Men’s Lacrosse Upsets No. 2 Duke, 15-12

Saturday, April 27

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon

North Carolina

7-7, 1-3ACC

Duke

11-4, 1-3ACC

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: CLARABELLA R. COUCH

April 27, 2024 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A big first half and a seven-point effort from Logan McGovern gave North Carolina (7-7, 1-3 ACC) a 15-12 win over Duke (11-4, 1-3 ACC) on Senior Day at Dorrance Field.

This marked the program's first win over a top-three team since May 2, 2021, when the Tar Heels also posted a 15-12 win over the second-ranked Blue Devils in Chapel Hill. Today's victory was also the first win over the rival since 2021.

How It Happened
• UNC jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the game's opening minutes with back-to-back goals from Dominic Pietramala and McGovern.
• McGovern then added another one in the first quarter as the Tar Heels held a narrow 5-4 lead after 15 minutes.
• After giving up two goals at the end of the first, UNC went on a 6-0 run that would last until the 11:36-mark in the third while the defense held the Blue Devils scoreless for just over 19 minutes during that stretch.
• Carolina's stretch of six unanswered came after goals from six different players, with three of those goals being scored in the final 20 seconds of the first half.
• The Tar Heels carried a 9-5 lead heading into the break, the most goals given up by the Blue Devils at the half all season.
• Carolina outscored the Blue Devils 5-2 in the third quarter, with five different Tar Heels hitting the back of the net.
• In the fourth, the Blue Devils hit a spark, scoring six of the seven goals in the frame, however, the Tar Heels held on for the three-goal victory.

Tar Heel Performances
• Pietramala led the Heels with four goals on the day.
• McGovern paced all players with seven total points, on three goals and four assists.
• The Tar Heels had eight different goal scorers in the matchup.
• Brady Wambach went 16-24 at the faceoff X, with 11 ground balls and two goals.
• Peter Thomann caused five turnovers in the matchup.
• Goalkeeper Collin Krieg made 15 saves.

Inside the Numbers
• Carolina leads the all-time series, 44-37. Saturday was the first win over Duke since the 2021 campaign.
• Saturday was the first win over a top-three opponent since defeating Duke in 2021.
• Pietramala has now tied Owen Duffy and Robin Beran on the freshman single-season goal record.
• Thomann's five caused turnovers was a career best.
• Krieg made 10+ saves for the 35^th time in his career.
• The 15 goals allowed by Duke was tied for the most allowed this year.