Ryan Levy and a second quarter speech propels UNC men's lacrosse past Virginia

Senior midfielder Ryan Levy pulled the UNC men's lacrosse team together on the sidelines in the final seconds of the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Virginia. North Carolina held a three-goal lead. The captain had a message for his team after a half of ups and downs. 

“The team that stays calm is going to win this game,” Levy said. 

And the Tar Heels listened. After the speech, No. 8 UNC cruised past the Cavaliers in a dominant 18-9 win to open ACC play. Levy's leadership and three goals provided the spark North Carolina needed.

At first, everything was going right for North Carolina. After No. 9 Army upset then fifth-ranked UNC, 13-12, last week, North Carolina wanted to start strong.

The Tar Heels did, opening play with four straight goals. Redshirt sophomore attackman Dominic Pietramala scored two back-to-back goals to give UNC momentum. 

Then, things started to unravel. 

UNC lost a face-off with 5:23 left in the first quarter. The Cavaliers converted.

Then, the Tar Heels turned the ball over. They fumbled another face-off. Each time, Virginia took advantage, leading to a 3-0 UVA run to end the opening quarter. North Carolina lost its cushion, now only leading by one. 

“They score in unconventional ways,” head coach Joe Breschi said. “They play razor picks, [and do] a lot of gimmicky offensive things. They got fast breaks. We weren’t cutting off the break well in the first half."

The Tar Heels fought back, building the lead back up to three. But UVA wasn’t done. Three more unanswered goals followed, tying the game up at 7-7. 

UNC remained calmed and determined. Levy and Pietramala combined for three goals with just over two minutes left in the half.

To maintain the momentum, Levy delivered his speech. The Tar Heels never looked back. 

“It's hard to lead when you're not taking care of your own business, so I try to take care of my business so that other guys will follow,” Levy said. 

The defense tightened up to prevent fast breaks. They controlled face-offs, limiting UVA’s chances for easy goals. More conversations — some initiated by Levy — were sparked on the sidelines about errors in the game and how the players could fix them. North Carolina held Virginia to only two goals in the second half, both coming in the third quarter. 

With eleven minutes to go in the game, Levy attempted something he had tried to do only once before. More than halfway down the field, he launched the ball toward UVA’s empty net. It bounced straight in. When he tried the day before, he missed by 40 yards. Now, his long shot pushed the Tar Heels ahead 17-9.

“It was kind of the dagger,” Breschi said. "The final nail in the coffin."

It’s only fitting that Levy rose to the occasion against the Cavaliers. Levy’s the one encouraging his teammates on game day. He's always there to regroup North Carolina when it needs it most. 

“I’ve looked up to Ryan. He's somebody that is willing to give everything he has every day. He'll do anything for the team, and he'll never put himself above them,” Pietramala said, later adding, “I don't think there are many leaders like him.”

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