Fourth-Quarter Heroics, Freshmen Phenoms Lift UNC to ACC Title

The Queen City was a fitting venue for North Carolina women’s lacrosse to reclaim the title of queen of the ACC.

A magnificent back and forth between the No. 1 Tar Heels and No. 2 Boston College ended with UNC cementing its claim as the top team in the nation with a 14-12 victory. It is the eighth ACC title in program history and UNC’s first since 2022. Boston College had won the previous two.

“So proud of my guys,” UNC head coach Jenny Levy told ESPN’s Dana Boyle in a postgame interview. “It’s a team effort all year. We’ve been working toward this since last season. It was a really gutsy performance by our guys.”

In a game that featured nine ties, UNC last broke a deadlock during a four-goal flurry in the fourth quarter. With Boston College ahead 11-9 after Rachel Clark’s 91st goal of the season, Caroline Godine answered by finishing a feed from Kate Levy. Chloe Humphrey then found Addison Pattillo to knot things at 11 with 7:16 remaining.

Less than two minutes later, UNC kept up its excellent ball movement. Kiley mottice picked up an assist one a finish by Marissa White, giving UNC a 12-11 lead for its first advantage since it led 8-7 after the opening draw of the second half.

Kate Levy tacked on another to make it 13-11 and give UNC a cushion. It would need one. Molly Driscoll finished a free position attempt for Boston College with 1:13 remaining, putting the Eagles within a goal with 1:13 to play.

But that would be it for the defending ACC and NCAA champions. UNC won the next draw, called a timeout and put the ball in the stick of freshman Eliza Osburn, who sprinted around the attacking end while being trailed by two BC defenders. After Osburn tired, UNC moved the ball into the stick of Humphrey, who finished a backhand shovel shot with four seconds left for a 14-12 final.

UNC dominated draws 19-11, with Osburn and Sophie Student tying for the team lead with six each. Osburn also scored three times. Humphrey led all players with five points (3G, 2A). The UNC defense was calculated, shutting down Clark — the NCAA goals leader — and holding her to two goals on just five shots while being shadowed by Sam Forrest. Emma LoPinto scored just once. 

Betty Nelson made eight saves for the Tar Heels.

Nine players scored goals for North Carolina, which suffered from a slew of injuries in 2024 and fell in the ACC quarterfinals.

“We don’t care who gets the job done,” Jenny Levy said to Boyle, “but we care that it gets done.”