Men's Lacrosse
Duke - 12
UNC - 8
It had been 1799 days since the North Carolina men's lacrosse team celebrated an ACC win.
UNC looked poised to win in Saturday's conference opener against Duke" with a new coach at the helm and the program's best start in six years.
But the final scoreboard only signaled more of the old.
The No. 6 Tar Heels dropped their 19th straight in-conference game in a 12-8 loss to No. 9 Duke at a rainy Kenan Stadium.
""It's a long season" coach Joe Breschi said.
When you have one of the tougher schedules in the country you're going to have tough games every week. ACC or not" we've got to be ready to play.""
After the loss"" senior midfielder Ben Hunt could only recall Breschi's admonitions to play the full 60 minutes of regulation — and then be reminded of the team's failure to do so.
""We kind of let it slide there in the third quarter" Hunt said. They were able to jump a lead on us" and we weren't able to rebound off that lead.""
The Tar Heels entered halftime leading 4-3. Two of those goals came from midfielder Sean Delaney" while the team's other leading scorer Hunt contributed two goals in the second half.
That statistic might have been the only similarity between the two halves.
Coming out of halftime" the Blue Devils rallied to shut out the Tar Heels in the third quarter and gunned an 8-1 run to extend their lead to six.
""In the second half we came out" we were organized and knew what we were supposed to do" Breschi said.
We just didn't execute.""
The Blue Devils dominated the field offensively and kept the Tar Heels off balance"" forcing UNC to commit 16 turnovers and limiting UNC to 37 shots — well below their season average of 49.5 per game.
Seventeen of those shots came in the fourth quarter.
""We were struggling on offense"" Hunt said. We were trying to make the home run pass off the initial dodge.""
The Tar Heels finally scored in the fourth quarter when Hunt bounced in a goal from about 15 yards out.
He followed up with another unassisted goal on an extra man opportunity about six minutes later.
""I was just kind of thinking" it's now or never" he said. You've gotta keep playing hard. You can't let up in the fourth quarter.""
Despite North Carolina's efforts" Duke's high-powered offense and stifling defense proved to be too much" and they handed the Tar Heels their eighth straight loss in the series between the two schools.
""It was a disappointing loss for us"" Hunt said. We should have played a lot better today.""
The Tar Heels will have another shot at an ACC win at No. 5 Maryland next Saturday.
But it seemed that after Saturday's loss" Hunt had another streak in mind" too — one that could see another round in April's ACC Tournament.
""We couldn't get it done today"" he said. But we'll get another chance against them this year.""
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
