The No. 10 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team (7-4, 1-2 ACC) fell to the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers (8-2), 19-12, at Dorrance Field on Friday evening.
What happened?
North Carolina got on the board early with a goal from graduate midfielder Griffin Gallagher assisted by graduate attackman Logan McGovern within the first three minutes of the game. Two minutes later, North Carolina lost the advantage as the Cavaliers found the back of the net twice within a 15-second span. Virginia capitalized on UNC’s cold offensive run with the help of senior Payton Cormier who achieved a hat trick in the first quarter and helped the Cavaliers take a 3-point lead going into the first media timeout.
Following a UNC turnover, Virginia’s Grayson Sallade assisted Evan Zinn for another goal. Later in the quarter, Virginia successfully shot in between the pipes once again creating a 5-point advantage. Plagued by turnovers, the Tar Heels were held to one goal within the first three minutes of play and ended the first quarter down 6-1.
Coming into the second quarter, UNC worked to decrease the deficit quickly with an unassisted goal from graduate midfielder Harry Wellford. After a UNC turnover, Cormier found the back of the net once again on a wide-open shot. Winning the faceoff, thirty seconds later, Virginia capitalized on the momentum for another goal to increase its lead to seven.
Refusing to give up, sophomore midfielder Ty English was able to find space close to the net with the help of graduate midfielder Connor Maher making the score 8-3. The Tar Heels continued to work to find their groove later with the help of McGovern who snuck the ball into the top of the mesh minutes later.
Refusing to give UNC momentum, a minute later, Virginia’s Thomas McConvey successfully shot in between the pipes making the score 9-4. The Tar Heels continued to unravel as the Cavaliers managed to score two more. Unable to contain Virginia’s physical offense, using a man-up opportunity, the Cavaliers hit the mesh again before ending the half on top 12-4.
Virginia opened the second half with a goal in the first nine seconds of play. After an unsuccessful shot from UNC, Virginia’s Peter Garno found the net for the second time. Six seconds later, Virginia hit between the pipes again making the score 15-4. Not letting up, McConvey hit the net for the second time of the night with a little over ten minutes left in the third.
Eight minutes into the second half, while being double-teamed, senior attackman Lance Tillman scored. Quickly afterward, senior face-off midfielder Andrew Tyeryar found the back of the mesh down the middle in a one-on-one encounter with the goalkeeper. These shots proved to be in vain as Virginia scored again making the score 17-6.
