Joey Sankey didn’t celebrate.
With 5:12 left in his team's NCAA quarterfinal game against Maryland, the senior had just scored his third goal of the day — what would be the last goal of his career as a North Carolina men’s lacrosse player.
But the senior handed out neither hugs nor high-fives. Sankey simply shook his head and walked back towards the X spot, where his Tar Heels had struggled all game.
Sankey had scored the final goal in a 14-7 game, which had been dominated by the Terrapins.
The Tar Heels knew their opponent well and had prepared all week for a Maryland team that defeated them earlier this season. But history repeated itself Sunday in Annapolis, Md.
“The coaches prepared us well,” Sankey said. “As players, we didn’t execute as well as we could have.”
The Tar Heels, much like in their first game, were dominated from the start by Maryland’s strength on faceoffs and long offensive possessions.
“It was eerily similar to the last time we played them,” Coach Joe Breschi said.
UNC came into this quarterfinal matchup as the No. 3 seed and the favorite, but the No. 6 Terrapins had other plans. Maryland held a UNC team that averaged 14.8 points a game to just two goals in the first half.