Seven Goals By Gray Leads Tar Heels To Victory

Sunday, February 27

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 PM

North Carolina

4-1

Johns Hopkins

3-2

Johns Hopkins

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 27, 2022 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

CHAPEL HILL – Chris Gray's seven goals and a 9-1 run at the end of the second quarter and into the third helped No. 10 North Carolina down No. 13 Johns Hopkins 15-10 Sunday afternoon at Dorrance Field.

How it Happened

UNC led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter, with the Tar Heels getting off 12 shots compared to the Blue Jays eight.
Johns Hopkins responded by tallying three straight goals from three different Blue Jays in the first 6:00 of play in the second to tie it at five.
The Tar Heels would then score nine of the next 10 goals to build a 14-6 lead early in the fourth.
Three straight goals by Joey Epstein of Johns Hopkins trimmed the lead down to five.
Chris Gray would earn his seventh goal with seven minutes to play, and the Blue Jays added a goal in the final seconds.

Postgame Thoughts

Head coach Joe Breschi on coming out strong in the second half…
"I love the way we came out in the second half because we haven't been a second-half team so far this season. It was awesome to come out of the break and shut them out 3-0 in the third quarter. It just felt like the momentum swung in our favor and being able to pour it on there was really good."

Chris Gray on how the system offensively works…
"The system we run offensively is unselfish, and it thrives when everybody is running fast and sharing the ball. It's just something that Coach Metzbower has instilled in all of us and that we feel pretty strongly about."

Nicky Solomon on the chemistry on offense…
"It's from the top down we trust Coach Metzbower's schemes, and luckily I was the guy today that was feeding passes to everybody. Today, our face-off guys played a heck of a game, giving me the ball. I think most of my assists were on the fast break and coming from them. Overall, I think we all played great, and we are all glad to come out with a win."

Tar Heel Performances

Chris Gray led the team with seven goals and two assists.
Nicky Solomon scored three goals to earn his seventh career hat trick. He also added three assists.
Jacob Kelly and Lance Tillman both collected two goals and one assist.
Andrew Tyeryar was stellar at the face-off going 7 for 9. He also earned his fourth career assist.
Zac Tucci went 12-20 at the face-off while picking up a team-leading six ground balls.
Collin Krieg was solid in the cage and finished with nine saves.

Inside The Numbers

Chris Gray's seven goals were the second-most in a game for his career. It is the fourth time he has scored six or more goals in a game at UNC. His single game high was against Johns Hopkins in 2020 when he scored eight.
North Carolina has now won eight of the last 10 meetings with the Blue Jays dating back to 2012. It is also the first time since 2015 that the home team has won.
The Tar Heels outshot the Blue Jays 51 to 35. UNC is now 4-0 when they take more shots.
The Tar Heels were 21-for-24 on clears.
UNC connected on a season-high 35 shots on goal.

Up Next
North Carolina will return to action Saturday, Mar. 5, to host No. 14 Denver at Dorrance Field. Face-off is slated for noon, and it will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.