Gray Leads Carolina In Historic Win At Johns Hopkins, 17-10

Saturday, February 22

Baltimore, Md.

1 p.m. ET

North Carolina

4-0

Johns Hopkins

1-2

North Carolina

Johns Hopkins

Chris Gray

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 22, 2020 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 9 North Carolina men's lacrosse team turned heads in its 17-10 victory over the No. 15 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Homewood Field.

The Tar Heels' 17 goals are the most ever against the Blue Jays in the history of North Carolina lacrosse. Carolina and Johns Hopkins also combined for the second-most combined goals in the teams' series history (27). Saturday's 27 goals were the most combined goals since the teams combined for 33 in Chapel Hill in 1999. Hopkins won that game, 21-12.

Junior attackman Chris Gray led the Tar Heels with a career-high, eight goals and ended the day with a season-high, nine points (8g, 1a). While Gray certainly scored the most of all the Tar Heels, seven of his teammates contributed to Carolina's historic win over Hopkins.

North Carolina continued to show its dominance in extra-man opportunities, scoring on five of their seven chances. Sophomore attackman Nicky Solomon was a force to be reckoned with behind the cage, assisting three of the EMO goals and scoring one himself. Three of Gray's points (2g, 1a) also came from extra-man possessions while senior midfielders Justin Anderson and Tanner Cook and junior attackman Alex Trippi rounded out the EMO points.

Carolina remains undefeated with a 4-0 start to the 2020 season. Dave Pietramala and his Blue Jays drop to 1-2 on the season after falling to two ranked opponents – No. 9 North Carolina and then-No. 16 Loyola.

Carolina now trails Hopkins by just three games in the programs' all-time series (26-23) with their sixth-consecutive win at Homewood Field dating back to a 13-8 win in 2008.

Now 4-0, the Tar Heels have two more road trips on the horizon – No. 13 Denver on March 1 and Furman on March 6.

Key Moments
» Led by a hat trick from Chris Gray, six Tar Heels contributed to Carolina's five goals in the first quarter.
» Carolina extended its lead in the second quarter with the UNC defense holding JHU to just one goal in 15 minutes. Gray and Solomon each had a goal and an assist while Cook scored twice and Trippi found Gray for his fourth goal of the game.
» Both goalies appeared to find their groove heading into the second half with UNC's Caton Johnson recording six of his 10 saves and Hopkins' Ryan Darby making five of his 14. Though the teams were limited to three goals (UNC) and two (JHU), Gray again scored two more goals.
» In the fourth, four of Carolina's five goals had assists to give the Heels their most points in a quarter (9) of the day. Gray capped off his performance by resetting his career-high goal total twice, first with his seventh of the day and then again his eighth with just 12 seconds on the game clock.

Other Notable Individual Highlights
» Chris Gray scored a career-high eight goals and had one assist for a season-high nine points in his first game at Homewood Field. He was also just one point shy of matching his career-high points total (10).
» Six other Tar Heels had multi-point games in the team's first ranked matchup of 2020. Nicky Solomon, Tanner Cook and Alex Trippi each had four points while Jacob Kelly and Justin Anderson put up three.
» Caton Johnson put up a season-high 10 saves which included impressive back-to-back stops early in the second half, the latter of which he made from his knees.
» Jacob Kelly had a career-high two assists and one goal to match a career-high three points.
» Cam Macri proved to be a tough opponent for Hopkins, breaking up a couple Blue Jays opportunities and matching a career-high four ground balls.

Notable Team Achievements
» The Tar Heels totaled 17 goals – five man-up – and 13 assists for 30 points on 48 shots. The team also combined for 29 ground balls and three Heels forced three turnovers in their first ranked matchup of the season.
» The Tar Heels' 17 goals are the most ever against the Blue Jays in the history of North Carolina lacrosse. Carolina and Johns Hopkins also combined for the second-most combined goals in series history (27). This marks the most combined goals since the teams met in Chapel Hill in 1999 – UNC 12, JHU 21.
» Carolina's offense had great field vision with 13 of its 17 goals having assists.