University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host No. 5 Duke Saturday At Noon
March 16, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
March 16, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 11 North Carolina will host No. 5 Duke in men's lacrosse action Saturday at 12 noon at Fetzer Field. The game will be part of the 2006-07 Carlyle Cup competition, tha annual all-sports trophy awarded to the school which scores the most points in the 26-point system and which features head-to-head competition in 23 varsity sports.
UNC enters the game with a 6-1 overall record and a 0-0 mark in the ACC. The Tar Heels are on a three-match winning streak. The Heels are significantly improved over last year at this point. UNC was 2-5 after its first seven matches of the 2006 campaign.
Duke is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. The Blue Devils were the consensus choice as the nation's No. 1 team just a week ago before Loyola pulled off an upset of the Blue Devils last Saturday night in San Diego, Calif.
The game will be worth one point in the Carlyle and Company sponsored competition. North Carolina currently leads 8.5 points to 7.5 points. It takes 13.5 total points to win the Carlyle Cup. Duke won the Carlyle Cup in 2001, 2003 and 2004. North Carolina won in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
Duke has won three successive games in the series, sweeping both contests in 2005 and beating UNC 11-8 in Durham last year. Carolina's last victory in the series was 2004.
The teams are a contrast in terms of experience levels. Duke is a senior dominated team, the corps of which led the Blue Devils to the 2005 NCAA championship game. UNC has only four seniors on its roster and relies on underclassmen to carry the day. Five of UNC's top six scorers this year are freshmen or sophomores.
