University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
Tar Heels' Second Half Rally Falls Short Against Duke
March 16, 2012 | Men's Lacrosse
March 16, 2012
DURHAM, N.C. - Fourteenth-ranked Duke bolted to a 10-3 lead and held on against a spirited second-half rally by 12th-ranked North Carolina to win 13-11 in men's lacrosse action before a crowd of 3,174 at Koskinen Stadium. Three different Blue Devils recorded hat tricks in the match while Joey Sankey matched his career high for points in a game with six for the Tar Heels.
UNC fell to 5-3 with the loss and 0-1 in the ACC while Duke improved to 5-3 and 1-1 in the ACC.
Jordan Wolf led the Blue Devils with two goals and three assists while Jake Tripucka had three goals and an assist for Duke. Christian Walsh and Josh Dionne both scored three goals for the Devils who repeatedly took advantage of unsettled and fast break situations in the match.
For UNC, Joey Sankey had three goals and three assists, matching his career highs for goals, assists and points in a game. Fellow freshman Billy Bitter came up big with a pair of scores while sophomore Ryan Creighton scored twice. Marcus Holman had a goal and an assist for the Tar Heels.
It was a forgettable first half for the Tar Heels who dug themselves a 9-3 hole in the first 30 minutes. Tripucka and Walsh both had their hat tricks in the books by halftime while Dionne and Wolf each scored twice in the first half.
UNC fell behind 5-1 before a goal by Jimmy Bitter pulled the Tar Heels within 6-3 with 6:55 left in the first half. Duke then ran off the last three goals of the first half, including an unassisted goal by Tripucka that put it up 9-3 with 50 seconds left.
The Blue Devils outshot the Tar Heels 19-8 in the first half, led the ground ball battle 20-10 at halftime and won 10 of 14 opening half face-offs. Meanwhile, UNC finished the half with nine turnovers while Duke committed just three.
Coach Joe Breschi retooled his lineup at halftime and the Tar Heels responded. One change was the insertion of Andrew O'Connell into the goal and the freshman responded well by making four saves in the second half.
After Jordan Wolf scored at the 9:14 mark of the third quarter, Carolina began climbing back into the game with goals by Sankey at 4:02, Bitter at 1:26 and Creighton at 1:10. That cut the Duke lead to 10-6 but Robert Rotanz scored a short-handed goal for the Blue Devils with 23 seconds left in the third quarter to restore a five-goal lead for Duke.
The Tar Heels stayed tough though and played well in the fourth quarter, outshooting Duke 17-6 and outscoring them 5-2 in the final 15 minutes.
Marcus Holman figured in the first three goals of the fourth quarter. He scored at 13:55 and then assisted man-up goals by Nicky Galasso and Joey Sankey at 11:06 and 6:10 to pull the Tar Heels within 11-9.
UNC regained possession on the next trip down the field by Duke but the ball slipped out of a Carolina defenseman's stick and rolled into the goal for an own goal at 4:45. The Blue Devils scored again 17 seconds later off a transition effort off a face-off win to build the lead back to four goals at 13-9.
Creighton and Sankey scored for UNC, the latter goal, at 1:46, but Duke won the ensuing face-off and after two penalties on Carolina went up by two men, killing the clock while making no effort to score.
Duke finished with a 38-32 edge in ground balls while North Carolina ended with a 32-31 edge in shots. Turnovers plagued both teams as the Tar Heels committed 20 and Duke 15. C.J. Costabile won 13 of 22 face-offs for Duke as the Blue Devils led at the X 16-11. Costabile led Duke in ground balls with nine while R.G. Keenan had eight for Carolina.
The Tar Heels will have a chance to regroup with a pair of home games next week. UNC returns to Fetzer Field for the first time in 18 days on Wednesday for a match against Dartmouth at 4 p.m. The Tar Heels will follow that by hosting Maryland at 12 noon next Saturday at Fetzer Field. That match will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
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