UNC clinches narrow win against Princeton

Through 57 minutes of action against No. 5 Princeton, the Tigers had Billy Bitter bottled up.

Unfortunately for the Tigers (4-1), Bitter needed just 13 seconds to make two critical plays that put the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team (7-0) ahead for good.

The junior scored the go-ahead goal and forced a critical turnover to help seal No. 3 UNC’s 12-11 victory Tuesday night.

“Anytime you’ve got Billy Bitter on your team, you figure he’s going to make a play,” UNC coach Joe Breschi said.

“With it tied at 10-10, they played zone again, and he just found the short stick in the zone as we snapped the ball around the perimeter.”

After grabbing a 5-2 lead on Gavin Petracca’s third goal of the game with 9:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Tar Heels looked to be in control for much of the game.

A pair of goals from sophomore Jimmy Dunster, a tally from senior Sean DeLaney and Petracca’s fourth score of the evening helped maintain a comfortable lead for UNC throughout the middle portion of the game.

 But after Michael Burns scored to give the Tar Heels a 10-5 advantage, Princeton rattled off five consecutive goals, including two apiece from Jack McBride and Mike Chanenchuk, to knot the score at 10.

With the game tied and the Tar Heels reeling, UNC looked to Bitter to turn the tide, and the junior did not disappoint.

On the Tar Heels’ next offensive possession, Bitter cradled behind the cage, slid past his defender and rifled a shot inside the near post before falling into the crease, giving the Tar Heels a lead they would not relinquish.

After putting the Tigers on the ropes with his first goal of the game, Bitter helped put them on the canvas seconds later.

After the Tigers won the face-off, Princeton’s John Cunningham attempted to move the ball into the attacking zone.

But Bitter tracked back from his attacking position and swatted Cunningham’s stick, sending the ball trickling out of bounds and giving the Tar Heels possession.

“We ask our guys to do a lot, and for Billy to come through and make some simple plays as opposed to scoring five or six goals in this game — I credit him,” Breschi said.

Less than a minute later, UNC’s Cryder DiPietro buried a shot from the top of the box to give the Tar Heels a commanding 12-10 advantage with 2:10 remaining.

The Tigers added a goal with two seconds left in the game, but were unable to control the face-off before time expired.

“They’re an excellent team, and we knew they were going to come in fighting,” Petracca said. “We just wanted to fight for everything we got.”

The victory keeps the Tar Heels undefeated on the season, and UNC’s seven wins mark the fastest start for the program since the 1993 season, when the Tar Heels won their first nine games.

“I’m so proud of the guys,” Breschi said.

“Two games in row now — Duke tied us 6-6, Princeton tied us 10-10 — we’ve regrouped, we haven’t panicked, we stayed the course, stayed the game plan and came out on top.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.