UNC men's lacrosse hopes to regain their form against Duke

Before the season even started, things were aligning for Friday’s men’s lacrosse game to be a launching pad toward a national championship run for either North Carolina or Duke.

Both were ranked in the preseason top-5, promising a rivalry battle between two of lacrosse’s elite.

But instead, both teams are stumbling into tonight’s matchup in Durham. No. 12 UNC (5-2) dropped consecutive games against Lehigh and Pennsylvania last week before edging Princeton 9-8. No. 14 Duke (4-3, 0-1 ACC) has fallen far short of preseason expectations.

But while the contest may have lost some of its preseason luster, both teams have their eyes on it as a way to climb back closer to their potential.

“It would be huge for us,” junior attackman Marcus Holman said. “It’s one of our team goals to beat Duke every year, so I think this will give us a spark heading into the meat of our season.”

In order to ignite that spark, the Tar Heels will need to rediscover their vaunted attack. UNC hasn’t scored more than 10 goals since shellacking Detroit in February.

At the root of UNC’s offensive woes has been a growing turnover problem. The Tar Heels turn the ball over an average of 17.4 times a game while forcing just 15.5, limiting the number of times their attackmen can rip shots at the goal.

“We need to continue to improve our unforced turnovers,” coach Joe Breschi said. “If we take care of the ball and we attack their pressure and we have fewer unforced turnovers, we’re going to generate more offensive opportunities and more shots.”

But the Blue Devils are far from the easiest team to face while trying to start an offensive turnaround.

Duke allows just 8.71 goals per game and puts a daunting set of defenders on the field. All three of Duke’s starting defenders stand taller than 6 feet, including Michael Manley, who was a third-team All-American before missing last season to injury.

That backline will use its physical advantage to play aggressively and pressure UNC’s attackmen. The Tar Heels will try to attack Duke’s short sticks when possible to skirt that mismatch.

“We need to work together offensively to help each other and not be passive when they pressure, but to attack their pressure and score in other ways besides just six-on-six — more in transition and unsettled situations,” Breschi said.

One of the biggest battles of this game could generate more chances for UNC’s attack.

UNC’s R.G. Keenan and Duke’s C.J. Costabile will take the faceoff circle as two of the top faceoff men in the nation. Keenan wins 68.4 percent of his faceoffs, but was a combined 13-for-31 in the Tar Heels’ two losses.

Holman said that besides Keenan, UNC will need a full team effort to spur more Tar Heel possessions.

“It’s going to be a matter of the guys on the wings and who wants those groundballs,” Holman said. “We’re hungry to beat Duke, and picking up the ball and getting possession is going to be very important.”

Breschi said his team needs to continue to improve in every aspect to get where he wants to be. But at the same time, he knows one big victory can push the Tar Heels closer to that goal.

“You look at our schedule, and every game is a momentum swinger,” he said. “But this is our first ACC opponent, so that heightens things for us.”

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