UNC men's lacrosse team’s roller coaster season trends up

In summer 2015, North Carolina men’s lacrosse coach Joe Breschi visited Carowinds amusement park. He and his daughter, Samantha, rode the Fury 325, billed as the world’s tallest and fastest giga coaster.

He’ll put his team’s season so far up against that roller coaster.

“I went on that puppy,” Breschi said. “And I liken our team and our season to the Fury. So if you want to hop on, man, it’s been fun.”

With their 17-15 comeback victory over No. 1 Notre Dame on Saturday, the Tar Heels hit a new high point in a topsy-turvy season. The same team that only scored five goals in a loss to Hofstra in February secured a share of the ACC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed heading into the ACC Tournament.

It was only fitting that UNC’s biggest win of the season was as much an emotional roller coaster as the season preceding it.

Coming off a 13-7 road loss to Syracuse, the Tar Heels opened the scoring only 17 seconds into the game with a goal by Luke Goldstock. Notre Dame responded by scoring three straight and totalled six in the first period — the best quarter offensively for the Fighting Irish all season.

The final goal came at the buzzer after somehow finding the net from 50 yards out. It seemed representative of UNC’s season — a talented young team that shot itself in the foot with its inexperience.

But the Tar Heels stayed with it. They battled back to tie the game at eight at halftime, then after Notre Dame tallied another six-goal period in the third, UNC scored the final seven goals of the game.

Goldstock dominated the final quarter, scoring three times and assisting twice. The junior has been a model of consistency, going 30 games with at least a point.

But even he’s not immune to the nature of this season, as he’s scored only 23 goals this year after a team-leading 50 a season ago.

“We lost a lot of good offensive players last year, and I think there’s an emphasis on all 15 or however many guys play,” Goldstock said. “As long as we put up 17 goals, I don’t really care.”

The changing offense minimized his role, but he still flashes his dominance. He ripped his third goal from 20 yards out.

“He’s a great shooter,” senior Steve Pontrello said. “He made the shots when it counted and I’m proud of him.”

Goldstock and the Tar Heels have been through many ups and downs this season. And if Breschi’s experience this summer is any indication, there’s more twists and turns to come.

But no matter what happens the rest of the way, they have an ACC title for their troubles.

“It’s been quite the ride,” Breschi said.

@loganulrich

sports@dailytarheel.com