Furman had sliced No. 15 North Carolina men's lacrosse's six-goal lead to three, trailing 9-6 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. At that point Tar Heel sophomore Ara Atayan and first-year Brian Cameron had a combined zero goals in their collegiate lacrosse careers.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, UNC was winning 14-6. The pair of underclassmen each had two career goals.
“The games are never over,” head coach Joe Breschi said. “In lacrosse you can score in waves.”
With Furman (0-2) crashing down on UNC, the batch of young players ultimately delivered the 14-10 victory for the Tar Heels (2-0) in their home opener.
Atayan scored his first goal with four seconds remaining in the third quarter, contributing to a stretch of five consecutive UNC goals in less than four minutes to counter Furman's run. His second goal was off one of Andy Matthews' career-high five assists and bookended two scores from Cameron.
“Having those first couple go in the back of the net is like the best feeling I've ever had in my life,” Atayan said. “Playing at Carolina is a dream. When you can help your team out on the scoreboard … it’s just a dream come true.”
First year Zachary Tucci dominated the face-off for UNC, winning 21 of 27 possessions. Breschi described Tucci as the “five-star player of the game,” allowing the Tar Heels to play make-it take-it.
Despite the dominance at the centerline, the Tar Heels struggled with offensive turnovers that allowed the Paladins to ebb and flow their way back into the competition, including the final 10 minutes where UNC was outscored 4-0.
In just its second game with an 80-second shot clock, the team is still learning the impact of the college rule change on the sport.