In a rematch of last year’s NCAA tournament semifinal, reigning national champion and sixth-ranked James Madison dropped its 2019 season opener to No. 3 North Carolina, 18-7. The win marked the biggest margin of victory in the series.

"We were playing the defending national champions, who started our season last year with a loss and ended our season with a loss," UNC coach Jenny Levy said.  "We obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for them and their program and what they've accomplished. To start the year going against a great opponent and playing as well as we did today is a great starting point for us."

The Tar Heels shut out the Dukes for the first eight minutes, allowing for a quick 4-0 lead. UNC’s dominant performance on the draw dictated the game as senior Gianna Bowe and freshman Brooklyn Neumen led the charge with nine and eight draw controls, respectively, for the 22-5 advantage. Ally Mastroianni added four. 

“I was really impressed with our draw unit today,” Levy said. “I thought they did a great job even though there are a lot of new faces there for us. I think the momentum of the game was set with what our guys did on draws because we got the first three draws and scored three goals off that.” 

Ten different players recorded at least one point for the Tar Heels. Katie Hoeg had a team-high nine points with six helpers and Jamie Ortega was the Tar Heels’ leading scorer with five goals.

JMU senior Hanna Haven tallied three points, while juniors Maddie McDaniel and Logan Brennan scored two goals apiece. Senior Caroline Sdanowich led defensively with four ground balls and three caused turnovers.

"They dominated the draw and it was hard for us to earn possession,” said Dukes coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe. “Our defense did a decent job considering how much UNC was in the offensive end, but the reality is we need more on offense.”

Redshirt sophomore goalie Molly Dougherty had nine saves for the Dukes, while sophomore Taylor Moreno had 10 stops for the Tar Heels. 

Kent Shines in Return

Attacker Kenzie Kent is back and better.

In its 20-6 rout of Boston University, Kent led top-ranked Boston College with nine points on five goals and four assists. Her performance was just one point shy of matching her career-best. 

The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 6-0 run, kickstarted by Kent less than a minute in. Their nine-goal spurt in the second half sealed the victory.

Sam Apuzzo, the 2018 Tewaaraton winner, had 11 draw controls and four points with a hat trick. Cara Urbank also tallied four points, all goals.

The last time Kenzie Kent played a regular season game for @BCwlax, 622 days ago, she had 10 pts in NCAA title game loss to Maryland. The long wait came without rust - Kent goes 5g, 4a as the No. 1 Eagles beat Boston U 20-6. pic.twitter.com/BZ3pP9IJyi

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 9, 2019

Carter Sets Career Mark

In Penn State’s 13-7 upset victory over No. 10 Towson, senior attacker Madison Carter tallied five points, with four goals, to reach the 200-point mark in her career. She is the 15th player in program history to achieve that feat. With 202 career points on 184 goals and 18 assists, Carter ties Mackenzie and Madison Cyr for 11th.

Carter’s performance anchored a second-half comeback for the No. 14 Nittany Lions after trailing 4-3 at the break. Kayla Brisolari added four points and Kristin Roberto had five draw controls.

The Tigers got a team-best four points from Kaitlin Thornton. 

Madison Carter with four goals, topping 200 career points, as @PennStateWLAX makes a statement with strong 13-7 win over Towson. pic.twitter.com/aLycGQ9Bdo

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 9, 2019

Virginia Overcomes Tight Battle

Overcoming a 4-1 Navy lead 22 minutes in, No. 17 Virginia defeated the No. 16 Midshipmen 15-12 behind a seven-point performance from Avery Shoemaker and seven draw controls from Maggie Jackson. 

Navy outshot Virginia 30-26, snagged more draw controls 16-13 and had an even 18-18 ground ball battle. The Midshipmen got five points each from Kelly Larkin and Kayla Harris.

Cavaliers keeper Charlie Campbell recorded 12 saves. 

"Navy did a great job of making us work for everything, making every possession count and really making every ground ball as hard as it could possibly be,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. “I'm really excited we rose to the challenge against great competition and we came up with the win."

Avery Shoemaker finishes with 4g, 3a as @UVAWomensLax overcomes early three-goal deficit to beat Navy 15-12 in Top 20 showdown. pic.twitter.com/jjraNCWiD0

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 9, 2019

Veterans Lead Gators

A strong offensive output anchored No. 4 Florida’s 16-9 win over No. 18 Colorado. Sophomore Shannon Kavanagh, senior Lindsey Ronbeck and sophomore Grace Haus each scored four goals, while Kavanagh led with six points and six draw controls.

“Very proud of our team's performance from the first draw this afternoon against a talented Colorado team,” Florida coach Mandee O’Leary said. “We got off to a quick start at both ends of the field and that was in part to our draw performance. … We also got great production from our attacking unit.”

Giles Guides Terps

After playing with the U.S. women’s national team for Spring Premiere in California, senior Jen Giles scored a career-high five goals to lead No. 2 Maryland to a 16-5 win over George Mason in its home opener. Meghan Siverson had a team-high six draw controls for the Terps.

“We generated a lot of offense today,” Maryland coach Cathy Reese said. “Defensively, we did a good job of limiting their possessions and had more shot clock violations than we typically have in the past, which was really nice to see. Great start to the season for the Terps."

Hokies Get Hot Start

Emma Crooks’ team-high four goals and five points, plus three draw controls, fueled a hot start for No. 13 Virginia Tech, which dominated Bucknell 14-4. Paige Petty added four draw controls and seven ground balls.

The Hokies next face defending national champion JMU on Wednesday.

More Games

• Thanks to eight goals in the first 12 minutes, Duke dominated Villanova 19-9 for its first win of 2019. Blue Devils coach Kerstin Kimel credited her team’s depth, which was anchored by six points from Catherine Cordrey and Charlotte North, four ground balls from Cordrey, Gabbe Cadoux and Callie Humphrey and seven draw controls from Olivia Jenner.

• After an even 5-5 first half, USC pulled away from Hofstra for a 15-10 victory with four points from Katie Ramsay and five draw controls from Jackie Gilbert.

• In Chelsea Gamble’s debut as head coach for Oregon, the Ducks recorded a 13-6 win over Mercer behind seven points from Shannon Williams. 

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20

No. 1 Boston College 20, Boston University 6
No. 2 Maryland 16, George Mason 5
No. 3 North Carolina 18, No. 6 James Madison 7
No. 4 Florida 16, No. 18 Colorado 9
No. 13 Virginia Tech 14, Bucknell 4
No. 14 Penn State 13, No. 10 Towson 7
No. 17 Virginia 15, No. 16 Navy 12

More Scores

Army 18, Iona 8
Coastal Carolina 19, Old Dominion 10
Duke 19, Villanova 9
Elon 15, Campbell 5
Fairfield 13, Holy Cross 9 
Georgetown 12, Saint Joseph’s 9
High Point 21, Furman 12
Liberty 15, Lehigh 5
Mount St. Mary’s 20, Presbyterian 2
Oregon 13, Mercer 6
USC 15, Hofstra 10