Tar Heels’ winning streak hits 3 after Brown win

If a single game were to be used as a microcosm for the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team’s season this far, Wednesday’s win against Brown would be one of the best candidates.

No. 7 UNC (6-3) started the season by trading wins and losses for its first six games, but since its last defeat — an 11-8 setback to Duke on March 13 — the Tar Heels have won three straight.

And in their 18-12 win against No. 20 Brown at Fetzer Field, the trajectory of the game matched that of their season.

UNC senior Marcus Holman scored within the game’s first six seconds, but after that, the teams traded goals for the first eight of the game.

Then, with 7:39 left in the first half, Holman scored again, and North Carolina followed with three more, unanswered.

“(The run) definitely helped us pull away,” coach Joe Breschi said after the game. “I think we continued to put more pressure on them.”

UNC never looked back.

Coming out of the break, after Brown scored the first goal of the half, the Tar Heels scored three more unanswered goals.

From there, UNC would only outscore the Bears 7-6 for the rest of the game, so its four-goal run near the end of the first half became even more significant.

“In that second quarter, we settled in to our six-on-six offense,” said Holman, whose six assists on Wednesday equaled his career high. “Guys were playing fast, and we were getting good shots on cage, and a couple of them fell.”

Present throughout the entire game was UNC’s fast-paced attack that allowed it to score a season-high 18 goals.

Every time the Bears turned the ball over in North Carolina’s defensive half, the Tar Heels would find the most efficient, and quickest, way to the other side of the field.

They found openings, evaded defenders, put attackers in prime positions to score.

Often the beneficiary of those purposeful passes was sophomore attacker Joey Sankey, who scored four goals for the third straight game.

“My teammates really helped me today, put me in a great position,” Sankey said post-game.

“I should’ve had a lot more — they set me up right in front of the doorstep, (and) I didn’t can a few shots.”

One consequence of UNC’s brisk pace, however, was an increased number of turnovers — the Tar Heels finished with a season-high 18, including seven in the fourth quarter.

“We played fast, (and) with that you’re gonna get some turnovers,” Breschi said. “We’ve just got to be more poised under pressure.”

Turnovers aside, after a back-and-forth start to the season, UNC might be hitting its stride — finding its end-of-the-half run — at an optimal time.

“We’re gonna keep taking steps each game to get better,” Holman said. “I think tonight we took another step forward as a team.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.