North Carolina won its third consecutive ACC championship with a win over Boston College.
DURHAM, N.C. — Second-seeded North Carolina (15-3) got six goals from freshman Jamie Ortega and an MVP performance from goalie Taylor Moreno to defeat top-seeded Boston College (19-1), 14-11, in the ACC tournament final on Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus.
Ortega had six goals and an assist on the day, setting an ACC tournament record with 15 goals in UNC's three wins over the weekend (breaking the record set by UNC's Molly Hendrick last year).
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Moreno made 11 saves in goal and an ACC tournament-record 33 overall to earn ACC tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Marie McCool, Emma Trenchard and Katie Hoeg joined Ortega and Moreno on the all-tournament team.
For the Tar Heels, it was their third consecutive ACC title and their fourth overall (2002, 2016, 2017, 2018).
"Isn't that fitting"
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) April 29, 2018
Make it straight! pic.twitter.com/Zpv1LKD9Ce
UNC has won 32 of its last 34 games against ACC opponents and nine straight ACC tournament games.
"We had to play tough all game to make sure we took care of the details, starting with the draw," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said afterward. "The last time we played them, the last 13 minutes of the game we didn't touch the ball because we couldn't win the draw. Honestly it's effort and it's focus and scrappiness. BC is really good and we had to do a really good job of possession and it starts with our defense getting stop and our offense handling their pressure."
Carolina improved to 15-3 overall in 2018 and earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the ACC champion. UNC rebounded from its loss a month ago to Boston College (19-1), which saw its 19-game winning streak come to an end.
Back-to-back-to-back ACC titles! pic.twitter.com/E4ucdFGKG1
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) April 29, 2018
Hoeg finished with two goals and four assists in the championship game and set an ACC tournament record with 10 assists in three games over the weekend.
Other key contributors on Sunday included McCool (11 draw controls), Bill (three goals), Kara Klages (a goal and an assist) and Olivia Ferrucci (one goal and one assist). Ela Hazar added a goal.
Sam Apuzzo scored four goals for BC but needed 12 shots to get them as a result of the play of Moreno and UNC senior co-captain defender Naomi Lerner, who shadowed her for much of the day. Cara Urbank added two goals and an assist and Kaileen Hart scored twice.
