UNC men's lacrosse falls to Syracuse in overtime

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It took one goal to end the North Carolina-Syracuse men’s lacrosse game Saturday.

It took three to end UNC’s shot at an ACC Tournament appearance.

For the third time this season, UNC (9-3, 2-3 ACC) fell to a conference opponent in a one-goal game,

as Syracuse’s Billy Ward scored in the second minute of the second overtime to close the game 11-10.

With their third loss, the Tar Heels failed to qualify for the ACC Tournament, which is limited to the conference’s top four teams.

In the first overtime, UNC goalkeeper Kieran Burke stood on his head for three miraculous saves, and the game went into a second sudden-victory period.

“Just make the next save,” Burke said. “That’s all I was really thinking.”

The next shot Burke faced went in, ending the game and UNC’s tournament hopes.

“I think (Burke) did really well,” said former UNC player and current Syracuse midfielder Nicky Galasso. “You’ve got to give him credit, but Billy put it in the back of the net, and that’s all that matters.”

There was a time when it looked like UNC could skate through to a win. At the end of a scoreless second quarter, Syracuse trailed 6-3.

Ward credited that slow start to Burke’s saves and sloppy Syracuse shooting.

“He played awesome,” Ward said. “He really did. But like Michael Jordan used to say, when he wasn’t shooting well, he’d keep shooting. That’s what we did. We weren’t shooting well in the first half, so we kept shooting. Luckily, they kind of fell our way in the second half.”

Syracuse dominated the possession battle in the second half, with faceoff man Chris Daddio

winning 12 of 15 faceoffs

from a slew of Tar Heel faceoff players, including seniors R.G. Keenan and Frankie Kelly.

“We threw a bunch of people at (Daddio),” said coach Joe Breschi. “We were trying to make plays and get possession. It’s a lot of pressure on the defense.”

The pressure mounted as Ward and the rest of the Orange continued to shoot, putting up 20 shots in the final half and six shots in the two overtime periods.

With a less-than-stellar faceoff record, UNC relied on defense and Burke in the final minutes to get the ball back on offense.

“When you play a very good offense and you play a lot of defense, it does tax you a little bit, but I thought the guys played hard,” Breschi said. “Again, 12-3 possessions in the second half and overtime. It’s a lot of defense.”

North Carolina’s offense was efficient in the final period and first overtime, as the team scored three goals on six shots.

Juniors Jimmy Bitter and Chad Tutton pushed the Syracuse defense, contributing those three goals in the fourth quarter

and seven goals overall. But without ball control, there wasn’t much the Tar Heel offense could do.

“I think we played well when we had the ball.” Bitter said. “We just didn’t have the ball too often.”

sports@dailytarheel.com