Friday, April 29
South Bend, Ind.
12:00 PM
Pitt
9-10
6
vs
15
North Carolina
16-0
1
2
3
4
F
Pittsburgh
1
2
1
2
6
North Carolina
5
3
4
3
15
Panthers Fall to Top-Ranked North Carolina in Quarterfinals of 2022 ACC Championship
4/29/2022 4:35:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
SOUTH BEND, IND. – The inaugural season of Pitt Lacrosse came to a close Friday afternoon with a 15-6 loss to top-seed and No. 1 ranked North Carolina in the second round of the 2022 ACC Championship at Arlotta Stadium on the campus of Notre Dame. Graduate transfer goalie Paulina DiFatta, a Second Team All-ACC selection, capped off her terrific season and stellar career with 18 saves to set an ACC Championship record with 37 saves in two games.
The Panthers battled throughout the game but could not sustain many scoring runs against a North Carolina program that has won five consecutive ACC Championships. The Tar Heels are the lone undefeated team in the country this season and have won 50 of the past 52 contests.
"I'm really proud of the fight the team had today," Head Coach Emily Boissonneault said after the game. "We've traditionally started games well in the first and struggle in the second but today it was the opposite. We continued to grind and show our passion for the game. We are disappointed to end on the loss but reminded the team that the work we did this year cannot be overlooked. Every person on this team has helped define Pitt Lacrosse and we will forever be grateful for an incredible inaugural season. We had a ton of firsts and made history in many ways. This is just the beginning for a very special group of women."
Carlie Leach and Kate Elam both scored a pair of goals for the Panthers, while four-time All-ACC selection Paige Petty and defender Payton Reed also found the back of the net. Petty concludes her career with 281 points on 247 goals and 34 assists. She scored at least one point in all 80 games played in her career and had a goal in each of the final 47 games of her career. The Bernardsville, N.J., native is the seventh leading goal scorer in ACC history (26th all-time in the NCAA).
DiFatta entered the contest ranked fourth in the NCAA in saves and concludes the season leading the ACC in both saves (198) and ground balls (51). In addition to her fourth quarter goal off a full-field run, Reed was also strong on the defensive end digging out a team-high four ground balls.
North Carolina was led on offense by Scottie Rose Growney who finished the day with five goals on 11 shots. Sam Geierbach came off the bench to add four goals and an assist, while Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Jamie Ortega finished the day with four points (3G, 1A). Taylor Moreno, also a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, had eight saves in goal for the Tar Heels.
Pitt finished its inaugural season of action with a 9-10 record overall, with seven of the 10 losses coming to teams ranked in the top-20 of the national polls. North Carolina improved to 16-0 on the season and advances to the ACC Championship Semifinals. The Tar Heels have now won 16 consecutive ACC Championship contests.
NOTES
*** DiFatta recorded 10 or more saves in a game for the 10th time this season and 37th time in her career … she finishes her career with 661 saves and 149 ground balls in 67 games
*** Leach finished the season second on the team with 32 goals and third with 42 points
*** Elam ends the year with 25 goals, joining Petty (43) and Leach (32) as the lone Panthers with 25 or more goals scored
The Panthers battled throughout the game but could not sustain many scoring runs against a North Carolina program that has won five consecutive ACC Championships. The Tar Heels are the lone undefeated team in the country this season and have won 50 of the past 52 contests.
"I'm really proud of the fight the team had today," Head Coach Emily Boissonneault said after the game. "We've traditionally started games well in the first and struggle in the second but today it was the opposite. We continued to grind and show our passion for the game. We are disappointed to end on the loss but reminded the team that the work we did this year cannot be overlooked. Every person on this team has helped define Pitt Lacrosse and we will forever be grateful for an incredible inaugural season. We had a ton of firsts and made history in many ways. This is just the beginning for a very special group of women."
Carlie Leach and Kate Elam both scored a pair of goals for the Panthers, while four-time All-ACC selection Paige Petty and defender Payton Reed also found the back of the net. Petty concludes her career with 281 points on 247 goals and 34 assists. She scored at least one point in all 80 games played in her career and had a goal in each of the final 47 games of her career. The Bernardsville, N.J., native is the seventh leading goal scorer in ACC history (26th all-time in the NCAA).
DiFatta entered the contest ranked fourth in the NCAA in saves and concludes the season leading the ACC in both saves (198) and ground balls (51). In addition to her fourth quarter goal off a full-field run, Reed was also strong on the defensive end digging out a team-high four ground balls.
North Carolina was led on offense by Scottie Rose Growney who finished the day with five goals on 11 shots. Sam Geierbach came off the bench to add four goals and an assist, while Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Jamie Ortega finished the day with four points (3G, 1A). Taylor Moreno, also a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, had eight saves in goal for the Tar Heels.
Pitt finished its inaugural season of action with a 9-10 record overall, with seven of the 10 losses coming to teams ranked in the top-20 of the national polls. North Carolina improved to 16-0 on the season and advances to the ACC Championship Semifinals. The Tar Heels have now won 16 consecutive ACC Championship contests.
NOTES
*** DiFatta recorded 10 or more saves in a game for the 10th time this season and 37th time in her career … she finishes her career with 661 saves and 149 ground balls in 67 games
*** Leach finished the season second on the team with 32 goals and third with 42 points
*** Elam ends the year with 25 goals, joining Petty (43) and Leach (32) as the lone Panthers with 25 or more goals scored
Team Stats
PITT
NC
Shots
20
42
Turnovers
17
10
Caused Turnovers
4
12
Draw Controls
8
17
Free-Position Shots
1
9
Ground Balls
11
18
Game Leaders
Players
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
GK
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