Furious comeback against Syracuse keeps UNC men's lacrosse's postseason hopes alive

On Thursday evening, the stakes were the highest they’ve been all season for the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team. The unranked Tar Heels were on a three-game losing streak heading into their ACC Tournament matchup against No. 7 Syracuse, one of the three teams that had just recently defeated UNC. North Carolina needed a win if it hoped to have any shot at making the NCAA Tournament.

It would take a furious comeback from the Tar Heels to overcome the Orange, 11-10, and keep their postseason hopes alive.

The game at UNC Lacrosse Stadium started off identical to the last matchup between these two teams, with Syracuse picking up two consecutive goals to open the scoring. Junior midfielder William Perry quickly responded, scoring UNC’s (8-6, 1-3 ACC) first and second goals in a span of just 77 seconds.  

“A big part of our game plan today was to wear down their defense and use as much of the shot clock as we could,” Perry said. “So, that’s what we did, and we were lucky to get a couple of good looks after they went up two.”

From that point through the middle of the fourth quarter, the game took on an intense back and forth style of play. Neither team was able to run away with more than a one-goal lead until midway through the final period.

The Tar Heels opened the scoring in the fourth period with an unassisted goal by junior midfielder Justin Anderson that tied the score, but North Carolina soon fell victim to a 3-0 run by Syracuse. The Orange took a 10-7 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

This was a familiar position for the 2019 UNC men’s lacrosse team. Four of the team’s six losses had been by two goals or less, and North Carolina had gone into halftime ahead or tied in all four of those narrow defeats.

Then, the impossible happened. When it mattered most, the Tar Heels rallied to break that mold.

“We knew third quarters were our downfall all season,” junior midfielder Matt Gavin said. “We’d be up in the first half and then we’d come out flat in the third quarters, so we made an emphasis this week not to let that happen anymore and to keep on playing and finish the game out.”

After Syracuse went up by three, North Carolina refused to let up, forcing three turnovers in the following two minutes. Those extra opportunities allowed Gavin to score with 3:46 remaining in the game.

In the next 45 seconds, UNC would go on to score two more goals and tie the game, in large part due to the combination of a pair of faceoff wins and a score by first-year midfielder Zachary Tucci.

“We came into this game knowing it could be our last game of the season,” Gavin said. “…We were all playing with our hearts on our sleeves there at the end, especially when it got chippy.”

In program history, North Carolina had never come back from a fourth period deficit to defeat Syracuse. But with 1:07 left to play, Gavin scored the game-winning goal to cap off a 4-0 run for the Tar Heels and steal the win. Head coach Joe Breschi commented on what this historical comeback meant to his players and staff.

“I’m just so proud of the guys and the coaches for just continuing to stick with the plan and the journey," Breschi said. "We’ve been so close in so many games and fallen short and it almost felt like it was heading in that direction again. For these guys just to continue to battle like they have all year and finally for it to go our way, they earned it.”

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