In their first collegiate appearances, freshmen midfielders Ally Carey and Alex Priddy added two and four goals, respectively.
For Vanderbilt, it wasn't enough against No. 9 North Carolina.
On Sunday, at the Vanderbilt University Lacrosse Complex, North Carolina defeated the 12th-ranked Commodores 14-13. Freshman attacker Kaitlyn Messenger propelled the Tar Heels to victory, beating senior goalkeeper Rachel Woolford with two minutes left in the second half of the first overtime.
In the season opener, the Commodores fought Carolina to a standstill, in which neither squad held greater than a four-goal advantage.
"We really didn't know what to expect because we didn't have any tape on [North Carolina], they didn't have any tape on us, said senior captain Cara Giordano. "For going out there blindly, we played a good game."
Carolina held the upper hand at intermission, 8-7. Sophomore attacker Corey Donohoe led the effort, notching four goals.
The Tar Heels darted past Vanderbilt early in the second half, on the heels (pun intended) of a 4-1 run in the first seven minutes. At the 23-minute mark, North Carolina midfielder Megan Bosica gave the visitors an 12-8 advantage.
To close out regulation, the Commodores outscored Carolina 5-1. Giordano finished the run on an unassisted shot just under five minutes to play to bring the contest to a tie, 11 Vanderbilt second half turnovers notwithstanding.
Despite several scoring opportunities, most notably four shots, in the first half of the extra session, Woolford rebuffed Carolina's advances to keep the match locked. She finished with 11 saves.
In the final period, both the Commodores and Tar Heels registered a single shot on goal. However, only Messenger's attempt connected to cement the road win.
Following the loss, the Commodores have the benefit of a six-day hiatus, before returning to action on Feb. 21 against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
"We're not going to settle for losing. That's our motto this year. We're not settling for anything," Giordano said. "This is, hopefully, going to fire us up for the rest of the season. It will light a fire under us."
The Commodores will need the fire for the upcoming slate. After UMBC, four-time defending national champion Northwestern pays a visit to Nashville.
Click here to see a video slideshow of pictures from the match.
