On Saturday afternoon, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 6 Virginia, 14-13, in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament after the Tar Heels were unable to hold on to a late four-goal lead.
What happened?
Early in the game, UNC (8-7, 1-3 ACC) was in a situation similar to its first-round game against No. 7 Syracuse. The Tar Heels gave up three goals in the first five minutes of the first period and were forced to fight an uphill battle practically from the opening faceoff.
Senior attackman Andy Matthews helped get UNC back into the game, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in the first period, but the Tar Heels were still down 6-3 heading into the second quarter.
In the next two periods, North Carolina played close to perfect. The Tar Heels scored seven straight unanswered goals to highlight an 8-2 scoring run throughout the second and third quarters. However, as head coach Joe Breschi mentioned after the game, no lead is too large.
“You’re never too comfortable against Virginia,” Breschi said. “…They made the plays that they needed to.”
North Carolina led, 12-8, early in the fourth quarter before Virginia ended the game on a 6-1 run, scoring the game-winning goal with just 90 seconds remaining in the fourth period.
UNC has been no stranger to close losses this season. This game marked the fifth time the Tar Heels have lost by two goals or less, and in each of those games, North Carolina was tied or had the lead at halftime. Breschi commented on what his team’s effort has meant to him.
“I’m so proud of our guys. After that dogfight on Thursday night, to come out here and play the way we did (...) I couldn’t be more proud of the way we fought,” Breschi said. “48 hours after playing a hell of a game against Syracuse, to give everything we had until the last shot of the game. What more can you ask?”