COLLEGE PREVIEW 2013 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN TOP 20 NORTH CAROLINA
2012 RECORD: 15-4 (5-0 ACC) COACH: JENNY LEVY (18TH YEAR)
TAR HEELS 5
North Carolina coach Jenny Levy believes when you fi nd someone with extraordinary talent and the ability to teach it, you hold onto that person. That’s what Levy and assistant Phil Barnes did when they found Katrina Dowd.
Levy knew Dowd from watching her play at Northwestern and on the U.S. national team, but also from her coaching at North Carolina camps over the years.
“All the players and young kids at camp wanted to watch what she could do,” Levy said. “She could do it and also coach it.” Dowd was the offensive coordinator for Syracuse during its run to the 2012 NCAA championship game. The Orange’s 14.57 goals per game ranked eighth in Division I. North Carolina, which lost to Syracuse in a wild 17-16 NCAA
quarterfi nal shootout at the Carrier Dome, has not had the high-powered offense to match its strong defense in recent years. “Seeing the impact Katrina had on ‘Cuse was certainly something of notice to me as,” Levy said. After leading
Feb 9 Florida Feb 15 Towson Feb 17 Richmond Feb 22 Northwestern Mar 2 at Penn Mar 9 Virginia Mar 12 at High Point Mar 16 Georgetown Mar 20 Cornell Mar 23 Boston College Mar 28 at Duke Mar 30 at Virginia Tech Apr 6 at Maryland Apr 12 Jacksonville Apr 20 at Vanderbilt
Northwestern to three consecutive NCAA championships (2007- 09) but falling short as a senior against Maryland in the 2010 fi nal, Dowd coached for a year at Denver before going to Syracuse. Dowd also has been a mainstay with Team USA, serving as an alternate on the gold medal-winning World Cup team in 2009. “Kelly Amonte Hiller and
Gary Gait are probably the greatest teachers in the game,” Dowd said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from the best.” One of Levy’s top priorities for 2013: Figure out a way to replace Laura Zimmerman and Becky Lynch, North Carolina’s top two scorers in 2012, who combined for 120 points. Levy expects Dowd’s offensive know-how will help compensate for the lost production. “We hope that the systems we run create an environment for top-level players and developing younger players to step up in those roles,” Levy said. “We are looking for some of our kids to do some really special stuff this season.”
Senior Kara Cannizzaro, who exploded for 42 goals in 2012, has proven to be a legitimate two-way threat. She will anchor the midfi eld, while junior Abbey Friend is a third-year starter on low attack. Two high-profi le freshmen — lefty attacker Aly Messinger and midfi elder Sammy Jo Tracy — likely will start for North Carolina. Tracy “had an outrageous fall,” Levy said. “She exhausts her potential every day.”
a star.
Sounds like someone Dowd could mold into — Heather Wentz
64 LACROSSE MAGAZINE February 2013 >> RIVAL COACHES SAY
“Despite naysayers that called for Jenny Levy’s head after last spring, you cannot deny Carolina is always a contender. Adding Katrina Dowd to the staff should fi re up the offense, and Phil Barnes is a great recruiter... I’m not sure this team has the depth to make a run in May.”
TOP RETURNER A Abbey Friend (Jr.) Friend will lead a young North Carolina offense after scoring 52 goals and dishing out eight assists last season. Watch for the Team Canada product to take command of the attack as the Tar Heels look to prove themselves an offensive threat early in the season.
X-FACTOR M Kara Cannizzaro (Sr.) Versatile on both sides of the ball, Cannizzaro provides depth in the midfi eld for the Tar Heels. She ended the 2012 season with 52 points, 23 caused turnovers and 26 ground balls, showing her ability to be a scorer as well as an aggressive takeaway defender.
North Carolina’s legacy of stingy 1-on-1 defenders endures in All- American Sloan Serpe, who was named one of the Tar Heels’ captains as a junior.
5
PROJECTED STARTERS
A Abbey Friend (Jr.) * G: 52 A: 8
A Aly Messinger (Fr.) G: 100 A:77 (at Mendham High)
A Jessica Griffi n (Sr.) G: 14 DC: 16
M Kara Cannizzaro (Sr.) * G: 42 CT: 23
M Brittany Coppa (Jr.) * GB: 25 DC: 35
M Taylor George (Jr.) * G: 12 GB: 19
M Emily Garrity (Sr.) * G: 18 DC: 31
M Sammy Jo Tracy (Fr.) G: 94 A: 22
D Sloane Serpe (Jr.) * GB: 21 CT: 10
D Caileigh Sindall (So.) * GB: 13 DC: 13
D Kelly Devlin (So.) * GB: 17 CT: 9
G Lauren Maksym (Sr.) * GAA: 8.00 SV%: 45.3
* returning starters TELLING NUMBER
sweeping the ACC for the first time, a loss to Georgetown hurt the Heels’ playoff positioning. A Publication of US Lacrosse
ACC wins in 2012 — and UNC’s seed in the NCAA tournament. Despite
(at Fox Lane High)
Kara Cannizarro
©PEYTON WILLIAMS (KC); ©JOHN STROHSACKER (KD); ©GREG WALL (SS)
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