UNC men's lacrosse celebrates 'awesome' victory over Dartmouth following 25-7 win

There are a lot of ways to describe North Carolina men’s lacrosse’s 25-7 win over Dartmouth on Sunday at Dorrance Field.

"Commanding," "controlling" or "dominant" are just a few words.

But graduate attackman Logan McGovern had his own description – “awesome.”

With the team's recent 15-8 loss against Duke, it’s easy to understand why McGovern felt this way. Coming into Sunday's matinee, the team wanted to get back on the field and prove their potential.

“When you have a disappointing performance like Friday was, to have a short rest and get back on the field as soon as possible, it really helped us out,” McGovern said. “It helped lead to the fast start (on Sunday) and that’s what we needed.”

In the first eight minutes of the game, the Tar Heels matched their scoring total from the match against Duke — quickly getting out to an 8-0 lead. McGovern tallied two goals and an assist in that span.

By the end of the first quarter, nine different players scored to get out to an 11-0 lead. The wide margin allowed head coach Joe Breschi to dip into his reserves sooner than usual.

“At the end of the day, you go up 11-nothing in the first quarter, it’s really good,” Breschi said. “So many guys got an opportunity to step on the field and contribute today.”

While the offense kept finding ways to score goals, the defense was busy making sure that Dartmouth was unable to do any damage.

Every time the Big Green looked to get settled into their offense, the North Carolina defense was there to wreak havoc. The Tar Heels knocked the ball away and forced Dartmouth to make mistakes, which led to 13 turnovers in the first quarter alone.

The Tar Heels allowed only one shot on goal in those first 15 minutes, and junior goalkeeper Collin Krieg easily saved the lone ball that got through the defense. The UNC players chalked the dominant quarter up to their pregame mentality.

“We were pissed off going into this game,” senior attackman Lance Tillman said. “I know I was. I know the offense was. We were sick of the defense playing great and the offense not stepping up, so we had a little chip on our shoulders to perform.”

Breschi backed up his players' analysis, saying that the team had "no time to wallow in the sorrows of a loss."

UNC has two home games against High Point and Providence before it is thrown into the gauntlet of conference play. The Tar Heels will end the regular season with four straight ACC games, including matchups against No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Notre Dame.

If North Carolina hopes to avoid missing the postseason for a second-straight year, the offense will have to show it can produce the same type of scoring output that it had against Dartmouth.

“It comes down to trusting each other,” Tillman said. “Knowing that our teammates are going to do the right thing. Having that trust is what’s going to allow us to be a great team and reach our potential.”

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