Five.
That was the number of saves the No. 17 North Carolina men's lacrosse team had in the second quarter for the whole season entering Friday night's game against No. 11 Duke. Fives saves on 52 shots with 19 goals allowed.
First-year goalkeeper Colin Reder tried his best to double that number. After relieving regular starter Brian Balkam with 6:36 remaining in the second period, Reder tallied three saves, including two in extra-man situations.
Reder continued to come up big in pressure situations the entire night. He had 10 saves, including one on Duke's first possession of overtime that helped secure the Tar Heels' 17-16 victory.
Senior Steve Pontrello scored a career-high six goals and three other Tar Heels scored twice — including senior midfielder Patrick Kelly, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime for UNC. After nearly turning it over on the pass, Kelly took advantage of the confusion to beat multiple Blue Devils' defenders and score unassisted.
It was a fitting end to a dramatic game full of twists and turns of momentum. The Tar Heels raced out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from Pontrello, first-year Brian Cannon and junior Luke Goldstock. But after a timeout, Duke responded with a pair of goals, and it was back and forth the rest of the way.
After UNC took a 6-3 lead early in the second period, Duke stormed back with three straight goals to tie the game. But UNC flashed its quick-score ability — not for the only time that game — and scored twice in nine seconds to reassert the lead. Reder then entered, as Coach Joe Breschi was looking for crucial saves, and both teams were scoreless for the rest of the half.
That scoreless streak extended into the third period for the Tar Heels, but not for Duke. Myles Jones scored twice and assisted on two other goals as the Blue Devils score five straight to take an 11-8 lead. Then the Tar Heels broke an almost 19 minute scoring drought with two goals in 32 seconds by midfielder Michael Tagliaferri.
With the score tied at 12, the Tar Heels again displayed their quick-strike ability. Peyton Klawinski scored with 13 seconds remaining, then Shane Simpson added another goal with seven seconds left to give the Tar Heels a two-goal lead entering into the final period.
