UNC's chances ricochet away

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — When North Carolina attackman Mike McCall took a Jed Prossner pass in front of the goal and, in one fluid motion, flipped it behind his head for a shot that swished in the back of the net, it punctuated a furious flurry of five goals by UNC in the third quarter that had whittled the Virginia lead to just two.

But when Ryan Walterhoefer’s shot from the right slammed off the goalpost just one minute later, not only was the shot deflected, but the momentum ricocheted back in the Cavaliers’ favor as well.

UVa. took control from there, as it shut out the Tar Heels for the rest of the match and came away with a 15-9 victory Saturday at Klockner Stadium.

MEN'S LACROSSE UNC 9 Virginia 15

“We had cut it to 11-9, but that one shot hit off the pipe, and it shows how much inches can make a difference,” said UNC coach John Haus. “After that miss, Virginia just cashed in on the rest of their opportunities.”

Although it was the Tar Heels (2-7, 0-3 in the ACC) who cashed in for the game’s first goal on a laser by attackman Ryan Blair, their play in the first half proved detrimental. The majority of UNC’s shots were thwarted by the swarming defense of the Cavaliers (8-1, 2-0), and Virginia gained a number of scoring opportunities by stealing the ball from the Tar Heels in front of their own goal.

Senior attackman John Christmas was the main catalyst for the sizzling Cavalier offense, as he had two goals and three assists in the game’s first 30 minutes to help his team build a 10-4 halftime lead.

“John Christmas is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, lacrosse player in the nation,” said Blair, who had three goals and three assists. “It takes a while to get used to playing against him, and he had an incredible game.”

A number of Tar Heels who rarely see action were used in Saturday’s game in an effort to keep fresh legs on the field and combat the quick Cavalier offense.

And although Haus’ halftime speech motivated UNC to put together a 5-1 scoring run in the third quarter, it was not enough to erase the deficit. Cavalier attackman Ben Rubeor scored his third goal of the game with 1:27 remaining in the quarter to put the Cavaliers up 12-9, ending the North Carolina surge and sealing the victory for UVa.

The result marked the third straight defeat for the Tar Heels, who have lost seven of their last eight games. Judging by North Carolina’s tough schedule, which has included eight opponents ranked in the top 20 of the USILA poll, such a streak might be expected by some.

But UNC has been competitive in the majority of the contests — at least for three quarters.

Just as they did on Saturday, the Tar Heels have seemingly hit a wall in the fourth period. And just as they did on Saturday, the Tar Heels failed to play efficiently on both sides of the ball, killing their chances to register a win.

“Oftentimes, we don’t have enough balance,” said Prossner, who had a goal and three assists in the game. “Either our offense plays really well and our defense plays bad, or vice versa. Offensively, we were a lot better (Saturday) and our defense kind of hurt us. But I can’t blame them because we had our chances to score and didn’t capitalize on them.”

And with the ACC Tournament fast approaching, where to place the blame is the least of Haus’ concerns.

“We’re 2-7 right now and our players are out there playing really hard, so we just need a win right now,” he said. “(Saturday’s) game was the story of our season because we haven’t been able to play a complete game, and that’s hurt us. We just need a break in one of these games.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.