The No. 20 Clemson women’s lacrosse team fell short in a head-to-head battle against ACC rival No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday, losing 18-9 at the Clemson Lacrosse Complex.

Although the loss was sore for the Tigers, freshman attacker Kayla Macleod’s performance will go down as a bright spot. With four goals to her name, she earned her first collegiate hat trick, notched her 15th point of the season and placed nearly half of the Tigers’ nine total scores in the back of the net.

Sophomore defender Paris Masaracchia also saw her name on the stat sheet for the first time this season, tallying her first goal of the year late in the third quarter.

The Tigers (5-2, 1-2 ACC) started their third-ever meeting against the Tar Heels (5-1, 2-1 ACC) looking to make a statement. They quickly jumped to a 1-0 lead within the first minute of the game off the stick of freshman attacker Regan Byrne.

North Carolina answered emphatically, scoring six unanswered goals as the Tigers’ defense struggled to keep up with the Tar Heels’ offense.

Despite this deficit, the Tigers closed the half on a positive note, scoring two unanswered goals, including Byrne’s second of the match. Midfielder Natalie Shurtleff also scored toward the end of the half, giving the Tigers a five-point deficit heading into the break.

The second half posed an excellent opportunity for the Tigers to close the gap and build on the momentum they had steadily been growing. However, the Tar Heels had different plans, scoring two unanswered goals and stretching their lead to seven early in the third quarter.

Clemson scored three goals in the third, highlighted by Masaracchia’s unassisted shot, but it proved to not be enough for North Carolina’s relentless offense, as it outscored the Tigers 9-5 in the final half.

The Tigers will have the opportunity to rebound off Saturday’s loss as they head to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to face the Wofford Terriers on Monday, March 11, at 4 p.m.