Gray Breaks NCAA Career Point Record In Loss To Duke

Sunday, May 1

Durham, N.C.

5:30 PM

North Carolina

8-6, 1-5

Duke

11-5, 3-2

North Carolina

Duke

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

May 1, 2022 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – Chris Gray collected six points to break the NCAA Division I career point record, but it was not enough as the No. 18 North Carolina men's lacrosse team dropped a 19-11 loss to rival No. 9 Duke at Koskinen Stadium Sunday night.

How it Happened

The Tar Heels struck first as Nicky Solomon took the pass from Gray and scored his 20th goal of the season. Both teams would trade goals the rest of the quarter as UNC had the 5-4 lead after 15 minutes of play.
The second quarter was the exact opposite as a combined four goals were scored between the two as the Tar Heels held on to a slim 7-6 going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Blue Devils held UNC scoreless as they scored eight unanswered goals to take a commanding 14-7 lead into the final quarter.
The hard-nosed defense by Duke in the fourth negated any chance of a UNC comeback. At the 7:23 mark, Chris Gray scored and earned his 401st career point to become the all-time career points leader in NCAA DI men's lacrosse.
A late goal by Liam McLane would seal the Duke win.

Postgame Thoughts
Head coach Joe Breschi on Chris Gray and thoughts on the game…
"Gray is an amazing young man and a phenomenal person. He has done everything we have asked him to do and more. My heart goes out to the seniors who did everything they could to put us in a position to keep playing potentially. It's hard to put this season into words at the moment. This year, we had our ups and downs, but our guys fought like hell, and that's all I can ask from them."

Chris Gray on breaking the career points record and his career…
"I mean, it's obviously a great feeling, but it was never a goal of mine coming into this season. I would trade all of the points away for a trip to the postseason. It's really a product of all the guys around me throughout my college career. I have had the pleasure of playing with some great players, and under some great coaches, so it's all a credit to them. It means everything to me that I was able to play at UNC. The hardest part will be taking the jersey off and never putting it back on. I am so fortunate to have ended up in a great place like Chapel Hill. Coach Breschi, Coach Metzbower, Coach Unterstein, and Coach Fox took a chance on me, and it's truly been the greatest three years of my life. I have met some lifelong friends, and these guys are my brothers, so it means the world to me."

Tar Heel Performances

Chris Gray earned his 10th hat trick of the season and dished out three assists to lead the team.
Nicky Solomon scored one goal and dished out two assists.
Lance Tillman notched two goals for his third straight multi-goal game.
Johnny Schwarz scored his first career goal at UNC.
Paul Barton, Jacob Kelly, Connor Maher, and Henry Schertzinger added one goal.
Zac Tucci and Andrew Tyeryar teamed up and went 14-34 at the face-off.
Collin Krieg made 12 saves in the cage.

Inside The Numbers

Chris Gray now stands atop the NCAA Division I all-time career points list with 401 career points passing Lyle Thompson of Albany.
With six points today, Chris Gray extends his point-scoring streak to 54 games.
Tonight's loss was the first time this season that the Tar Heels have outshot their opponent and lost. They were previously 7-0.