The No. 11 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team (2-0) defeated Stony Brook (1-1), 9-4, Friday evening at Dorrance Field.
A big UNC run late in the third quarter lifted the Tar Heels to victory in a game highlighted by sloppy turnovers and excellent goaltending. Graduate goaltender Michael Gianforcaro was a backline anchor with 11 saves, while redshirt-sophomore attackman Dominic Pietramala led the offense with five goals.
UNC had the game’s first man-up opportunity midway through the first, but a quick clearance off an unforced turnover led to a Tanner Williams goal, giving the Seawolves the game’s first score.
Stony Brook got its first man-up in the final two minutes of the opening quarter. Williams found Carson Boyle on the left side who sent a rocket into the far side of the net, extending the lead to 2-0 going into the second quarter.
North Carolina responded quickly in the second, as senior midfielder Ty English took advantage of a feed from sophomore midfielder Andrew Preis to cut the lead in half just 50 seconds into the quarter. Less than three minutes later, Dominic Pietramala picked up a ground ball from a rebound and with a diving effort from behind the cage, he slipped a shot under the goaltender to tie the game at 2-2.
Pietramala wasn’t finished. Just six minutes into the quarter, UNC took its first lead after the redshirt-sophomore fired a rocket from 12 yards out that whizzed past the eyes of the Stony Brook defense.
In the final four minutes of the half, Stony Brook nearly chased in on a point-blank look, but a shot that hit the foot of Gianforcaro rolled just wide of the post. The Tar Heels cleared, and English found the hot-handed Pietramala on the right wing for his hat-trick goal.
Stony Brook’s Ray O’Brien fired a gorgeous snipe in the top-left corner with two minutes remaining in the half, cutting North Carolina’s halftime lead to 4-3.
First-year midfielder Caden Harshbarger and graduate midfielder Spencer Wirtheim both opened the second half with shots that missed the back of the net by sheer inches.
