University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
#6 Terps Foil #12 Tar Heels' Upset Bid 11-8
March 26, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse
COLLEGE PARK, MD. – The sixth-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team held 12th-ranked North Carolina scoreless for 16 minutes in the second half en route to an 11-8 win over the Tar Heels before 4,721 fans at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium.
The Terps won their fourth game in a row to improve to 5-2 on the season while Carolina's two-game winning streak was stopped and the Heels fell to 5-4 on the campaign.
The Terrapins took the lead for good in the game less than five minutes into the first quarter but the Tar Heels were still in striking distance late in the third quarter. Peyton Klawinski's goal with 3:04 left in the period pulled Carolina within 8-6 but it would not score again until there was 1:05 left in the contest while the Terps scored three goals in a row to take their biggest lead of the game at 11-6 with 1:45 to play.
Three Maryland players accounted for the bulk of the Terrapins' scoring as Matt Rambo scored four times, Connor Kelly had three goals and three assists and Colin Heacock had two goals and an assist. Seven different Tar Heels scored in the game with Patrick Kelly scoring two goals. Steve Pontrello had a goal and two assists for Carolina and Chris Cloutier had a goal and an assist. Luke Goldstock was held without a goal by Maryland although he did get off four shots. Goldstock's 25-game goal scoring streak, which equals the third longest in school history, came to an end in the process. He had scored in every game since the 2015 season opener.
The Terps outscored the Tar Heels 3-2 in each of the first three quarters and the two teams each scored twice in the final period. After Maryland took a 3-1 lead with 58 seconds left in the first quarter, the Tar Heels were able to pull within a single goal three times before intermission. After halftime, the Terps were able to hold at least a two-goal lead throughout the final 30 minutes.
The game was very even statistically. Maryland outshot the Tar Heels 44-41 but UNC had slight edges in ground balls 24-22 and face-offs 13-10. Kyle Bernlohr made nine saves in the goal for the Terps while allowing eight goals. UNC's Brian Balkam made seven saves while allowing 11 goals.
Besides Patrick Kelly, Pontrello and Cloutier, other Tar Heel goals were scored by Michael Tagliaferri, Brian Cannon, Peyton Klawinski and Timmy Kelly. Goldstock did record an assist to keep a 26-game point producing string alive.
Stephen Kelly finished 13 for 23 at the face-off circle for the Tar Heels and scooped up a game-high five ground balls.
The Tar Heels will be back in action again next Friday when they play at #9 Duke at 6 p.m. The match at Koskinen Stadium will be televised nationally on ESPNU. It will be the ACC opener for the Tar Heels. Duke is 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the ACC after beating Syracuse 16-15 Saturday in overtime in Durham.
