DURHAM — The North Carolina men's lacrosse team won 14-10 over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium.
North Carolina has won the ACC Tournament in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2013. It can now add another year, 2017, to that list.
What happened?
North Carolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter behind an early flurry of energy and effort.
Redshirt junior defender Jack Lambert's rocket of a goal with 7:43 left in the first quarter was the capstone of that run. UNC entered Sunday with a 4-2 record when scoring first this season, so the early run was a great sign for the Tar Heels.
Notre Dame scored its first goal with 3:47 left in the first quarter and added two more in the second. However, it still entered the break down 7-3. The Fighting Irish controlled 10 of 12 face-offs and had a 17-12 advantage on ground balls in the first half of play. However, UNC held the big lead thanks to a 22-18 advantage in shots taken.
UNC scored first to open quarter three, but the Fighting Irish made a run late in the third quarter with three goals in 3:16, the last of which made it 8-6. North Carolina still had the lead, but Notre Dame had all the momentum.
North Carolina gathered itself at the third quarter break, though, and exploded with two quick goals in the fourth quarter to provide some breathing room for their lead.
Notre Dame hung around all quarter, scoring four more goals. But North Carolina was even tougher and could relax as the clock ran down with a comfortable margin and win.
