Underclassmen Thrive as Tar Heels Pull Away in NCAA Semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. — Eight of North Carolina’s starters in Friday’s NCAA semifinal were underclassmen — seven sophomores and one freshman. A year after polishing off an undefeated season with a national championship, there does not appear to be a sophomore slump in sight.

The second-seeded Tar Heels dominated the final three quarters, beating third-seeded Maryland 16-6. Fifteen of the 16 goals were scored by sophomores or freshmen. Chloe Humphrey and Addison Patillo led the charge with five goals apiece.

Youth took charge outside of the offense, too. Freshman draw ace Charlotte Rathjen made her first career start in place of Sarah Gresham, a senior. Sophomores Betty Nelson and Lexi Zenk again split halves in the cage. Eliza Osburn, Kate Levy and Charlotte Corkins, all sophomores, initiated havoc between the 30s, aiding UNC’s advantages on turnovers (15-7) and ground balls (17-4).

“Although we show up on the stat sheet, I give so much credit to the leaders,” Humphrey said. “I mean, ever since we stepped foot on campus, these are the most welcoming girls I’ve ever been a part of, honestly. They are so supportive.”

Head coach Jenny Levy suggested there were some early jitters. Kristen Shanahan quickly scored the first goal of the game for Maryland, which made its first NCAA semifinal appearance since 2022. North Carolina answered with three straight goals — all by Humphrey — but Maryland responded with scores by Shanahan and Lauren LaPointe.

But once the Tar Heel train gets going, North Carolina is like a battering ram. Excited to play against a man defense, an increasingly uncommon occurrence in Division I women’s lacrosse, the Tar Heels simply stayed aggressive. They attacked their matchups, dodged hard and played the pick game to find room.

“I’d rather be the hammer than the nail,” Jenny Levy said.

The Tar Heels hammered home five in a row after LaPointe knotted the score at 3. The first of that run, a high-to-low free position rocket from Caroline Godine, was the only goal scored by a senior for UNC.

“It usually takes a couple plays to get into the fabric of game, get rhythm on offense, get rhythm on defense, see what their game plan is offensively, defensively, and then start to problem-solve,” Jenny Levy said. “I like how we adjusted to the game. It got a little tight beginning of the second quarter, and then we started to really get into rhythm all over the field.

Kate Levy followed Godine’s free position goal with a pair of woman-up goals for a 6-3 lead. It was 8-4 at halftime and 9-5 when Maryland senior Kori Edmondson scored on her only shot attempt of the game.

Even as Maryland attempted to chip away, the North Carolina pressure flummoxed the Terps. The Tar Heels challenged everything in the middle of the field and pressured the Maryland offense out to the restraining line.

Even settled sets felt hurried. Passes weren’t crisp and many shots were rushed, often flying high above the crossbar.

Eventually, all North Carolina’s work in the middle of the field paid off. The Tar Heels blew the game open after Edmondson’s goal, netting seven straight goals and kickstarting a running clock when Pattillo scored her fifth of the game with 8:05 to play.

It’s the second year in a row that North Carolina finished an NCAA semifinal with a running-time victory. Last May, UNC dominated Florida 20-4.

About the only category in the box score not dominated by the Tar Heels was draw controls. Maryland’s Kayla Gilmore lifted the Terps to a 15-7 advantage there as she dominated Rathjen in her first extended run.

That margin doesn’t tell the entire story, though. Maryland failed to gain meaningful possession following several of those draws, and Rathjen appeared to feel more comfortable as the game progressed.

“She did a great job,” Jenny Levy said. “She's learning against experience on the fly. I'm really excited about what she did today.”

Gresham, the season-long starter with 96 draw controls this season, did appear later in the game when the result was well in hand. She wore a bulky brace on her leg.

It’s unclear what kind of impact she’ll have in Sunday’s national championship game, but Jenny Levy is holding out hope.

“Sarah is doing well,” she said. “She wants to play. We'll see what Sunday brings.”

While it’s understandable to have a desire to play on this stage, especially as a senior, she doesn’t have to worry about those in her place. There’s youth in spades up and down this Carolina roster, but many are the same faces who helped the Tar Heels win a title a year ago.

“We are still on a journey of improvement, and we get one more day to tweak it a little bit more and get ready for, I'm sure, a tough opponent on Sunday,” Jenny Levy said.