Triangle Sports Roundup: WLAX results from UNC and High Point

Duke Blue Devils/UNC Tar Heels

No. 2 Tar Heels down No. 6 Northwestern, 12-11

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.Sammy Jo Tracy had three goals and an assist and Maggie Bill scored three times in the final 13:27 of the game as the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels beat the sixth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats 12-11 at Navy Field on Saturday.

Carolina led 2-0 in the opening four minutes of the game but the margin was never more than one goal for either team the rest of the game.

“I thought it was a hard-fought game today,” UNC head coach Jenny Levy said afterward.

“I thought it was a tight game that could’ve gone either way and we made some plays down the stretch that made a big difference.  We also made some mistakes, but things that are correctable. Maggie Bill really took over in the fourth quarter for us, and I thought the play Marie McCool made on the sideline was great. We got some good looks at the cage that we didn’t finish, so credit their goalie for that.”

After Northwestern took its first lead at 9-8 with 14:03 to play in the second half, Bill took over and scored all three of her goals in a span of 9:18 to lift the Tar Heels to the victory.

She had back-to-back scores at the 13:27 and 12:45 marks to hand the lead back to UNC and scored the unassisted game-winner with 4:09 to play.

Margaret Corzel also made a big play down the stretch, causing a turnover behind the UNC goal, grabbing the ground ball and racing all the way up the field to score unassisted for an 11-10 Carolina lead at 9:16.

It was Corzel’s first goal since the 2011 season, when she scored eight times as a freshman.  Corzel finished the day with a goal, an assist (the first of her career), four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

In addition to the big performances from Tracy, Bill and Corzel, North Carolina also got a goal and an assist from by Aly Messinger and Alex Moore, along with singles from Molly Hendrick, Ela Hazar and Kelly Devlin.

Northwestern was led by Sheila Nesselbush’s three goals and two goals and two assists from Corinne Wessels.

Selena Lasota and Kaleigh Craig each scored twice, Shelby Fredericks had a goal and an assist and Jess Carroll scored a single goal.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair.

The Tar Heels took a 2-0 lead on goals by Hendrick and Tracy in the first 4:29 of the game.  The Wildcats responded with back-to-back goals to tie it by the 21:34 mark of the half.

The teams traded goals the rest of the half with the Tar Heels holding a 6-5 edge at the break after a Moore goal with 1:05 left in the half.

In the second half, the teams traded goals until the Wildcats tallied two in a row to take its 9-8 lead with just over 14 minutes to go.

Caylee Waters started the game in goal for Carolina and played 43:27, making four saves and allowing seven goals to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Bridget Bianco went the distance in the cage for Northwestern, making 13 saves.

Carolina will return to action on Sunday at home when it hosts Elon at Navy Field at noon.

North Carolina 12, Northwestern 11

UNC goals – Sammy Jo Tracy 3, Maggie Bill 3, Molly Hendrick 1, Kelly Devlin 1, Aly Messinger 1, Alex Moore 1, Ela Hazar 1, Margaret Corzel 1

UNC assists —Corzel 1, Moore 1, Messinger 1, Tracy 1

NU goals – Sheila Nesselbush 3, Kaleigh Craig 2, Corinne Wessels 2, Selena Lasota 1, Jess Carroll 1, Catie Ingrilli 1, Shelby Fredericks 1

NU assists —Blake McHugh 2, Wessels 2, Fredericks 1

Shots: UNC 29, NU 23

Ground balls: UNC 20, NU 22

Draw controls: UNC 15, NU 10

Turnovers: UNC 8, NU 14

Goalkeepers: UNC –Caylee Waters (W, 3-1, 43:27 minutes, 7 goals allowed, 4 saves), Megan Ward (16:33 minutes, 4 goals, 0 saves); NU – Bridget Bianco (60:00 minutes, 12 goals allowed, 13 saves)

High Point WLAX rally falls short against UMBC

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Panthers outscored UMBC 4-2 in the second half, but could not erase a four-goal deficit, falling to the Retrievers 7-5 at Vert Stadium on Saturday.

HPU trailed 5-1 at the half, but used a 4-1 run in the second half to cut the UMBC lead to 6-5 with 8:04 to play, but two late free position attempts hit the pipe and the Retrievers held on for the win.

“There are a few positives we can take from today’s game,” High Point head coach Lyndsey Boswell said.

“We played better in the second half but good things don’t happen when you only play 30 minutes of a 60 minute game. I’m looking forward to our next home game and trying to put together a complete effort.”

Junior Allie Foard posted her fifth-straight multi-point game for the Panthers (1-4) after tallying a pair of goals against the Retrievers (3-2).

Foard leads HPU with nine goals and 13 points this season.

Junior midfielder Kristina Renner added a goal, three caused turnovers and a career-best six ground balls for the Panthers.

Senior goalkeeper Julia Burns played a full 60 minutes in cage for the High Point and made eight saves while allowing seven goals in 60 minutes of action.

The teams were tied in draw controls (7-7), while the Retrievers held the advantage in shots (27-15).

UMBC was plus-6 in ground balls (20-14), although HPU held a 10-8 edge in the second half.

The Retrievers posted the first goal of the game before a goal from Renner tied the score at 1-1 at the 23:34 mark of the first half.

UMBC posted the next four of the game to take a 5-1 lead with 9:38 to play in the opening half, and carried the four-goal lead into the break.

Junior Emily Meier posted a free position goal less than a minute into the second half to cut the UMBC lead to three (5-2) and HPU added another on a free position goal from Foard with 18:49 to play.

Both teams went scoreless for the next eight minutes of action, until UMBC added a goal to make it 6-3.

High Point stormed back with a pair of goals.

Freshman Erica Perrotta tallied her fourth goal of the season with 9:57 to go, followed by Foard who notched her second goal of the game after a great feed from sophomore Samantha Brown to move the Panthers within one (6-5) with 8:04 to play.

High Point had chances to tie the game down the stretch, but shots from senior attack Kendyl Gardner and Meier hit the pipe and UMBC added a late goal at the 2:07 mark to clinch the victory.

The Panthers return to action on Tuesday hosting the Vermont Catamounts (2-2) at 6 p.m.

Notes: The Panthers outscored the Retrievers, 4-2, in the second half but could not erase a 5-1 halftime deficit…Junior Allie Foard led HPU with her fifth multi-point effort in five games this season… Junior Kristina Renner added a goal, three caused turnovers and a career-best six ground balls.