UNC men's lacrosse crushes Bucknell, 20-4

In the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team’s second game in five days, fatigue wasn’t a factor as the Tar Heels displayed their offensive depth in the 20-4 win against Bucknell on Tuesday.

The 20 goals were the second most scored in a game during coach Joe Breschi’s head coaching career at UNC.

“We’re trying to just build confidence, really,” Breschi said. “I think this was a big confidence builder for us. We’ve got a lot of guys who can play, and if somebody’s not hot, or struggling a little bit, we can take them out and not lose something offensively or defensively.”

That was the case in the first half as usual scorers Joey Sankey and Chad Tutton were offensively absent. Tutton went scoreless and Sankey registered two assists but no goals.

While Sankey and Tutton were slow to start for UNC (5-1), the team’s frequently rotating attackmen and midfield lines refreshed the roster and gave other Tar Heels an opportunity to flourish.

“We run three lines in the midfield, and not a lot of teams in the country do that because of the number of players they have that are capable of going on the field in a Division I game,” said senior attackman Pat Foster. “We have that depth, which adds a second flair to our offense, so we can play faster and more guys so guys don’t get tired.”

Both Tutton and Sankey scored after halftime. Tutton finished with one goal, extending his goal-scoring game streak to 19. Sankey scored three goals and added three assists.

When the offense needed players to step up, freshman Luke Goldstock took advantage of the rotating offense.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling when you can be pretty far back on the depth line and still get a decent amount of playing time,” Goldstock said.

Goldstock quickly got to work, scoring his first goal toward the end of the first quarter.

His next goal was a show of patience. It took Goldstock three tries at the same shot on the left side of the crease before he finally finished it in the seventh minute of the second quarter. He ended the game with three goals, one assist.

For the second time in the season, three Tar Heels finished with three goals — a sign that UNC has its fair share of offensive firepower.

“I think we have so many weapons on offense that there’s always going to be somebody who steps up,” Goldstock said. “It’s pretty rare that they don’t step up early, so they’re all really good. We’ve got a lot of weapons.”