Carolina Kicks Off NCAA Play Saturday

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – After a successful regular season, the North Carolina men's lacrosse team dives into the stretch that really matters on Saturday, hosting Monmouth for a first-round NCAA Tournament game at Dorrance Field. Game time is noon and action will be broadcast by ESPNU. Tickets are available here.

The Tar Heels (11-2) are the top overall seed in the tournament field. For a look at the complete bracket, click here.

Saturday's game is the first-ever meeting between the Tar Heels and the Monmouth Hawks (8-2), champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The matchup marks Monmouth's first meeting with an Atlantic Coast Conference school and the Hawks' second appearance in the NCAA Tournament field.

The Tar Heels are making their 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance, their first since 2017.

Monmouth goalkeeper Noah Lode, a senior from Centreville, Md., leads the NCAA in goals-against average, allowing 7.8 per game. As a team, Monmouth ranks second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing eight goals per game. On the other end of the spectrum, the Tar Heels lead the nation in scoring (17.08 goals per game) and sport one of the NCAA's top offensive players in senior Chris Gray, who is second in the NCAA in points per game (5.92).

Chapel Hill will also play host to a first-round men's game on Sunday, as Duke faces off with High Point at 5 p.m. Tickets to that game are available here.

Two NCAA women's games are also set for Dorrance Field, with Johns Hopkins and James Madison playing Friday at 5 p.m. in a first-round game and the winner advancing to face top-seeded Carolina on Sunday at noon.

• While they've never met in men's lacrosse, UNC and Monmouth do have a long-standing connection: UNC coach Joe Breschi and Monmouth President Patrick Leahy were schoolmates at Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Md., starting in elementary school and continuing until graduation as part of the Class of 1986.

• Carolina's Gray was announced on Friday morning as one of five finalists for the men's Tewaaraton Award. He's the third Tar Heel to be a finalist for the prestigious honor. The attackman from Wading River, N.Y., comes into Saturday's matchup with goal-scoring streak of 30 games. With 77 points this season, he's five away from setting a school single-season record.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Gray