No. 3 Tar Heels Edge No. 4 Orange for ACC Title

Sunday, May 1

Blacksburg, VA

1 pm

Syracuse University

16-5

North Carolina

16-2

Syracuse

North Carolina

Photo by: Atlantic Coast Conference

5/1/2016 5:48:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Syracuse senior Kelly Cross scored as time expired in regulation to send the ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament final to overtime, but No. 3 North Carolina tallied the game-winner in the first extra session to claim a 15-14 victory and the conference title on Sunday, May 1 in Blacksburg, Va. The No. 4 Orange led by as many as three in the second half, but they couldn't hold off the Tar Heels' comeback.

A free-position goal by redshirt sophomore Taylor Gait at the 5:27 mark gave Syracuse (16-5) a 13-11 lead. The Tar Heels (16-2) responded with two straight free-position goals to even the score at 13-13 with 1:47 on the clock. Senior Erica Bodt won the ensuing draw and the Orange attempted to hold the ball for the last shot, but a turnover with 48 seconds left gave the Tar Heels a chance to take the lead. Molly Hendrick was awarded a free position with 36 seconds on the clock, which she converted to give North Carolina a 14-13 lead.

UNC won the ensuing draw and called timeout. Syracuse called for a stick check and Marie McCool's stick was ruled illegal, giving the Orange possession. With six seconds left on the clock, Bodt was awarded a free position and tried to pass the ball to sophomore Riley Donahue on the right side of the crease, but she couldn't handle the pass. Senior Kayla Treanor gained possession outside the fan on the right and threw the ball back toward the goal. North Carolina goalkeeper Megan Ward came out of the crease to battle for the loose ball, but Cross picked it up instead and put her shot in the back of the goal to tie the game as time expired in regulation.

Syracuse won the draw to start overtime, but an Orange yellow card gave North Carolina possession. The Tar Heels took advantage as Aly Messinger scored on an assist from Devlin to give North Carolina the 15-14 victory.

"They came back and put the ball in the net and we weren't getting the stops we were getting," said head coach Gary Gait of North Carolina's comeback. "It was two very good teams that battled for more than 60 minutes."

After a tight first half that ended with the teams tied at 7-7, senior Halle Majorana scored and then assisted on Bodt's goal to put the Orange back on top, 9-7. Syracuse held the Tar Heels without a goal for the first 13:45 of the second half before McCool found the back of the net to cut the Orange lead to one. Cross answered less than two minutes later when she took a pass from Treanor on the left side of the crease and buried her shot to put Syracuse back up by two, 10-8, with 14:58 remaining.

Bodt netted her third of the day on an assist from Majorana as Syracuse equaled its largest lead of the day of three, 11-8, with 13:02 on the clock. But the Tar Heels fought back and cut the deficit to 12-11 with 7:02 remaining.

Syracuse opened the scoring 40 seconds into the contest when Cross scored on a pass from Treanor and led, 3-1, at the 20:17 mark. Treanor and Majorana both found the back of the net to push the advantage to three, 6-3. Treanor appeared to have given the Orange a four-goal cushion, but she was called for dangerous follow through, negating the goal and giving North Carolina a man-up opportunity. The Tar Heels took advantage on Erin Kelly's goal at the 12:49 mark. That tally sparked North Carolina on a 4-0 scoring run that give the Tar Heels their first lead of the day at 7-6 with 8:21 on the clock.

Senior Gabby Jaquith converted a free-position attempt to halt the scoring run and end Syracuse's scoring drought of more than 12 minutes at the 2:44 mark. The Orange won the ensuing draw and held the ball for the last shot, but Ward stopped Bodt's shot with two seconds on the clock to send the teams into the locker room at halftime tied at 7-7.

Majorana tied her career high with seven points (4g, 3a), while Treanor had five points on a goal and four assists. She is now tied for fourth on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list with 383 points.

North Carolina outshot Syracuse, 30-27, and picked up 14 ground balls to 10 for the Orange. Syracuse won 20-of-30 draw controls. Graduate student Allie Murray made seven saves, while Ward finished with six.

Treanor, Cross and senior Mallory Vehar were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.

The Orange will complete their suspended game at Canisius on Tuesday, May 3 at 4:30. Syracuse will find out its NCAA Tournament fate next Sunday, May 8 at 9 p.m.