Complete Game Earns UNC 21-9 Win At Syracuse

Saturday, April 17

Syracuse, N.Y.

3:00 PM

North Carolina

9-2, 2-2ACC

Syracuse

5-4, 1-3ACC

North Carolina

Syracuse

Nicky Solomon (8) and Connor McCarthy celebrate UNC's win at Syracuse.

Photo by: Syracuse Athletic Communications

April 17, 2021 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: UNC Athletic Communications

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Twelve different Tar Heels scored as the fifth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team won 21-9 at No. 9 Syracuse Saturday afternoon. UNC's 21 goals marked the team's highest scoring output against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since 1994 and earned the program's first ACC victory on the Orange's home field.

UNC improved to 9-2 overall and 2-2 in ACC play while Syracuse fell to 5-4 (1-3 ACC).

"The guys did a tremendous job of being prepared and executing the game plan for a full 60 minutes," UNC coach Joe Breschi said. "I don't think we've played a full 60-minute game at both ends of the field like we did today. That's a credit to the assistant coaches and players for executing today – really proud of that effort. I thought the 10-man ride early got 'em, we were able to build some momentum early and we took quality shots. And the defense was stout while the offense was just continuing to execute. Overall it was our first complete game of the year."

It was UNC largest margin of victory in the series with Syracuse and just the second time ever Carolina has beaten the Orange on the road. The previous time was in the 1991 NCAA Tournament semifinals, played at the Carrier Dome. After defeating Syracuse, the Tar Heels went on to win one more at the Dome, defeating Towson for the 1991 national championship. Carolina lost in its next five trips to Syracuse before winning on Saturday.

The 21-goal total is the most by UNC against a conference opponent since the Tar Heels beat Duke 23-9 in 1994. It matched the most goals ever scored against SU at the Carrier Dome.

Playing in brand new black uniforms and shiny silver helmets, Carolina jumped out to a 5-0 lead, with seniors Chris Gray and Justin Anderson each scoring twice in that early run. UNC led 7-1 after the first quarter and went on to outscore Syracuse in every quarter of the game: 5-3 in the second for a 12-4 halftime lead, 4-3 in the third and 5-2 in the fourth.

Multiple goal scorers came from all over the Tar Heel roster as graduate transfer Connor McCarthy led UNC with a hat trick, his second in as many games, and true freshman Cole Herbert scored the first two goals of his Carolina career. Eight players had multiple goals. Gray finished with two goals and six assists to lead the team in points.

As a team, Carolina outshot the Orange 58-38, with a 37-22 margin in shots on goal.

Tar Heel freshman Collin Krieg made 13 saves in 56 minutes in goal, with sophomore Will Pettit playing the final four minutes.

Junior Zac Tucci won 15 of 23 faceoffs and the Tar Heels took 19 of the game's 34 overall.

UNC has now won two conference games for the first time since 2016, when the Tar Heels were 3-1 in league play. After winning at Virginia in the ACC opener on March 11, Carolina had dropped two ACC games in a row, falling in overtime at Duke on April 1 and at home to Virginia a week ago.

"We challenged our guys this week because we stubbed our toe a little bit offensively in the Duke game and we stubbed our toe defensively in the Virginia game," Breschi said. "So the overall focus was being complete at both ends of the field and that was the difference today – we played well at both ends and that's what you have to do to compete in ACC."

The Tar Heels close out the regular season with a pair of conference games at home, hosting Notre Dame on April 25 and Duke on May 2.