No. 1 UNC women’s lacrosse dominated No. 5 Duke Thursday night, taking down the Blue Devils, 18-4, and winning the ACC regular-season title.
The first five minutes of the contest were the only ones in which both teams were close. UNC opened the game with two and then Duke responded with two of its own.
After that? It was all UNC.
The Tar Heels scored 16 unanswered goals. Come night’s end, Scottie Rose Growney led the squad with five goals. Jamie Ortega and Ally Mastroianni both registered four-goal nights.
With the win, UNC enters the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed.
- UNC remains undefeated at 15-0.
- North Carolina has now won 13-straight games against Duke. The last time Duke won was April 16, 2014.
- UNC has won 41 regular season games in a row.
Here are our live updates on how the game unfolded:
Duke finishes strong with goal from Katie DeSimone | 18-4 UNC, 00:25 Q4
Despite struggling to score all game, Duke registered two in the game's final five minutes. This time, it was Katie DeSimone firing one in with just 25 seconds left in the matchup.
UNC still leads, 18-4, with 25 seconds to play.
Duke's Veronica Hineman scores first Blue Devil goal since first quarter | 18-3 UNC, 3:38 Q4
Veronica Hineman got Duke on the board for the first time since the 10:16 mark of the first quarter.
UNC still leads, 18-3, with 3:38 to play in the fourth quarter.
UNC's Amanda Fedor scores her first goal of the season | 18-2 UNC, 5:34 Q4
Senior Amanda Fedor is the latest Tar Heel to get on the board, extending UNC's lead to 18-2.
UNC leads, 18-2, with 5:34 to play in the fourth quarter.
Olivia Dirks extends UNC's lead to 15 goals | 17-2 UNC, 6:47 Q4
It's been impossible to stop UNC Thursday night. Olivia Dirks is the latest Tar Heel to score, giving UNC a 15-goal lead on Duke.
UNC leads, 17-2, with 6:47 to play in the fourth quarter.
Jamie Ortega scores her fourth of the night | 16-2 UNC, 9:33 Q4
Yet another Tar Heel has their fourth goal of the night. Jamie Ortega is the latest to accomplish the feat, scoring and giving UNC a 14-goal lead.
UNC leads, 16-2, with 9:33 to play in the fourth quarter.
Andie Aldave scores another | 15-2 UNC, 11:18 Q4
The Tar Heels continue to pour it on. This time, it was Andie Aldave potting one to extend UNC's incredible lead.
UNC leads, 15-2, with 11:18 to play in the fourth quarter.
Scottie Rose Growney extends the UNC lead | 14-2 UNC, 12:54 Q4
Scottie Rose Growney capitalized on a Duke mistake, scoring her fifth goal of the night and extending the lead to 12 goals.
The Tar Heels lead, 14-2, with 12:54 to play in the fourth quarter.
Scottie Rose Growney adds another | 13-2 UNC, 1:43 Q3
Scottie Rose Growney scored her fourth goal of the night, giving UNC the 11-goal lead.
UNC leads, 13-2, with 1:43 to play in the third quarter.
Ally Mastroianni scores her fourth of the night | 12-2 UNC, 10:44 Q3
Ally Mastroianni snuck into the middle and ripped one past Duke goalie Chase Henriquez to give UNC the incredible 10-goal lead.
UNC leads, 12-2, with 10:44 to play in the third quarter.
Andie Aldave adds one and extends UNC lead | 11-2 UNC, 11:55 Q3
The North Carolina offensive onslaught continues, as Andie Aldave fired one pastDuke goalie Kennedy Everson to extend UNC's lead to nine goals. The score prompted a change in net for Duke, as Chase Henriquez went in for Everson.
UNC leads, 11-2, with 11:55 to play in the third quarter.
Jamie Ortega opens the second half with a goal | 10-2 UNC, 13:05 Q3
UNC got quite the start to the second half with Jamie Ortega going upstairs for the goal less than two minutes into the third frame. It's her third goal of the night, making that three different Tar Heels with hat tricks on the night.
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) April 22, 2022Make that a hat trick for Jamie Ortega! Tar Heels now up 11-2 in the 3rd.
UNC leads, 10-2, with 13:05 to play in the third quarter.
Ally Mastroianni scores a hat trick, too | 9-2 UNC, 00:10 Q2
Ally Mastroianni saw Scottie Rose Growney, her UNC teammate, finish off a hat trick. So, less than a minute later, Mastroianni potted one as well, scoring her third of the night and extending the UNC lead to seven goals.
UNC leads, 9-2, with 10 seconds left in the second quarter.
Scottie Rose Growney scores a hat trick | 8-2 UNC, 1:01 Q2
It's been all UNC in the second quarter, and that was capped off with Scottie Rose Growney sniping one overDuke goalie Kennedy Everson to give UNC a six-goal lead. That's a hat trick for Rose Growney.
UNC leads, 8-2, with 1:01 to play in the second quarter.
Jamie Ortega pots another, extending UNC's lead | 7-2 UNC, 3:43 Q2
The Tar Heels continued to move away from Duke on the scoreboard, scoring one from the stick of Jamie Ortega. Duke hasn't scored since the 10:16 mark of the first quarter.
UNC leads, 7-2, with 3:43 left in the second quarter.
UNC's Jamie Ortega goes to the spin cycle for the goal | 6-2 UNC, 9:16 Q2
Jamie Ortega extended UNC's lead even more by putting on the spin move in front of the Duke net for the goal.
UNC leads, 6-2, with 9:16 to play in the second quarter.
UNC's Ally Mastroianni scores another | 5-2 UNC, 11:12 Q2
Less than two minutes after potting one, Ally Mastroianni scored another, giving UNC its largest lead of the night.
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) April 22, 2022The speed. The fake. The shot. What a goal by Mastroianni for her second of the night!
UNC leads, 5-2, with 11:12 to play in the second quarter.
Ally Mastroianni extends UNC's lead | 4-2 UNC, 12:57 Q2
While on the woman-up, Ally Mastroianni fired one past Duke goalie Kennedy Everson from up top to give UNC the two-goal lead.
UNC leads, 4-2, with 12:57 to play in the second quarter.
Scottie Rose Growney puts UNC back in the lead | 3-2 UNC, 00:48 Q1
After killing off Duke's advantage, the Tar Heels responded with a snipe from Scottie Rose Growney to put themselves back in the lead. It's the second goal of the night for Rose Growney.
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) April 22, 2022How about Scottie Rose Growney beating the shot clock for her second of the game?! Tar Heels take the 3-2 lead heading into the second quarter!
UNC leads, 3-2, with 48 seconds left in the first quarter.
Duke's Katie Keller ties the game | 2-2, 10:16 Q1
Well, what's the best way to respond to giving up two quick goals? By scoring two quick goals in response.Katie Keller capped that off for Duke, taking it herself and tying the game.
The score is tied, 2-2, with 10:16 to play in the first quarter.
Catriona Berry gets Duke on the board | 2-1 UNC, 10:55 Q1
After a great start from UNC, Duke responded with a goal of its own. It came off a shot from Catriona Berry.
UNC leads, 2-1, with 10:55 to play in the first quarter.
Scottie Rose Growney continues North Carolina's hot start | 2-0 UNC, 11:43 Q1
The Tar Heels continued their terrific start when Jamie Ortega drew a double-team to her and tossed the ball to an open Scottie Rose Growney in front of the Duke net. Rose Growney fired one into the net to give UNC the two-goal lead.
UNC leads, 2-0, with 11:43 to play in the first quarter.
UNC takes the early 1-0 lead | 1-0 UNC, 13:30 Q1
With the Tar Heels tossing the ball around the Duke net, the ball found its way to Elizabeth Hillman, who fired one into the net to give North Carolina an early 1-0 lead.
UNC leads, 1-0, with 13:30 to play in the first quarter.
Pregame: 7:45 p.m.
The No. 1-ranked North Carolina women's lacrosse team (14-0, 7-0 ACC) will host No. 5 Duke (15-1, 6-1 ACC) at North Carolina's Dorrance Field, where the winner will clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels have already clinched at least a share of the ACC's regular-season title.
Thursday night could be a bad time to be a goaltender or a fraying piece of netting, because Duke and North Carolina have the two highest-scoring offenses in the country, with the Blue Devils averaging 17.88 goals per game, just ahead of the Tar Heels at 17.71.
The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network, with a broadcast crew of Leah Secondo, Sheehan Stanwick Burch and Dana Boyle. Here are more ways to follow the game:
- We'll be live here in this article with updates before, during and after the game
- You can stream live here on ESPN
- Goheels.com previews the game here.
North Carolina will put its 40 regular-season game winning streak on the line. The Tar Heels have also won 29 home games in a row and 10 straight ACC regular-season championships. Duke's only defeat this season came against then-No. 3 Syracuse, 18-16, and as of April 20, the Blue Devils and Orange are tied for second in the ACC with 6-1 conference records.
