Charles Nailen/The Hoya Allison Chambers eludes a Tar Heel defender. She helped the Hoyas to a 9-6 win.

Two ailing teams met in Henry Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sunday. Only one could prevail and walk away with the chance to get its season back on track.

Coming into the game, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team, ranked sixth in the nation, had lost three of its last four games; UNC had slipped to 4-6 on the season after also falling in three of its previous four contests. It would be four of the last five by the end of the afternoon, as the Hoyas prevailed 9-6 over the Tar Heels.

Georgetown came out with the same kind of offensive flourish and firepower it displayed in the early going against Maryland. The Hoyas took a 4-0 advantage in the first six minutes of the game, and UNC never got back to within two.

Junior midfielder Gloria Lozano had two of the Hoyas’ first four goals. She led all scorers, tallying four in the game, all before the end of the first half. Sophomore midfielder Allison Chambers chipped in two scores. For the Tar Heels, junior midfielder Beth Ames put up a three-goal effort, but it was not enough to lead No. 11 UNC over Georgetown.

With just over seven minutes remaining in the first period, UNC had cut the lead to two, 4-2, off goals by Ames and Tar Heel freshman midfielder Brooke Dieringer. Lozano again stepped up for the Hoyas, putting away two consecutive goals and giving Georgetown its second four-goal advantage of the day.

Each team would score once more before the half, and Georgetown went into the break leading 7-3.

Georgetown, a team that has had trouble all season continuing its efforts and maintaining a lead in the second half, nearly faced the same situation on Sunday. The Hoyas came out of the half and were on the board again early, as senior midfielder Liz Ryan reeled off a goal less than a minute into play.

From there, however, it looked as though the tables might turn. In less than six minutes, the Tar Heels put three goals on the board and was facing only a two-goal deficit with more than 20 minutes of playing time remaining. Their offense stalled, however, and the Tar Heels proceeded to miss two free-position shots and failed to capitalize on two shots that rebounded off the post.

Georgetown scored once more down the stretch, and was able to hold on to the lead for a much-needed victory, despite continuing to be plagued by second-half shortcomings. The victory avenges Georgetown’s only regular-season loss last year, when they fell to UNC 10-11 almost a year ago to the day.

Two goaltenders split the duty for the Hoyas in the cage. Sophomore Sarah Robinson and freshman Dosha Stright each allowed three goals past in almost equal playing time. Stright had slightly more minutes on duty on Sunday, posting 33 minutes to Robinson’s 27.

Georgetown will face James Madison University on Friday. Former Georgetown Assistant Coach Kellie Young took over the head coaching position at JMU over the summer, and has since led the Dukes to an 8-3 season and a No. 12 ranking. JMU is coming off an upset victory over No. 1 Maryland on Saturday.

Draw is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Kehoe Field.