NCAA CHAMPIONs
I
mmersed in the very land from where the term Tar Heels originated, the North Carolina women’s lacrosse players huddled in the center of Finley Fields. The sun struggled to peek through the clouds as a gloomy March haze cast over them at a secluded practice complex within walking distance of the Mason Farm Biological Reserve where pine trees have stood since before the Civil War. The waters of Chapel Creek trickled along the backside of the grass field, a serene sound interrupted only by a stray golf ball flying through the trees from a neighboring golf course. “Who are we?” coach Jenny Levy blurted out. The Tar Heels had just
suffered back-to-back losses to No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Florida. Players’ answers varied.
“A family.”
“Hardworking.” “Dedicated.”
“Are we really?” Levy responded. “Is that true, or are you just telling me and each other that because it sounds like the right answer? I want a real
20 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » July/AUGUST 2016
answer, and I’m going to keep asking until we get it.” Then Aly Messinger, the 5-foot-4 senior attacker, looked up at Levy and said, “We’re a team in progress.” While there were no wrong answers, Levy drew a line between an easy answer and a good answer. A good answer would come from the heart and be believed by all.
Levy wanted her team to think hard about its identity. Messinger’s answer was a step in the right direction. “We were a team in progress, and that’s OK,” Messinger said three months later, after leading North Carolina to its second NCAA championship with two goals and four assists in a 13-7 win over previously undefeated Maryland. “You want to be a team that’s constantly in progress and going upward, rather than downward. ... You want to feel the pain of losing, because it only makes you get back up and push harder.” Sophomore Marie McCool realized in that moment that they didn’t know their true identity, but that was OK. Soon, any doubts still lingering for North Carolina would be scraped off its heels.
By the Numbers ¡¡ 0
Seconds on the shot clock the NCAA will implement in Division I women’s lacrosse next year, which means the days of stalling — as North Carolina did late to hold off Penn State in the semifinals — are over. “We’re all really excited that’s going to change in a year with the shot clock, and I’m leading the pack,” Tar Heels coach Jenny Levy said.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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