UNC men's lacrosse wins eighth ACC Championship

It has been 17 years since the last time the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team won an ACC Championship, but entering Sunday’s title game against Virginia, the Tar Heels didn’t care about history.

They cared about winning.

“We don’t talk about how long it’s been,” senior captain Marcus Holman said. “We’re forming our own identity as a team.”

With a 16-13 win in the ACC Championship against UVa., Holman and the Tar Heels paved the way for a potentially deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Down by a goal at the start of the second quarter, UNC needed to pick up the pace, and with six goals, it did just that.

“Guns were firing, and after the first (quarter) we were down,” sophomore Chad Tutton said. “Nobody likes being down a couple goals, especially this program. We like to keep it fast-paced.”

UNC had 10 goals at halftime — as many as it did in the entirety of its last meeting with UVa. The Tar Heels never relinquished their lead during the second half.

“We wanted to pick it up at both ends,” Tutton said. “I think we did that very well.”

UNC had eight goal scorers in the game, but the most important player to the Tar Heels’ offense didn’t even score.

Holman, who was named ACC Tournament MVP, shot just twice against the Cavaliers but dished out five assists.

Those five points thrust him past Bruce Ledwith in the UNC record books, making Holman the UNC career points leader with 207. That record had stood since 1973.

Holman will be the first one to tell you that it’s not about him, though.

“It’s about this group of guys that has come together and worked so hard,” Holman said. “I’ll say it until my last game here, I couldn’t do it without a spectacular cast around me.”

Surrounded by players like junior R.G. Keenan and freshman Steve Pontrello — who both had their first multi-goal games — it’s no wonder that Holman is so thankful for his teammates.

The scoreboard wasn’t the only place Keenan made an impact.

With 11 groundballs and 18 face-off wins, Keenan helped the Tar Heels retain possession for much of the game and prevent Virginia’s dangerous offense from getting the ball.

On the defensive end, goalkeeper Kieran Burke led the way with 17 saves — 12 in the second half — and helped the defense hold Virginia scoreless in its man-up opportunities.

Despite giving up 13 goals, coach Joe Breschi said he is proud of his freshman goalkeeper

“Kieran Burke has done a phenomenal job as a freshman,” Breschi said. “Obviously there were a lot of goals scored this weekend but they weren’t on him.”

Even though the Tar Heels aren’t done for the season with the NCAA tournament just around the corner, Breschi can’t help but think about how far his team has come since he became head coach five years ago.

“To watch them work as hard as they have this year and to have it culminate in the ACC Championship for the first time since ’96 is awesome,” Breschi said.