in women's lacrosse with a 13-12 sudden death win over #1 and previously undefeated Maryland. The Heels, which had lost to Maryland twice already this season, jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the game and a 9-6 lead at the break.

In the second half, Maryland showed why they were undefeated by scoring five straight goals to take an 11-9 lead. North Carolina answered back taking a 12-11 lead before the Terps tied it up with 3:51 left in the game. At this point the goalies took over. Both teams had great opportunities to score through the end of regulation and into overtime but each goalie kept making great saves to keep the game even.

The last of those saves came from UNC's Megan Ward at the start of the third overtime. A clear defensive breakdown by the Tar Heels led to an open shot for Maryland which the freshman corralled. From there the Heels managed a transition opportunity with Brittney Coppa finding another freshman Sammy Jo Tracy on the left side. Tracy found the back of the net for the title winning goal.

The women's lacrosse title is the 40th in UNC history across all sports and the third this school year joining women's soccer and indoor tennis