University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Navy
Third-Ranked Navy Stifles Carolina With Defense
March 5, 2005 | Men's Lacrosse
March 5, 2005
ANNAPOLIS, MD. - Defending NCAA runner-up Navy used a stout defensive effort to deny North Carolina (#5 Lacrosse Magazine, #7 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine) scoring opportunities as the Midshipmen defeated the Tar Heels 9-6 Saturday afternoon in men's lacrosse action before 4,449 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen (#3 Lacrosse Magazine/#4 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine) had a 43-19 shot advantage in the game and simply kept the ball away from the Tar Heels all afternoon.
In beating the Tar Heels for the third straight season, Navy improved to 3-0 on the season while the Tar Heels fell to 1-1 on the season. The three-goal margin of victory marks the first time since an 8-6 victory by Navy on March 6, 1999 that the game between the two teams was decided by more than one goal.
It was defense that carried the day for the Mids who outshot the Tar Heels 27-7 in the first half while taking a 7-2 lead at intermission. Navy benefited by dominating the face-off circle with 13 wins in 18 chances Saturday and UNC did not help itself with 11 failed clears in 24 opportunities, including eight unsuccessful clearing tries in the first 30 minutes of the match.
Midfielder Steve Looney was the key player offensively for the Mids as he had four goals and one assist in the game. Attackman Ben Horn had two goals and one assist for Navy and attackman Jon Birsner added one goal and two assists. The third starting attackman, Nick Mirabito, added one goal and one assist. Midfielder Chris Pieczonka was one of the best players on the field for Navy, just as he was in the Mids' 9-8 overtime victory over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last season, as he won 13 of 18 face-offs, keeping the ball away from a UNC offense which scored 18 goals in the season opener against Denver on February 26.
UNC did get three goals and an assist from its first-team All-America attackman Jed Prossner and two goals from senior attackman Mike McCall. Senior midfielder Bryant Will assisted on two of UNC's six goals.
Carolina's scoring total was its lowest in a game since April 19, 2002 when the Tar Heels were beaten 10-3 by No. 1-ranked Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
After McCall opened the scoring for UNC, Navy scored three goals in a row and the Mids were never headed after that point. The closest Carolina would get would be 3-2 on a goal by Jed Prossner with seven minutes left in the first half. But Steve Looney scored back-to-back goals for Navy at 6:54 and 6:47 for Navy to increase the Mids lead to 5-2 in just 13 seconds. Two more Navy goals, including Looney's third goal of the second quarter, sent the lead to 7-2 by halftime.
The lead reached its biggest point at 9-3 with 9:19 to play on Ben Horn's goal before Ryan Walterhoefer scored for the Tar Heels and Jed Prossner added two tallies to spark a Carolina rally. But the Tar Heels ran out of possessions as Navy continued to limit UNC's scoring opportunities, allowing only 12 Carolina shots after halftime.
UNC senior goalkeeper Paul Spellman had a stellar game in goal for the Tar Heels as he did all he could to keep the Tar Heels in the game. Spellman recorded 16 saves while facing 43 Navy shots and allowing nine goals. Matt Russell faced the 19 UNC shots, saving eight and allowing six goals.
UNC will be back in action next Saturday when the Tar Heels compete in the First 4 doubleheader at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Tar Heels will face Notre Dame (#11 Lacrosse Magazine, #10 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine) at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST). The Fighting Irish are 1-1 on the season after beating Penn State 14-6 in their season opener but falling to No. 9 (in both polls) Cornell 11-10 on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y.
The second game of the doubleheader of the First 4 will match Syracuse (#2 Lacrosse Magazine #2 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine) against Georgetown (#7 Lacrosse Magazine, #6 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Magazine) at 8 p.m. PST (11 p.m. EST).
