No. 11 Eagles Head South to Face No. 1 North Carolina

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The No. 11 Boston College lacrosse team heads to No. 1 North Carolina to open ACC play on Saturday, March 6 at 11 a.m. at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, N.C. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

The Eagles are off to a 3-0 start, with two wins over ranked teams. BC had a revenge game of sorts against No. 22 UMass, beating them 19-7 in Fish Field House on Tuesday. Last year, UMass defeated BC 16-11 in its season opener.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina enters as the undisputed No. 1 team in the country and a perfect 5-0 record. Offensively, they're led by Jamie Ortega and Katie Hoag, who has 26 and 24 points, respectively. Ortega currently leads the nation in points with 26, while Hoag leads the nation with 15 assists. Senior Taylor Moreno has started all five games for the Tar Heels with a 5-0 record, amassing 36 saves and a .610 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
BC is 5-17 all time against North Carolina. The series has been split the last six meetings with each team winning three of the games. The last time these two teams played, it was for a NCAA Championship game birth, where Sam Apuzzo scored to win 15-14 in double overtime to send the Eagles to its third-straight championship game. North Carolina's last win also came in 2019, when the Tar Heels beat BC, 15-13, to win the 2019 ACC Championship.

2021 REVENGE TOUR
BC has already avenged two of its three losses from the shortened 2020 season. Last Friday, the Eagles took down No. 15 USC, 14-8, at home which avenged the 19-8 loss from the previous season. Then BC faced UMass, who shocked the Eagles in the season opener of 2020. In a game that started 4-2 in UMass' favor, the Eagles clicked on both offense and defense, winning 19-7.

THE ATTACK
BC's is being led by its four attackers, who have 34 of BC's 55 goals so far and have combined for 48 points. Preseason All-Americans Charlotte North and Cara Urbank have led the way for BC, putting up 14 and 9 goals, respectively. North has 14 points and Urbank 13 on the year. Last game saw a breakout for Jenn Medjid and Caitlynn Mossman, who both tied or set career-highs. Medjid tied career-highs in goals (5) and points (6), while Mossman set career-highs with four assists and five goals. Medjid now has nine goals and three assists for 12 points and Mossman two goals and a team-high five assists for seven points.

FRESHMEN ON THE BIG STAGE
Even with a much older college lacrosse landscape because of the extra year of eligibility, BC has some freshmen who have really stepped up early. Belle Smith, the No. 2 incoming recruiting according to Inside Lacrosse, is currently leading the middie's with six goals and three assists. Against UMass, she recorded an early career-high three goals. Hunter Roman has started both games for BC, tallying three caused turnovers and team-high seven ground balls. In limited time, Annabelle Hasselbeck has already begun to make an impact. Coming on mostly in transition situations, Hasselbeck has one goal and one assist this year.

What's Next
BC is back at home for another ACC duel, welcoming No. 8 Virginia to the Newton Lacrosse and Soccer Field on Saturday, March 13 at 2 p.m. on ACC Network.

No. 11 Eagles Head South to Face No. 1 North Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Sam Apuzzo

Annabelle Hasselbeck

Jenn Medjid

Caitlynn Mossman

Charlotte North

Hunter Roman

Belle Smith

Cara Urbank