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No. 6 North Carolina Drops ACC Opener To No. 9 Duke
March 14, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
March 14, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Ninth-ranked Duke outscored sixth-ranked North Carolina 4-0 in the third quarter Saturday afternoon as the Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 12-8 in men's lacrosse action before 531 fans at a rain-drenched and freezing Kenan Stadium and a national television audience on ESPNU.
The Tar Heels were looking to reward first-year head coach Joe Breschi with his 100th career coaching victory but Duke had other plans with the veteran Duke defense dictating the pace of the game and limiting the usually high-shooting Tar Heels to only nine shots on goal through the first three quarters of the match. UNC averages 49.5 shots per game but was limited to 37 shots in the game by the Blue Devils, 17 of which were taken by Carolina in the final quarter.
The Blue Devils also slowed down Carolina's running game by limiting the Tar Heels to only 29 ground balls and muting the effects of the usually effective Carolina ride which on Saturday forced only one failed clear by Duke.
Duke improved to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels dropped their 19th ACC game in a row and fell to 7-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC.
Sean Delaney and Ben Hunt led the Tar Heels with two goals apiece while Jimmy Dunster, Gavin Petracca, Bart Wagner and Cryder DiPietro each had a single goal for UNC. Dunster led the Tar Heels with two assists. Justin Turri led Duke with three goals while Steve Schoeffel and Zach Howell each had two goals for Duke. Chris Loftus and Brad Ross each had two assists for the Blue Devils.
The Tar Heels scored the opening goal of the game as Jimmy Dunster fed Sean Delaney just 50 seconds into the match for a 1-0 Tar Heel lead. Duke then tied the game when the Heels were forced into a two-man down situation at 6:47 of the opening with Mike Catalino scoring the tying goal.
Duke went ahead in the first minute of the second quarter on an unassisted goal by Turri before the Tar Heels got back-to-back goals by Cryder DiPietro and Bart Wagner just 50 seconds apart to take the lead 3-2 with 9:25 left in the second quarter. Brad Ross scored the tying goal for Duke 7:11 before halftime. But Carolina was able to take the lead at intermission on a Sean Delaney goal, assisted by Dunster with 16 seconds left.
For the second time in six days, however, UNC was unable to maintain a one-goal halftime advantage as Notre Dame rallied from a similar 4-3 deficit to beat the Tar Heels 9-7 in South Bend, Ind. last Sunday.
An extra-man goal by Duke's Ned Crotty with 12:31 to play in the third quarter changed the momentum in the game, tying the score at 4-4. Robert Rotanz, Zach Howell and Justin Turri went on to score goals in the third quarter for Duke to increase its lead to 7-4. Duke limited UNC to only five shots in the third quarter and only four saves in the third quarter by Grant Zimmerman prevented Carolina's deficit entering the fourth quarter from being even greater.
The Blue Devils kept firing away at UNC and scored four of the first five goals of the fourth quarter to increase their lead to 11-5 with 6:19 left in the fourth period. Carolina would rally with goals by Ben Hunt, Gavin Petracca and Jimmy Dunster in the final 5:17 of the fourth quarter but in the end the Blue Devils prevailed 12-8.
Shane Walterhoefer won 14 of 24 face-offs for UNC. He has now won 14 or more face-offs in seven of UNC's nine games this season.
Duke's win was worth one point in the 2008-09 Carlyle Cup competition and the Blue Devils have now cut Carolina's lead in the all-sports competition to an 11.5-5.5 margin during the current school year.
Carolina will be in action next Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against fifth-ranked Maryland at Byrd Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The Tar Heels will be looking to end a six-match losing streak against the Terrapins which dates back to a 10-6 win by the Tar Heels at Byrd Stadium on March 22, 2003.
