University of North Carolina Athletics
#TarHeel25: No. 4
July 15, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse
Once again this July, GoHeels.com will count down the top 25 wins of the school year. Check back around noon EDT each weekday for the latest update before No. 1 is revealed on July 20. To catch up on previous entries, click here.
No. 4: No. 16 Carolina 17, No. 1 Notre Dame 15 - Men's Lacrosse, April 23, 2016
It's natural for a bit of hyperbole to sneak into stories following a championship season, especially one as thrilling and unexpected as the one put together by the Carolina men's lacrosse team in 2016. Individuals become larger-than-life, performances become heroic, epic feats of strength and will. It's one of the great things about having the hard work of a season pay off with a title, you earn the right to romanticize, to exaggerate, to gush.
So here goes. What took place in the fourth quarter of UNC's 17-15 win over No. 1 Notre Dame at Kenan Stadium on April 23 was the most important 10 minutes in the history of the Carolina men's lacrosse program.
The circumstances were as follows: after starting the season 3-3 with losses to Hofstra and UMass, the Tar Heels had mostly righted the ship, buoyed by ACC wins over Duke and Virginia. But time was running short and, after a lackluster 13-7 loss at Syracuse on April 16, UNC was 7-5 heading into the regular season finale against the Irish and planted firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble. Losses to ND and in the ACC tournament would leave them at .500 and likely on the outside looking in at the postseason.
Senior Day arrived at Fortress Kenan (where the Tar Heels haven't lossed in men's lacrosse in seven years) and Luke Goldstock scored just 17 seconds in to give Carolina a quick lead. But it was a lead it would not see again for much of the day after P.J. Finley put ND up 2-1 not two minutes later. The Irish surged to a 6-3 lead after one quarter thanks to two goals in the final 10 seconds of the period, but late second quarter goals by Patrick Kelly and Steve Pontrello made it an 8-8 game at halftime.
The third quarter was an unmitigated disaster, as Notre Dame scored on six of its nine shots to roll up a five-goal lead with just 15 minutes left in the game. The Irish was 9-1 on the year and looking to complete a perfect 4-0 ACC campaign. In their previous road game, they'd gone to the Carrier Dome and spanked Syracuse 17-7. Their lone loss was to Denver in overtime. Notre Dame was 15 minutes from all but locking up the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
It look nearly five minutes for Carolina to cut into the Notre Dame advantage, and then the Irish almost immediately restored the 5-goal lead. With 10 minutes to play, UNC trailed 15-10 and its season was hanging in the balance.
The comeback started innocently enough. Chris Cloutier (prior to becoming CHRIS CLOUTIER) went high to low to make it 15-11 with 9:18 left before Michael Tagliaferri converted a man-up opportunity a minute later. But the clock was as much of an enemy as Notre Dame at that point, and it was still a 3-goal deficit with under five minutes remaining. It could have easily been worse, however, with the Irish hitting two pipes before an athletic save from Brian Balkam kept it 15-12 and returned possession to the hosts.
Goldstock quickly made it 15-13 with a shot from distance, and the junior when low to high in traffice to cut the gap to a single goal. Shane Simpson, who had fed Goldstock for those consecutive goals, then became the finisher, and suddenly it was tied with almost three minutes left to play.
The game-winner came from an unlikely source. It was Stephen Kelly, the faceoff specialist, who went full R.G. Kennan to put the Tar Heels in front. Kelly, who would score his third and final goal of the year that fateful Saturday, won the faceoff and went straight to the goal. The junior fired a howitzer into the upper right corner and Carolina had its first lead since the early moments of the first quarter. Patrick Kelly finished the scoring with his third goal of the day a minute later and the comeback was complete.
By now you know the Tar Heels still had to sweat out the selection show and go on the road to Marquette to start their NCAA run. But it was on that Saturday in Kenan Stadium, where the four previous national championship teams were honored at halftime, that the fifth Carolina title-winner began to write its championship story.
No. 5: No. 8 Carolina 76, No. 17 Duke 72 - Men's Basketball, March 5, 2016
No. 6: No. 11 Carolina 45, North Carolina State 34 - Football, Nov. 29, 2015
No. 7: Carolina 15, Syracuse 14 (OT) - Women's Lacrosse, May 1, 2016
No. 8: Carolina 2, Syracuse 1 (OT) - Field Hockey, Nov. 8, 2015
No. 9: No. 1 Carolina 4, No. 3 Virginia 3 - Men's Tennis, April 1, 2016
No. 10: Carolina 4, Miami 2 (ACC Championship) - Women's Tennis, April 24, 2016
No. 11: Carolina 2, Duke 0 (NCAA Semifinals) - Field Hockey, Nov. 20, 2015
No. 12: Carolina 13, Notre Dame 9 (NCAA Quarterfinals) - Men's Lacrosse, May 22, 2016
No. 13: Carolina 83, Syracuse 66 (NCAA Semifinals) - Men's Basketball, April 2, 2016
No. 14: Carolina 12, Penn State 11 (NCAA Semifinals) - Women's Lacrosse, May 27, 2016
No. 15: Carolina 6, Longwood 4 (NCAA Harrisonburg Regional) - Softball, May 20, 2016
No. 16: Carolina 3, No. 3 Stanford 0 - Volleyball, Sept. 10, 2015
No. 17: No. 13 Carolina 15, No. 2 South Carolina 0 - Baseball, April 13, 2016
No. 18: No. 2 Carolina 4, No. 16 Georgia Tech 3 - Women's Tennis, April 17, 2016
No. 19: No. 9 Carolina 2, No. 15 Notre Dame 1 - Women's Soccer, Oct. 22, 2015
No. 20: No. 3 Carolina 4, No. 2 Notre Dame 2 - Men's Soccer, Sept. 18, 2015
No. 21: Selmon, Ward Earn All-America Honors - Wrestling, March 18, 2016; Track and Field, June 10, 2016
No. 22: Carolina 2, No. 10 Georgia 1 (8 innings) - Softball, April 6, 2016
No. 23: Carolina 77, Syracuse 73 - Women's Basketball, Jan. 7, 2016
No. 24: Carolina Qualifies For The NCAA Championships - Women's Golf, May 7, 2016
No. 25: Tar Heels Sweep Hoosiers, Vols & Wildcats - Swimming and Diving, Oct. 30, 2015
