Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Falls to North Carolina For Second Straight Loss
In a ranked showdown between two powerhouse lacrosse schools, the Tar Heels came out on top against the Orange 19-13. In a game of runs, UNC was able to string together enough momentum to secure a six-goal victory.
After a close first quarter with both teams trading goals for 20 minutes, the Tar Heels broke free for a seven-goal second quarter that put the game out of reach going into the second half. Despite the Orange’s best efforts in the third to bring it within four goals, it wasn’t enough to retake the lead. This is Syracuse’s second straight loss on the year, and they have yet to beat a ranked opponent.
“Unfortunately, we came up short and couldn’t put it together,” said head coach Gary Gait. “It was just a tough game for everybody, but another opportunity to learn.”
The kryptonite of the Orange remains in center field, where the Tar Heels led the Orange in faceoffs with 19 wins of 35 total. North Carolina also peppered the Syracuse defense with 49 total shots, 36 of which were on goal. Though Will Mark had another impressive 17-save game, it wasn’t enough to stop everything the Tar Heels threw at him.
With an equal number of turnovers and caused turnovers, both defenses performed well enough to make the offenses think outside the box. However, it was capitalizing on groundballs that kept the ball in the Tar Heels’ sticks, winning 36 to Syracuse’s 22.
Joey Spallina led the Orange with a hat trick to his name, along with Alex Simmons, Cole Kirst and Owen Hiltz scoring a pair each. Eight unique goal scorers from the Orange shows their ability to share the wealth on the offensive side, but being unable to connect on shots or get them on target kept them from making it a closer affair. The Orange shot 42 times, only seven fewer than UNC’s total, but only got 25 on goal, keeping the heat off Tar Heel goalkeeper Collin Krieg.
North Carolina had much more of a consistent set of offensive weapons, with Logan McGovern leading all scorers with four goals. Lance Tillman and Antonio DeMarco followed up with three each and took constant shots at Mark in net.
With the first loss in ACC play and in the Dome for the Orange, they hope to break out of this losing streak before things go south. A matchup against Duke on March 5 gives the Cuse eight days to rest and prepare for the third ranked opponent of the year.
“I guess the bright side is we have plenty of opponents that are very solid that gives us an opportunity to prove ourselves moving forward,” said Gait.
Syracuse falls to 3-2 and 0-1 in conference and prepares for number 14 Duke on Sunday, March 5. North Carolina improves to 3-1 and 1-0 in conference play as they prepare to host a tough Denver team next Saturday.