Wildcats' Season Comes to An End in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/19/2018 4:34:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score PDF Box Score WATCH: Amonte Hiller Postgame Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Junior Selena Lasota scored five goals to tie the NCAA record for goals scored in a single tournament with 22, but Northwestern saw its season come to an end at the hands of No. 2-seed North Carolina Saturday afternoon, 19-14.

The Wildcats finished the 2018 campaign with a 15-6 record overall, marking their 11th season with at least 15 wins under Combe Family Head Lacrosse Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

NU held a 40-38 advantage in shots and a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal, but Tar Heels keeper Taylor Moreno was the difference with a career-high 17 saves.

After scoring 17 goals in the opening two games of the NCAA Tournament last weekend, Lasota scored four goals in the first 13-plus minutes of Saturday's contest to pull the 'Cats even with the Tar Heels at the 16:10 mark, 6-6.

The Tar Heels (17-3) scored five of the next seven to close the first half and take an 11-8 lead into the break before scoring the first goal of the second half to claim a four-goal advantage, 12-8.

Chicago's Big Ten Team responded with three of the next four goals as junior Holly Korn scored her second of the game, sophomore Lindsey McKone got on the board for the first time and senior Danita Stroup notched her second of the contest to cut the deficit to two, 13-11. Senior Shelby Fredericks had two of her game-high four assists during the stretch.

Unfortunately, it was as close as the visitors would get. North Carolina reeled off three unanswered to stake claim to a a five-goal lead, 16-11, and rattled off another three unanswered after the 'Cats tried to cut into the deficit with back-to-back goals from senior Nicole Beardsley and Lasota.

Lasota's fifth and final goal with 6:48 remaining gave her 22 through just three games in the NCAA Tournament, tying former Wildcat Katrina Dowd's record set during the 2009 tournament. The Campbell River, British Columbia, native finished her redshirt junior campaign with 75 goals, tying the fourth-best single-season mark in program history. She also became just the fifth player in program history to surpass 200 career goals Saturday and will enter her final season for the Wildcats with 202, just 52 shy of Shannon Smith's program record of 254.

The Wildcats scored one final goal with 16 seconds remaining when Fredericks found senior Sheila Nesselbush for her fourth assist of the contest. Fredericks finished the season with 50 assists, tying the fifth-best mark in single-season history. She also moved into a tie for third in program history with 108 career assists.

The program leader in draw controls, Fredericks had a team-high nine in her final contest to finish her career fifth in NCAA Divison I women's lacrosse history with 496.

Saturday marked the final game for 10 seniors, including Beardsley, Fredericks, Nesselbush, Stroup, Shannon Nesselbush, Lindsay Darrell, Olivia Harpel, Tara Chelios, Ally Mueller and Lyndsey Lafitte. The departing seniors led NU to 51 wins over the last four seasons, a pair of Big Ten Tournament championship appearances and four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.