Fourth-Quarter Rally Comes Up Short; Duke Falls in ACC Quarterfinals

Wednesday, April 22

Charlotte, N.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

9-8

North Carolina

14-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Duke	1	2	3	5	11
North Carolina	4	3	6	2	15

Duke WLAX huddles at ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Fourth-Quarter Rally Comes Up Short; Duke Falls in ACC Quarterfinals

4/22/2026 4:57:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 19th-ranked Duke women's lacrosse team outscored No. 1 North Carolina 5-2 in the final period, but the Blue Devils' fourth-quarter rally fell short as Duke dropped a 15-11 decision to the top-seeded Tar Heels Wednesday afternoon in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.

Redshirt junior Ava Biancardi paced the Duke offensive efforts with four goals and an assist for five points, while junior Bella Goodwin and sophomore Maddie MacDonald each tallied braces. Sophomore Avery Doran led the distribution efforts with two assists. Defensively, junior Reese Woodworth posted two ground balls and forced a pair of turnovers, with redshirt freshman Hope Schoudel collecting eight saves in the cage.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke struck for the first goal of the game, as Leena Doreen connected with Biancardi for a strike midway through the first period.
North Carolina countered with four unanswered and held a 4-1 advantage after 15 minutes.
Doran stopped the 12-minute Blue Devil scoring drought five minutes into the second stanza, as the sophomore beat her defender in a one-on-one before slotting one past the Tar Heel keeper and into the back of the cage.
Following a pair of UNC tallies, Biancardi netted her second goal of the contest, this one coming on Doran's feed at the 2:30 mark.
The Tar Heels added another score with just over a minute remaining in the opening half and took a 7-3 lead into the break.
Duke and North Carolina traded goals to open the second half, with the Blue Devil markers coming off the sticks of Biancardi and Goodwin. Redshirt junior Eva Pronti provided the assist on Biancardi's goal.
North Carolina used a 3-0 run to stretch its margin to 12-5 with just under two minutes remaining in the third.
Goodwin briefly halted the home team's momentum with a man-up goal via Doran's feed with 41 seconds to play in the third, but a quick response by the Tar Heels sent them into the fourth leading by seven.
UNC pushed its lead to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils refused to fold, though, and continued to fight, scoring three goals in two minutes to slice into the deficit.
Pronti kickstarted the run with a goal at 9:56, then redshirt sophomore Reagan Digby and Biancardi followed with markers at 9:13 and 8:11, respectively. Biancardi and freshman Quinn Whitaker provided the helpers on two of the three scores.
The Tar Heels briefly halted the run with a goal at the 5:46 mark, but Duke kept the pressure on as they looked to climb all the way back.
Back-to-back goals by McDonald pulled the Blue Devils within four with just over a minute left in regulation, but North Carolina won the final draw control and ran out the clock to preserve the win.

NOTES:

Duke falls to 9-8 overall, while North Carolina improves to 14-1.
The Tar Heels extend their lead in the all-time series to 32-14, including a 9-4 edge in the ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Duke drops to 13-28 all-time and 0-5 in the quarterfinals in the ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship.
With her six draw controls, junior Ellie White moved up to No. 3 all-time on the Duke career charts. She now owns 267 as a Blue Devil, only trailing former program standouts, and sisters, Maddie Jenner (791) and Olivia Jenner (512).
Ava Biancardi posted her 10th hat trick of the season. The game also marks her 13th consecutive and 15th multi-goal effort of the year.
Maddie MacDonald matched a career-high two goals, pushing her season total to eight.
Bella Goodwin recorded her 10th contest this season with at least two goals.
In addition to her two assists, Avery Doran chipped in a goal to finish the game with three points. Doran has tallied 16 multi-point outings through 17 games this season, including 15 outings with three or more.
Reagan Digby notched her first goal of the season and now owns three as a Blue Devil.
Duke held a plus-five advantage in caused turnovers, forcing six blunders to UNC's one.
The Blue Devils went 14-14 on clears during the game and committed a season-low six turnovers.

UP NEXT:
Duke awaits its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be announced Sunday, May 3, at 9 p.m., during the selection show live on ESPNU.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX."

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