University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland (ACC Tournament Semifinals)
Tar Heels Fall To Second Half Rally By Maryland In ACC Tournament
April 28, 2006 | Men's Lacrosse
April 28, 2006
BALTIMORE, MD. - North Carolina's men's lacrosse team bolted to a 6-1 lead at halftime but fell to a second-half rally by No. 3-ranked Maryland as the Terrapins eliminated the Tar Heels from the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament 10-9 Friday night before 3,806 fans at M&T Bank Stadium. The loss ends the Carolina season at 4-10 while the Terps improve to 9-3 and advance to the ACC final to play No. 1-ranked Virginia Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
UNC was led by freshmen Michael Burns and Ben Hunt who each scored two goals in the game. Nick Tintle, Andrew McElduff, Drew Habeck, Bart Wagner and Ben Staines had single goals for UNC and four players had assists.
The Terps' second half rally was keyed by Brendan Healy and Xander Ritz who each had three goals in the game and Bill McGlone who had two goals. Healy and McGlone each had two assists while Michael Phipps had three assists for the Terps. UNC senior defenseman Stephen McElduff held Maryland first-team All-America attackman and National Player of the Year finalist Joe Walters to a single goal but the other Terrapin players stepped up to provide the winning margin. Walters' lone goal came in an extra-man situation.
Freshman midfielder Ben Hunt was named to the 2006 All-ACC Tournament Team after his outstanding effort against the Terps Friday night.
Maryland had 40 shots in the game to Carolina's 38 and the Terps led the ground ball battle 40-31. Both teams won 11 face-offs and Maryland had 14 saves to 12 for UNC.
The Tar Heels played their best lacrosse of the season in the first quarter as they sped to a 4-0 lead over the Terrapins. Ben Hunt, Andrew McElduff, Nick Tintle and Michael Burns scored goals in the final 9:06 of the first quarter to stake Carolina to the lead.
Maryland got on the board with 10:18 left in the second quarter on a goal by Xander Ritz in an extra-man situation. But goals by Bart Wagner and Michael Burns before the half pushed the Tar Heel lead to five goals, Carolina's biggest margin of the night.
The Tar Heels carried over an extra-man situation into the third quarter for 26 seconds but committed a turnover that Maryland turned into a goal 39 seconds after halftime. That goal provided the Terps with the momentum they needed to quickly get back in the game. Brendan Healy then scored three successive goals for the Terps in less than seven minutes to pull the Terps within 6-5 with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
A goal by Bill McGlone tied the game for the first time with 4:29 left in the third period. The teams then traded extra-man goals late in the third period with Ben Hunt scoring for UNC and Joe Walters tying the game for Maryland with 2:08 left in the quarter.
UNC regained the momentum in the fourth quarter and took a 9-7 lead with 11:07 remaining in the game. UNC goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman cleared the ball on his own and fed Ben Staines for the go-ahead goal with 12:55 to play in the game. Drew Habeck then scored on a fallaway shot while being double teamed to give the Tar Heels a 9-7 lead with 11:07 to play in the game. But that would be UNC's last goal of the contest.
Maryland then staged its game-winning rally. Xander Ritz picked up a loose ball in front of the Tar Heel goal and scored with 8:08 to play. The Terps tied the game on a goal by Bill McGlone with 4:33 to play off an assist by Brendan Healy. The Terps then scored the game-winning goal with 1:25 to play in the game when Michael Phipps found Xander Ritz wide open in front of the goal for an easy put away.
Maryland won the ensuing face-off but the Tar Heels forced a turnover as a stick check led to a loose ball and a delay of game infraction on the Terps. The Tar Heels cleared the ball and got off two shots at the Terps' goal in the final minute but both went wide and Maryland eventually got control of the ball with seven seconds to play and ran out the clock.
