No. 6 Northwestern Falls in Back-And-Forth Affair at No. 2 UNC

Chapel Hill, N.C. -- Senior Bridget Bianco made a season-high 13 saves and freshman Corinne Wessels record four points in her collegiate debut, but it was not enough for No. 6 Northwestern as the Wildcats fell to No. 2 North Carolina at Navy Field Saturday afternoon, 12-11.

In a contest that was as even on the stat sheet as it was on the scoreboard, turnovers proved costly for the Wildcats (3-2). The 'Cats had seven in the second half, giving the Tar Heels (4-1) just enough possessions to come away with the one-goal victory.

UNC opened the game with a 2-0 lead on goals by Molly Hendrick and Sammy Jo Tracy before freshman Selena Lasota collected a rebound on a shot that hit the post and buried her 18th goal of the season to put the 'Cats on the board.

Junior Kaleigh Craig scored her 8th goal of the season two minutes later to tie the game, but Kelly Devlin scored for UNC just 15 seconds later to reclaim the lead, 3-2.

The Wildcats and Tar Heels continued to exchange goals as senior Blake McHugh found sophomore Sheila Nesselbush in front of the cage at the 12:12 mark and after a UNC tally, Wessels scored her first career goal on another dish by McHugh with 5:55 to play.

Senior Jess Carroll went coast-to-coast to score her first goal of the season after UNC had taken a 5-4 lead, but Alex Moore found the back of the net at the 1:05 mark to give the Tar Heels a 6-5 lead heading into halftime.;

A save by Bianco on the opening possession of the second half set up Lasota's second goal of the afternoon to tie the game, 6-6. Like two heavyweight fighters, the 'Cats and Heels continued to deliver back-and-forth blows.

UNC went ahead on a goal by Ela Hazar only for Wessels to find Shelby Fredericks less than two minutes later to tie the game again, 7-7. Another goal by Tracy put UNC ahead, but Craig scored her second goal of the game just a minute later at 15:31 to tie it again.

A yellow card on Molly Hendrick gave the 'Cats a one-up advantage and possession following Craig's goal and Nesselbush wasted no time, scoring her second goal of the contest on a feed from Wessels to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 9-8.

Unfortunately, the lead was short lived as Bill scored a pair of goals in a span of 48 seconds to give the Tar Heels a 10-9 advantage. Wessels scored a highlight-reel behind-the-back goal on a feed from Fredericks with 10:43 to play to tie the game at 10, but again it took UNC just over a minute to score to reclaim the lead.

The Wildcats weren't done though as Nesselbush capped her hat trick with 8:01 to play to tie the game, 11-11. The sophomore won the ensuing draw control and stormed down the field for an opportunity to give the 'Cats the lead, but her shot attempt was high and UNC won the race to earn possession. 

With the game tied 11-11 under the five-minute mark, Bianco made her 12th save of the afternoon to give NU possession. Unfortunately, a slip on the turf caused a loose ball and turned possession back over to UNC. Marie McCool picked up the ground ball for the Heels and Maggie Bill scored her third goal of the game just 22 seconds later for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

The Tar Heels won the ensuing draw control, but yet another save by Bianco gave the 'Cats one last chance. Following a timeout, NU was able to clear the field and get a shot at tying the game, but freshman Lindsay Darrell's attempt was saved by Caylee Waters and the Tar Heels were able to run out the clock.

Darrell led the Wildcats with five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, while Nesselbush, Caley Chelios and Fredericks each had a pair of draw controls.

The Wildcats are back in action when they play their first game at Lakeside Field on Saturday, March 7 versus Colorado.