The No. 5 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team (9-3, 3-1 ACC) fell to the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3, 2-0 ACC), 12-6, on Saturday afternoon at Dorrance Field.
Both squads started with tight defense and blocked shots on both sides. Junior attackman James Matan scored the first goal of the game over halfway through the first quarter behind an assist from sophomore attackman Owen Duffy.
On UNC’s next possession, first-year attackman Brevin Wilson weaved from behind the goal and faked out his defenders to notch his fifth goal of the season.
After Notre Dame’s next shot was blocked, the Tar Heels raced down the field. First-year midfielder Caden Harshbarger found senior midfielder Ty English to continue UNC’s unanswered scoring tear.
In an extra-man opportunity, junior attackman Matt Wrede passed to first-year attackman Mason Szewczyk. In a blink-and-you-miss-it maneuver, Szewczyk powered the ball into the net.
Heading into the second quarter, North Carolina held a 4-0 lead.
After a stagnant second frame, Notre Dame’s Chris Kavanagh scored the team's first goal with one minute left in the half.
The Fighting Irish offense struck again four minutes into the half. After their 4-0 start, the Tar Heels had not scored in over 20 game-minutes.
A minute later, redshirt sophomore Dominic Pietramala added his name to the scorecard. With an assist from Wrede, Pietramala ended UNC’s scoring drought.