The No. 14 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team fell to the Richmond Spiders, 11-10, on Wednesday to extend its losing streak to three games.
What happened?
The Tar Heels mounted a rally in Richmond against the Spiders, but they were unable to complete the comeback in the end.
The Spiders got out to a quick start, scoring the game’s first three goals. The Tar Heels answered with an Andy Matthews goal distributed for the assist by senior attackman Chris Cloutier for North Carolina’s first goal. Six minutes later, Cloutier scored a goal of his own to make the score 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter began much like the first, with another three straight Richmond goals, including the second of the game from Layne Collins. UNC’s Matt Cunningham stopped the bleeding for the Tar Heels with a goal with 2:06 remaining in the first half, until Richmond scored again to close out the half with a 7-3 lead.
The third quarter started evenly as both teams traded a pair of goals each. Then, the Tar Heels and Matt Cunningham picked up some momentum during a three goal spurt for his third and fourth goals of the game to bring the Tar Heels within a goal. The Spiders stole one back with three seconds left in the quarter, making the score 10-8.
A stellar game for Cunningham continued in the final frame, as he netted his fifth goal within the opening minute of the final quarter. The Tar Heels and Spiders traded goals, and with eight minutes remaining, North Carolina still trailed 11-10. With thirty seconds remaining, the Tar Heels forced a turnover on a Spiders clear, but their final possession did not come up with a score.
Who stood out?
Despite the loss, attackman Matt Cunningham was able to showcase his offensive skills. The senior accounted for half of the Tar Heels goals, scoring five times. Fellow senior Chris Cloutier added another goal, extending his consecutive games with goals streak to 29.
