May 19, 2005

by Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL -- The 2005 season ended last weekend for the University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team, but optimism abounds within a Tar Heel program already looking forward to greater returns in 2006.

Carolina went 14-6 this past season, including a 2-2 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels reached the semifinals of the ACC Tournament and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to Duke on May 15.

By any normal standard, it was a successful season in Chapel Hill. Throw in the unfortunate fact that the Tar Heels had lost two-year starters Melissa McCarthy and Brooke Dieringer, two of their top four returning scorers from 2004, to season-ending knee injuries before the '05 season was even a week old, and it becomes clear that 2005 was a unique season for Levy's squad.

"We must've been one of the youngest teams in the country, if not the youngest," Levy said on Thursday. "Considering all of our injuries and the fact that we played so many underclassmen, I thought we had a great year. We made the most of what we had. Even though the Duke game was a disappointing way to end, the season was a success."

Carolina will return nine of its top 10 scorers and regain the services of Melissa McCarthy, Brooke Dieringer and Christin Krejcik in 2006.

It wasn't just the losses of McCarthy and Dieringer that made things difficult for Levy's team in 2005. Junior Christin Krejcik tore her right ACL in the fall of 2004 and also missed the season. Sophomore Lindsay Higgins suffered an ankle injury early in the spring that forced her to redshirt the season.

"At the start of the season, we were excited," Levy said. "We had two frustrating seasons to get our younger players up to speed to compete nationally this season. We were excited to have experienced talent returning, the best group as a whole we'd had coming back since 2002 [when UNC won the ACC title and reached the NCAA Final Four].

"We didn't have just some talent here and there, but as a whole we had a group coming back that had played together for awhile. Our lineup wasn't changing a lot from the year before, and that's always an advantage."

The spate of preseason and early-season injuries reduced a team that could boast of being 28 or 29 players deep to one that barely had enough players to scrimmage with full numbers in practice.

"Within a week, our lineup changed substantially," Levy said. "We had a choice as a team. We could feel sorry for ourselves or we could not use it as an excuse and move on. We felt like we still had enough talent to make waves, but it was a challenge getting our younger players up to speed."

Freshmen Erica LaGrow and Katie Brooks stepped into the vacancies in the lineup created by McCarthy and Dieringer's absence, and the Tar Heel senior class also pitched in to make up for the lost production.

"Our senior class, Gina Allen and Allison Higgins in particular, stepped it up a notch with their leadership," said Levy. "And their production was also improved on the field. Overall, our team's work ethic went a long way for us. It truly was a team effort."

The triple-overtime loss to Duke in the NCAA quarterfinals last weekend wasn't a highlight of the season for Carolina, but reaching the quarterfinal round was an achievement in itself.

"I'm very happy and very proud of what this team did under trying circumstances this year," Levy said. "They stuck together and showed some real toughness. The next couple of years coiuld be really good for us. The seniors this year did a great job of having a great year this year while also laying a foundation for what we want to do next year. I can't for next season."