University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
5-4
Maryland
5-2
Tar Heels Fall To Terps In Battle of 2016 NCAA Finalists
March 25, 2017 | Men's Lacrosse
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 10th-ranked Maryland Terrapins ran their offense to perfection Saturday afternoon, scoring 15 goals on 27 shots as they defeated 13th-ranked North Carolina 15-7 in men's lacrosse action before 2,845 fans at Fetzer Field and an ESPNU national television audience.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Tar Heels beats the Terrapins 14-13 in overtime in the 2016 NCAA championship game last May 30. But Maryland (5-2) came out ready to exact revenge against North Carolina (5-4), handing UNC its third loss on Fetzer Field this spring.
The Terps scored on all six of their shots in the first quarter, opening up an early 6-2 lead and then outscored the Tar Heels 3-1 in the second quarter and 4-1 in the third quarter to carry a nine-goal cushion into the final period.
Dylan Maltz had a hat trick for Maryland while Matt Rambo and Connor Kelly each scored two goals and had three assists. Tim Rotanz had two goals and two assists and Jared Bernhardt and Colin Heacock each notched two goals and an assist. The Terrapins' balanced scoring sheet included eight goal scorers and seven players with assists. Twelve of the Terps' 15 goals were assisted.
Timmy Kelly had a pair of goals for Carolina while Chris Cloutier and Andy Matthews each notched a goal and an assist. Luke Goldstock, Tanner Cook and Jack Lambert each scored once for UNC. The goal for Lambert was the first of his career for the redshirt junior long-stick midfielder. Ryan Macri had an assist on a goal by Andy Matthews, the second helper of his career.
There were several statistical anomalies in a game that was lopsided in the final score. UNC outshot the Terps 32-27 but Maryland scored on a remarkable 55.6 percent of their shots. UNC's two goalies combined for four saves while Dan Morris had an excellent game in goal for the Terps. He made 12 saves, allowed just seven goals and had four ground balls in 58:29.
Both teams won 12 face-offs with UNC's Stephen Kelly going 12-for-21 at the X. Maryland led in ground balls 38-29 and four different Terps had a game-high four ground balls. Maryland committed 18 turnovers while UNC had just 10. But the Terps' scoring efficiency more than compensated for their miscues.
Tim Muller opened the scoring on a fast break goal after a Tar Heel turnover 1:30 into the match. UNC answered that goal with an extra-man tally from Luke Goldstock, assisted by Chris Cloutier, at 9:45 of the first quarter. Maryland then took control of the game as it scored on its next five shots, running off the five goals in a span of 4:35. Colin Heacock had two goals in that scoring run and when Jared Bernhardt scored with 2:49 left in the first period, the Terps were up 6-1.
Timmy Kelly got a goal back for UNC with 1:56 left in the opening period but the Terps went on another scoring run, tallying three times in just 2:15 midway through the second stanza, to make it 9-2 with 5:39 left before halftime.
Trailing 9-3 at the half, Carolina needed to come out strong in the third quarter to make a rally but the opposite happened. In a span from 12:57 to 10:22 of the period, the Terps scored four times, twice by Matt Rambo, to make it 13-3 and effectively end the outcome.
Carolina did come back to score four of the next five goals in the match with Lambert, Cook, Matthews and Cloutier garnering goals but the closest the Heels were able to get was seven goals midway through the final period.
The game against Maryland marked the final non-conference game of the season for the Tar Heels. UNC will open ACC action against Duke on Sunday, April 2 at 7 p.m. in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
