#6 Syracuse Trips Up Tar Heels In Overtime

Saturday, April 14

Syracuse, NY

4:00 p.m.

North Carolina

Syracuse

Matt Gavin had his first career start and had two goals and an assist.

April 14, 2018 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Play-by-Play (PDF)Watch Cloutier's Highlight Reel Assist

Carolina falls just short in seeking win against Top 10 team on the road.

By: Dave Lohse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Brendan Bomberry scored off an assist from Brendan Curry with 52 seconds elapsed in overtime to lift sixth-ranked Syracuse to a 13-12 overtime win over North Carolina in men's lacrosse action Saturday at the Carrier Dome in front of 4,374 fans.

Syracuse clinched the regular season ACC championship with the win as it now stands 7-4 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. North Carolina fell to 6-7 on the season and 0-3 in the ACC.

Alex Trippi and Matt Gavin led the Tar Heels offensively with two goals and one assist each. William Perry and Timmy Kelly each scored two goals while Andy Matthews had a goal and two assists. Chris Cloutier had a goal and an assist for the Tar Heels.

Nate Solomon led Syracuse with four goals. Brendan Bomberry and Brendan Curry each had two goals and an assist for the Orange who have won the last three regular season meetings against Carolina. Matt Lane had two goals and Stephen Rehfuss had a goal and an assist.

Syracuse led by two goals in the second quarter before the Tar Heels rallied to tie the game at 4-4 going into halftime. The Tar Heels led by a pair of goals twice in the second half but Syracuse came back to tie each time. Goals by Jack Rowlett, Matt Gavin and Alex Trippi put UNC up 12-9 with 7:22 to play in the fourth quarter but the Orange defense shut out the Tar Heels the rest of the way. Back-to-back goals by Brendan Curry with 1:34 and 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter rallied Syracuse and sent the game to overtime where Syracuse won the face-off, called timeout and then get the game-winner with 3:08 left in the extra period.

The Orange led in shots 36-33 and in ground balls 34-30. Syracuse also led in the face-off circle 16-12. UNC had fewer turnovers with 13 while the Orange had 15. Alex Bassil made 10 saves for Carolina while Dom Madonna had seven saves for Syracuse.

The Tar Heels will be back in action next Saturday when UNC plays Notre Dame at 12 noon at Kenan Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Admission for next Saturday's game is free and the game marks 2018 Senior Day at Kenan Stadium with the Tar Heel lacrosse program honoring 13 seniors in pre-game ceremonies.