Before Emma Trenchard came to North Carolina to play lacrosse, she played four years of soccer and basketball at Loomis Chaffee, a boarding school in Connecticut.

On the court she could make the open jumper, finish layups and move without the basketball offensively, but her highlights on the popular scholastic athletics platform Hudl are marked by multi-steal defensive efforts.

“Emma was an excellent defensive basketball player,” Loomis basketball coach Adrian Stewart said. “She was our best on-ball defender. Her primary role was to pressure the opponent’s point guard from baseline to baseline. Her ability to make the opponent uncomfortable and force mistakes was the cornerstone of our defensive game plans. Emma made her role, as difficult as it was, look easy with her athleticism, attention to detail with her footwork and all-around toughness.”

Those skills have helped Trenchard transition on the lacrosse field from a midfielder in high school into a top-notch defender for the Tar Heels.

“It was definitely hard at first, just because I’d never focused that much on defense,” Trenchard said. “But I think the thing that honestly helped me the most was all the years that I played basketball, because they are such similar concepts and movement. And Phil [Barnes], our defensive coach, along with the seniors, was super helpful in helping all of us freshman defenders get used to the system and the way that Carolina plays defense. It probably took me about the whole fall season to get the hang of it, but it wasn’t that hard of a transition as most would think.”

After starting her first year, Trenchard has made another huge jump as a sophomore. She’s now the named leader of the defense that ranks seventh in the country in scoring defense. She garnered acclaim outside the team for her role in its success when she was honored as the ACC Defender of the Year.

“Emma’s been a lockdown defender for us all year,” North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. “We’re just so impressed with her between the ears. At our level, the difference between good and great is what you bring mentally to the game every day, both in practice and games. Are you someone that competes fearlessly regardless of what's in front of you? And Emma does that. She doesn't get rattled by a matchup. She doesn't overthink things. She plays very instinctually. Defense is a really hard position to play in women's lacrosse, and so you're going to make mistakes and you're going to get scored on, and it’s how you respond to that and make the adjustments that you need to make. She's capable of doing all of that.”

Trenchard showed some of the mettle UNC values in its 15-13 ACC championship game win over then-unbeaten Boston College. Trenchard was burned for a goal on a backdoor cut by BC’s Sam Apuzzo, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner, barely a minute into the game. Apuzzo got another goal four minutes later as the Eagles built a 6-0 lead before Trenchard helped limit her to one goal the rest of the way and UNC rallied for the victory.

“It's a great battle,” Levy said. “I really appreciate the sport and seeing two really talented kids go against each other. You're not going to be 100 percent against the other person, but that battle is always very intriguing to me as a coach and how people handle it. Emma would tell you she had a lot of support from the rest of the defense, and she did a great job on [Apuzzo] the first time. It doesn't mean it's going to be the same on Friday. So she's going to have to find other ways to really challenge Sam to be her best.”

The two will be matched up again when second-seeded Boston College takes on third-seeded North Carolina at 5 p.m. Friday in the first NCAA semifinals at Johns Hopkins. The second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. pits top-seeded Maryland against fourth-seeded Northwestern. Both games are grudge matches. Boston College won the regular-season meeting over UNC 14-8, with Apuzzo scoring five goals.

“It’s obviously a really tough matchup, not just between Sam Apuzzo and me, but between my defensive unit and their offensive unit,” Trenchard said. “Overall, my defensive unit is trying to focus on ourselves. We played pretty well during the ACC championship, but definitely think there’s some spots and areas we can clean up. We’re confident going in, but we know they’re obviously very talented, and so we definitely have some areas to grow and improve on.”

Trenchard has been getting better with each experience she has. She fits the mold of previous All-American defenders that have played for North Carolina like Amber Falcone, Kristen Carr, Jenn Russell and Sloane Serpe.

“We've had a lot of really talented defenders come through Carolina, and I put Emma up there with the best of them,” Levy said. “She's quick, she's physical, she's got great speed, great closing speed, yet she can handle the ball in transition and be super dangerous in that area of the field for us too. We feel a lot of confidence in her. She's continued to grow as a leader in our defense this year. As only a sophomore, she's made a big impact on our program this year.”

Trenchard wasn’t sure what to anticipate when she came to North Carolina. Playing time and the leadership role have come quicker than she would have guessed.

“My whole experience at Carolina has been pretty surreal,” Trenchard said. “I didn’t come in expecting anything. I kind of had to work my way up. Being in a place where I am constantly on the field and playing the role of a leader is sometimes very surreal for me, and I have to take a step back and realize it. At the same time, it comes pretty naturally. So my come-up has been pretty easy, and I’ve been able to accept my role pretty easily just with all the support around me from teammates this year and last year.”

Adjusting to being a leader early in her career came harder than the playing. Her play helped to earn it.

“Obviously I’m still an underclassmen,” Trenchard said. “Mostly in the beginning of the year, when I was trying to assert my leadership, it could be a little awkward when I’m talking in a group and maybe I talk in front of a senior or a captain. As the season went on, my teammates started to grow a real respect for me in a leader sense. That made it easier to naturally come into that role. I don’t think that Carolina as a program really has the stigma that only the seniors or only the captains can be leaders, which is also really great and has helped me a lot. There are a lot of leaders, whether or not they’re named captains or they’re in the senior class. That’s a great attribute of the Carolina program.”

Outside of the program, Trenchard’s play did the talking. She picked up 22 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers while taking on some of the nation’s toughest players on her way to the ACC Defender of the Year award.

“That was a tremendous honor to be named that,” Trenchard said. “Again, it was something I wasn’t expecting. I’d gone through the whole season just trying to embrace my role of being on the field a lot and serving as a leader to my fellow teammates. Getting that was a huge honor. It felt like my hard work had paid off, but also I was extremely thankful for my unit and my goalkeepers. They’ve helped out a ton this year, and it’s made me look good at times for sure.”

The Tar Heels are hoping their defense can look good again over the weekend. How they play defensively against Boston College will impact if they advance to the final Sunday at noon.

“Our two units match up really well against each other athletically and with our IQs,” Trenchard said. “It’s really a challenge for both sides whenever we play each other just because we are an even match for each other. The unit that comes out most successful is just going to be playing with the most discipline and the most heart. That will be the unit that comes out on top Friday.”