CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - If the drama in the ACC Tournament did not prove that Virginia was in the premiere women's lacrosse conference in the country, last Sunday's 14-13 overtime loss to North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament sure did.
Seeking revenge from its loss in Charlottesville on March 23, the No. 3 Tar Heels (16-2) came back from a two-goal deficit in the second half, holding the No. 5 Cavaliers (15-3) to just one goal in the final 24 minutes of play.
"I think Carolina took care of the little things that they needed to," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We didn't execute when we really needed to, especially in pressure situations, but Carolina did, and for that they should be proud."
North Carolina, which now has won 12 consecutive games, was motivated by a presence not on the field. Midfielder Christine McPike, the ACC Player of the Year and MVP of the ACC Tournament, had to sit out because of a season-ending torn ACL that she suffered in the Tar Heels' first-round win over UMBC May 9.
"I think that every single person on their team stepped up," Myers said. "They all compensated for the loss of their key player."
Virginia started the game on a roll when sophomore attacker Caitlin Banks got the Cavaliers on the board. Junior midfielder Lauren Aumiller and freshman midfielder Cary Chasney scored on back-to-back possessions less than four minutes later to give Virginia a 3-0 lead.
The scoring continued to go back and forth through the opening minutes of the second half, and then Appelt went on a scoring rampage, connecting on three shots in a row to give the Cavaliers a 12-10 lead with just over 18 minutes to play, giving her the last of her team-high five goals. The Cavaliers then tried to slow down the pace of the game. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, North Carolina was prepared for any strategy.
"We were able to come up with some really nice plays, some really scrappy ground balls," North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. "I don't think it was as much us holding them back from scoring, but they were trying to slow the ball down."
As the game reached its close, the North Carolina offense was able to execute on key possessions. With three minutes to play, the Cavaliers still maintained a one-goal lead, but then Tar Heel midfielder Kellie Thompson broke in to tie the game and send it to two three-minute overtimes.
In the first overtime, Virginia finally managed to end its scoring drought on a goal by senior midfielder Molly Cangemi, but Thompson connected just seconds later to tie the game at 13-13.
With 3.4 seconds to play, North Carolina attacker Lindsay Stone hit perhaps the biggest shot of her career, spinning in to score the game-winning goal.
In the second overtime, the Tar Heels kept the ball the whole time after winning the opening draw, and walked away with the victory, sending Virginia home.
"It's obviously a very disheartening experience, but I think we come away from today knowing that we have an amazing group of kids," Virginia senior defender Tiffany Schummer said. "We did lose the game, but we come away with 30 great friends, so we'll look past and build for the next year"
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