UNC men's lacrosse beats Duke to close out regular season

The North Carolina men’s lacrosse team had one thing on their mind going into Saturday: beat Duke.

They weren’t focused on their five-game losing streak — just solely on beating their rivals.

Once the buzzer sounded at Dorrance Field, the Tar Heels had accomplished their goal, besting the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils 15-12 on Senior Day and enclosing senior goalkeeper Collin Krieg in a sea of white jerseys.

“The team needed [the win], the players needed it, the program, the alumni weekend, everybody needed it," head coach Joe Breschi said. "And we did it together."

This was North Carolina's first conference win at home in over two years, as well as its first win against a top-three opponent and its first win against Duke since the season finale in 2021 when the Tar Heels beat No. 2 Duke, 15-12, to win a share of the ACC regular season championship. 

Right from the beginning, it was clear UNC had the determination necessary to win, or as first-year defenseman Peter Thomann referred to it, the “juice.”

In the first two minutes, attackmen Logan McGovern and Dominic Pietramala had already given the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead. By the final few minutes of the opening quarter, they led 5-2 thanks to another goal each from the attack duo as well as a goal from senior attackman Trevor Deubner.

Then, in the waning seconds of the second quarter, the juice overflowed.

With North Carolina up 6-4 with 20 seconds left, McGovern emerged amid a chaotic pile of bodies in front of the Duke crease. With a subtle flick of the wrist, he launched the ball over his shoulder past Duke goalkeeper Patrick Jameison.

14 seconds later, sophomore attackman James Matan sped past his defender and pinged the ball past Jameison’s stick, leading to the North Carolina bench coming onto the field and having to be ushered back by the referee. 

It appeared Duke would make it to halftime only down four goals, but the trio of first-year faceoff specialist Brady Wambach, Pietramala, and graduate defensive midfielder Danny Striano decided otherwise. Following a decisive faceoff win, Wambach passed the ball to Pietramala, who in turn passed it to a streaking Striano who launched the ball into the back of the net just before the buzzer sounded.

“The last 20 seconds of the half we scored three goals to really believe,” Breschi said. “Like you can do this. Number two team in the country [and] you can do this — you can get it done.”

Even with the five-goal lead and all the momentum carrying over into the second half, North Carolina had problems piecing together a full game. Last-minute losses to Army and High Point and multi-quarter scoring lulls plagued the Tar Heels this season.

According to McGovern though, Saturday marked the first time this season that North Carolina had played a full four quarters. To his point, at no time during the game did North Carolina trail. It dominated the game from end to end, leading by as much as nine in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had those quarters and halves but to put 60 minutes together is awesome," McGovern said.

Duke was the only thing North Carolina had its mind and in the end, it got the result it so desperately needed, ending the 2024 season in the win column against its biggest rival.

“It feels great," Breschi said. "I think for the team, for the players, this is why we coach — for their experience and for the joy on their faces when you walk in the locker room and you celebrate. We haven’t had that in a while and just to go in there and see that and feel that it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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