With the rest of the ACC watching, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team finished off their regular season with 12-10 loss to No. 12 Notre Dame in a game that decided the seeding in the upcoming ACC Tournament.
What happened?
In the pivotal regular season finale, Notre Dame erupted out of the gate with a goal from senior Brendan Gleason on the first possession of the game.
However, the first of many crucial saves from Tar Heel first-year goalkeeper Caton Johnson ignited a face-paced change of possession that helped standout first-year Nicky Solomon even the game at 1-1 with a long range snipe.
The teams continued to trade blows for the remainder of the first quarter. Gleason poured in another goal for the Fighting Irish, only to watch Tar Heel senior Timmy Kelly dive across the crease for a dazzling counter strike that knotted the game at 2-2. The highlight play for the veteran marked his 100th career point. Head coach Joe Breschi recognized Kelly’s commitment to his craft in his four years in Chapel Hill and the dividends that it paid Saturday.
“He brings his best effort every time he comes out on the field,” Breschi said. “Today he was able to capitalize on his opportunities and it was a terrific performance.”
Kelly continued to exploit Notre Dame’s weakness on the left side of the crease and scored again two minutes later, taking a 3-2 lead.
UNC’s momentum in the first half was buoyed by Johnson’s stout performance in goal. Poised defense was converted into flashy offense as junior Tanner Cook executed a textbook isolated dodge from the top of the box, giving him space to sting the ball top right and extend the advantage to 4-2 with 10:17 left in the half.
Notre Dame found new life after junior Bryan Costabile snuck a shot past UNC’s first-year goalkeeper with 59 seconds remaining in the half. Sophomore Connor Morin needed little time to capitalize off of his team’s rejuvenated momentum, scoring another with five seconds until the break to even out the score.