After Friday’s narrow victory against the Richmond Spiders for the No. 6 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team (2-0), the Tar Heels came into Sunday’s matchup against the Colgate Raiders (0-2) on a mission, winning 15-9 and showing why it is still one of the country’s most dominant college teams.
What happened?
The Tar Heels started fast, taking a 1-0 lead as senior midfielder Henry Schertzinger ripped a shot just outside the crease. The Raiders nearly answered with a goal of their own on the man-up advantage, but their shot glanced off the post. Graduate attackman Chris Gray started right where he left off on Friday, as he scored to extend the Tar Heels’ lead with his fifth goal of the season.
Colgate responded with a goal from first-year midfielder Ben Trumble to cut the deficit to 2-1, but the Tar Heels answered right back with five unanswered goals of their own. North Carolina was rolling by the end of the first quarter, leading the game by a score of 7-2. The Tar Heels continued their suffocating performance through the rest of the first half, ending it with a lead of 12-4. Although Colgate pushed late in the second half, North Carolina was able to keep possession of the ball and wind down the clock to end the game.
Who stood out?
Junior attackman Lance Tillman and senior attackman Jacob Kelly shined in the first half as they each made an appearance on the scoresheet with two goals and an assist. Both of the Schertzinger twins, Henry and Harrison, scored goals of their own as well. During the second quarter, first-year attackman Dewey Egan joined in on the fun with two back-to-back goals for the Tar Heels.
Junior midfielder P.J. Zinsner also stood out in the offensive zone for the Tar Heels with his first goal of the season on top of an assist. Chris Gray continued his torrid streak of offense as he contributed a hat trick to the blowout performance, increasing his season total to seven goals in just two games. First-year midfielder Chase Mullins also stepped up for the Tar Heels in the faceoff circle, winning nine of the 16 faceoffs that he took.
When was it decided?
From the moment the Tar Heels began to play, they put their foot on the gas and did not let up any ground. As the first half came to a close, North Carolina led Colgate 11-4. With just 0.3 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, Jacob Kelly found himself at the tail end of a quick passing play from the Tar Heels that led to a buzzer-beating goal to further increase the lead. Colgate scored five goals in the second half in an effort to close the deficit, but North Carolina was able to take care of business and defend its lead.
