After suffering an agonizing one-goal defeat in overtime a week before against the No. 1 team in the nation, Denver, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team came into Saturday’s game in Amherst looking to rebound.
Despite this extra motivation, the Tar Heels (3-3) were unable to overcome a slow start in a 14-9 loss to unranked Massachusetts (3-4).
The Tar Heel offense struggled to get anything going initially. Sloppy play led to a meager three goals being scored in the first half.
The Minutemen on the other hand had everything going right for them from the first whistle, opening the scoring less than a minute into the game. Their offense created six goals in the first half while their defense was able to force UNC into turnovers and awkward shots.
The phenomenal play of Massachusetts’ sophomore goalkeeper Dan Dolan made it even more difficult for North Carolina to score. Dolan made eight saves in the first half and eighteen over the course of the game, including two at point-blank range to stop sure goals.
The second half started much better for the Tar Heels as they opened the third quarter with a 3-1 run. The UNC midfield pestered the Minutemen, forcing turnovers and keeping them from establishing an offensive rhythm. With about nine minutes left in the third period, North Carolina found itself down only 7-6.
But UNC was unable to keep up the intensity and Massachusetts responded with a 4-0 run of its own. The score stood at 11-6 as the fourth quarter began.
The final quarter was a back and forth affair, but the Tar Heels couldn’t whittle the deficit down to anything less than four. The Minutemen scored on an empty net in the final minute of the game to cap off their 14-9 victory.
