The much-anticipated showdown between No. 1 Boston College and No. 3 North Carolina largely turned into a showcase for the Eagles in a 14-8 victory.
Reigning Tewaaraton winner Sam Apuzzo scored five times and helped Boston College control the draw (15-9) by grabbing eight herself. On the defensive side, sophomore Abbey Ngai made nine saves to run her record to 7-0 since taking over as the starter in goal in late February.
North Carolina’s Jamie Ortega scored less than two minutes into the game, but BC then reeled off five straight goals and had an answer for every UNC run the rest of the way.
The Tar Heels (8-2, 1-1 ACC) pulled to within 5-3, 7-5 and 11-8 at various points, but could get no closer.
The Eagles (11-0, 2-0 ACC) gave Apuzzo plenty of help. Kenzie Kent had a goal and three assists, and Dempsey Arsenault, Jordan Lappin and Sheila Rietano each scored twice with Arsenault collecting six draw controls.
PHOTO BY PEYTON WILLIAMS
Ortega led UNC with three goals and Katie Hoeg had four assists. Taylor Moreno made 11 saves.
Brown Rallies to Stun Princeton
Despite falling behind 9-2 to heavily-favored No. 11 Princeton, Brown found a way, rallying to beat the Tigers 12-11.
"It was an awesome team effort," said Brown head coach Keely McDonald. "I'm really proud of how we battled back from being down. We fought on all parts of the field — defense, draw, offense.”
It just the fifth win for the Bears in 40 all-time meetings against Princeton, and the first since 2014.
Brown scored the final eight goals of the first half to take a 10-9 lead at the break and then scored the first two goals of the second half to push the lead out to three.
Kyle Sears scored back-to-back goals for Princeton to cut the lead to one, but neither team scored in the final 10:42 of the game as the Bears held on.
Brown’s Erin Tucker made six of her 10 saves in the second half, including one on a free position opportunity by Sears with 52 seconds remaining.
Risa Mosenthal, named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Thursday, had four goals for Brown (4-4, 2-1 Ivy League). Sears (4 goals) and Tess D’Orsi (3g, 2a) led Princeton (5-2, 1-1).
Penn Hangs on to Beat Cornell
No. 5 Penn avoided complete upheaval in the Ivy League by hanging on to beat Cornell 11-10 — the fourth one-goal victory of the season for the Quakers.
After falling behind 8-7 in the second half, Penn scored four straight goals to take a three-goal lead that help up thanks to Mikaila Cheeseman’s game-clinching save with 55 seconds left to play.
She's got the clutch gene.
— Penn Women's Lax (@PennWomensLax) March 23, 2019
Mikaila Cheeseman turns away the Cornell attack in the final minute to seal the win for Penn!#OwnIt pic.twitter.com/Utt5WzAIug
Zoe Belodeau had four goals for the Quakers (8-1, 2-0 Ivy), including back-to-back tallies late in the second half after Erin Barry had given Penn a 9-8 lead. Gabby Rosenzweig added three goals and two assists and Cheeseman made 10 saves.
Sarah Phillips had a hat trick for Cornell (4-4, 2-1).
Virginia Offense Shines Against Duke
No. 8 Virginia capped off a big week with a 17-12 victory over No. 13 Duke. The Cavaliers, who beat No. 6 James Madison on Wednesday, improve to 9-3 overall and 1-3 in the ACC.
Virginia scored the first six goals of the game — all by different players — and opened up a 10-1 lead on the Blue Devils midway through the first half.
Maggie Jackson led Virginia’s offense with four goals and an assist and Lillie Kloak and Ashlyn McGovern each scored three times.
Duke, which had won five of its last six games, fell to 7-3, 2-1. Charlotte North had four goals, Eva Greco had a goal and four assists.
Florida Snaps Losing Streak
Coming off three straight losses in a brutal stretch of its schedule, No. 17 Florida picked up an 11-10 road victory at No. 19 Stony Brook. The Gators, who had lost to three Top 10 teams — North Carolina, Princeton and Syracuse — by a combined five goals, improved to 4-6 overall.
Florida goalie Haley Hicklen played a major role in the win, making 15 saves, including 11 in the second half.
“Our defense really stepped up today, limiting a strong Stony Brook attack to just 10 goals,” said Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary. “We still have some things to work on before heading into conference, but today was a good step."
Sophomore Shannon Kavanagh matcher her career high with five goals, including back-to-back goals that broke an 8-8 tie in the second half.
Taryn Ohlmiller, Keri McCarthy and Siobhan Rafferty all had two goals for Stony Brook (4-4).
Notable
• Fourteen players had at least one point as No. 9 Northwestern routed Marquette 24-4. Selena Lasota (3g, 3a), Lindsey McKone (4g, 2a) and Izzy Scane (5g, 1a) all had six points.
• Sophomore Sam Fiedler had a career-best five goals and freshman Jillian Wilson scored four times as No. 12 Loyola won its third straight game, beating Lehigh 13-7. The Greyhounds improved to 6-3, 2-0 in the Patriot League.
Fiedler scores her 5th goal of the game, making this her career high!
— Loyola Lacrosse (@LoyolaWLax) March 23, 2019
Watch live on @PatriotLeagueTV @Stadium https://t.co/VlKVIypcUT #GoHounds pic.twitter.com/KNf8DOCTs4
• No. 14 USC went on a six-goal run in the first half to break a 3-3 tie and downed Cal 19-7 for its sixth straight win since falling to No. 1 Boston College. Izzy McMahon scored four goals for the Trojans (9-1).
• Kelly Larkin scored four goals as No. 15 Navy won its third straight game, beating Bucknell 17-4.
• No. 16 Johns Hopkins scored the first four goals of the second half to break open a close game and beat Rutgers 16-9. Senior Nicole DeMase scored the first three of those second half goals and finished with five overall.
• Samantha Nemirov (4g, 2a) and Miranda Stinson (5g, 1a) each had six points as No. 20 Colorado cruised past Oregon, 15-6.
• Morgan Berman stopped Caroline Blalock’s shot with 35 seconds left to preserve a 17-16 win for Virginia Tech over Louisville. Paige Petty scored five times for the Hokies, who trailed 14-11 midway through the second half. Tessa Chad had six goals for Louisville.
• Alyssa Parrella, the Brine National Player of the Week from last week, stayed hot with a seven-goal performance in the Pride’s 11-4 win over Sacred Heart. Parrella has 42 goals in nine games for the 6-3 Pride.
• Dayna Martinetto made 13 saves to lead Jacksonville to a 7-5 victory over Temple in a defensive battle in Philadelphia.
• Monmouth scored the final five goals of the game to open MAAC play with a 13-12 win over Niagara. Allison Stofregen won it with 2:35 remaining.
• Mackenzie Gandy’s fifth goal of the game, off a pass from her sister, Melanie, gave Robert Morris a 13-12 victory over Radford in overtime.
Goal by Mackenzie Gandy for the win! #GolonialPride pic.twitter.com/Q8YsKZdbpz
— RMU Lacrosse (@RMUWLacrosse) March 23, 2019
• Freshman Hailey Carroll scored six goals in Albany’s 16-10 win over UMass-Lowell. UMass-Lowell led 10-9 until Carroll tied it with 10:29 to play, igniting a 7-0 game-closing run for the Great Danes. Carroll scored three times during the run.
Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scores
No. 1 Boston College 14, No. 3 North Carolina 8
No. 5 Penn 11, Cornell 10
No. 8 Virginia 17, No. 13 Duke 12
No. 9 Northwestern 24, Marquette 4
Brown 12, No. 11 Princeton 11
No. 12 Loyola 13, Lehigh 6
No. 14 USC 19, Cal 7
No. 15 Navy 17, Bucknell 4
No. 16 Johns Hopkins 16, Rutgers 9
No. 17 Florida 11, No. 19 Stony Brook 10
No. 20 Colorado 15, Oregon 6
Other Scores
American 12, Army 10
Boston University 18, Lafayette 8
Colgate 13, Holy Cross 10
Delaware 17, Connecticut 9
Detroit Mercy 19, St. Francis 12
Drexel 22, Central Connecticut State 4
Hofstra 11, Sacred Heart 4
Jacksonville 7, Temple 5
Longwood 15, East Carolina 8
Marist 10, Quinnipiac 9
Monmouth 13, Niagara 12
Mount St. Mary’s 18, Campbell 7
New Hampshire 12, Binghamton 10
Robert Morris 13, Radford 12 (OT)
Siena 17, Iona 7
Stanford 15, Arizona State 4
Vermont 17, Hartford 6
Virginia Tech 17, Louisville 16
Winthrop 14, Mercer 12