Men’s lacrosse secures No. 4 seed in NCAA Tournament

On Sunday, the men’s lacrosse team was awarded the No. 4 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The announcement came after a 19-13 win against Ohio State that marked the end of the regular season.  UNC coach Joe Breschi coached at Ohio State for 11 seasons before returning to his alma mater last year.

Despite a goal from junior All-American Billy Bitter in the first eight seconds of the game and UNC’s quick 3-1 lead, the Buckeyes’ offense capitalized on a six-goal scoring streak and led the game for the majority of the first half.

The Tar Heels tied the game at 10 heading into halftime and crept out in front of the Buckeyes in the third quarter with a three-goal streak of their own. UNC then managed to increase its lead steadily until the final buzzer sounded, giving the Tar Heels the win.

UNC will host Delaware on May 16 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

The Tar Heels are one of four ACC teams in the 16-team tournament, with Virginia (No. 1), Maryland (No. 3) and Duke (No. 5) all in the mix.

UNC is 4-2 this season against teams in the tournament, with wins against Duke, Princeton, Maryland and Johns Hopkins. They fell to UVa. and Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The winner will go on to face Duke or Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals, which will take place May 22 in Princeton, N.J.