Tar Heels prepare to take on Duke

Going into the ACC Tournament this weekend, the No. 2-seeded North Carolina men’s lacrosse team is on a hot streak, having won its last seven regular season games.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, the team that handed them their last loss is the same team they will face in the first round — the No. 3-seeded Duke Blue Devils.

If the Tar Heels want to make it to Sunday’s ACC title game, they will have to beat a team that has bested them in the last five meetings.

“They’re obviously a really solid team,” senior captain Marcus Holman said. “We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game.”

UNC’s last time out against Duke was a dominant performance by the Blue Devils at the face-off X that kept the ball out of the hands of the Tar Heels’ best players and put pressure on UNC’s young defense.

Even though All-American junior face-off specialist R.G. Keenan had a tough time against Duke’s Brendan Fowler the first time around, coach Joe Breschi has no doubt that he can put together a better performance today.

“Anytime you go against a guy for a second time you feel like, ‘Okay, I know him a little bit better,’” Breschi said.

Before UNC’s loss to Duke in mid-March, the Tar Heels were in the middle of an up-and-down season in which every win was followed by a loss.

But since then, the team has taken down a top-ranked Maryland team and dominated almost every team it’s faced.

“The guys have done a good job of taking a deep breath and playing loose,” Breschi said. “They’re not as anxious as they were early in the season. They’re having fun.”

With two recently named All-ACC players on the attack — Holman and sophomore Joey Sankey — it’s no small wonder UNC has found success offensively.

Since the loss during spring break, the Tar Heels have averaged about 14 goals a game.

But the most important key to the Tar Heels’ success has manifested itself on the other end of the field.

Breschi said that his defense’s improvements have been welcome, and that its recent stellar play started with freshman goalkeeper Kieran Burke.

“Knowing and having confidence in the guy behind you really helps out. There’s no doubt about that,” Breschi said. “When you have a goalie like Kieran Burke the confidence of the guys in front of him is going to grow.”

For Burke, midseason improvements came from calming down and realizing he has the talent to be great.

That talent has helped Burke hold opposing teams to fewer than eight goals a game in the second half of the season.

Coming into a game against a team that has been historically dominant against the Tar Heels, Burke said UNC isn’t afraid of Duke like it might have been in the past.

“We know we’re a better lacrosse team than they are,” Burke said. “We easily can win.”

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