Tar Heels rebound, upset No. 10 Cornell

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Just as the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team returned to Fetzer Field after halftime Wednesday, an array of fireworks lit up the sky above the right end of the stadium.

It seemed as if someone knew that No. 19 UNC was returning from a 6-0 second quarter run which carried the team to a 9-5 upset of No. 10 Cornell.

“I was actually watching (the fireworks) a little bit,” said senior attackman Jed Prossner. “It might have helped us a bit.”

MEN'S LACROSSE Cornell 5 UNC 9

The victory couldn’t have come at a better time, either. It ended a four game skid for North Carolina (2-4).

Prossner led the UNC offense with five goals. The hat trick gave him 104 career goals, moving him into fifth place on the Tar Heels’ all time scoring list.

North Carolina fell behind early, giving up two goals in a battle of patient offense on a slick field.

“We knew if we had lost (Wednesday), we would have put the nail in the coffin,” Prossner said. “We either could have folded up like we’ve done in our past games, put our heads down, or played with a little heart out there, and that’s what happened.”

The Tar Heels seized control of the game — capturing 11 of 18 faceoffs — after the Big Red (2-2) scored eight seconds into the second. Prossner took a pass from attackman Mike McCall at the left side of the cage and rocketed in a goal to the top right corner with 10:23 remaining before the break.

Just more than a minute later, Ryan Blair ran in from the left side and beat a defender to tie the game at two. And 24 seconds after that, Hayward Howard ran in from midfield for a dead on shot to give UNC a lead it would never relinquish.

UNC racked up eight goals before Cornell finally broke a 28-minute scoring drought late in the third, when Sean Greenhalgh backed in on the right side of the crease, beating Tar Heel goalie Paul Spellman with a bounce shot.

The Big Red would get within three before McCall netted his second goal of the contest with 2:26 remaining to seal the victory.

“We get a little bit of a monkey off (our) back,” said Spellman, who racked up 11 saves.

UNC coach John Haus — who earned his 100th career win Wednesday — said his team showed improved defense, giving up its fewest goals all season. But he was quick to point out that his team is by no means cured.

Cornell outshot UNC and picked up more ground balls. The Tar Heels struggled to clear the ball but did force 22 Big Red turnovers.

The victory proved crucial as North Carolina heads to Maryland.

“Maryland’s a great team,” Prossner said. “That’s going to be tough on Saturday, but if we can walk away with a win there, we’re going to be sitting a hell of a lot better than we were.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.