Men's Lacrosse Starts 1-0 In ACC Play, Defeats Virginia, 18-9

Saturday, April 5

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4 PM

North Carolina

8-2, 1-0

Virginia

5-6, 0-2

Virginia

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

April 5, 2025 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The eighth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team (8-2, 1-0) defeated Virginia (5-6, 0-2 ACC) 18-9, in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for the Tar Heels.

How It Happened
• To begin the day, Carolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead with 5:23 remaining in the first, as Caden Harshbarger, Owen Duffy and two Dominic Pietramala goals fueled the Tar Heel offense.
• Virginia closed the first with three-straight goals, as the Tar Heels led 4-3 after 15 minutes.
• Carolina outscored the Cavaliers 6-4 in the second, taking a three-goal lead into halftime, 10-7.
• In the third, Spencer Wirtheim, Mason Szewczyk, James Matan and Duffy hit the back of the net once, pushing the Tar Heel lead to 14-9.
• Carolina scored all four of the fourth quarter's goals, claiming the 18-9 victory.

Tar Heel Performances
• Pietramala (four goals) and Duffy (three goals, two assists) led the Tar Heel offense Saturday.
• Nine different Tar Heels hit the back of the net, as Wirtheim and Szewczyk each scored two goals.
• Brady Wambach (18-27) and Colin Hannigan (1-3) combined to win the faceoff battle.
• Ty English and Parker Hoffman each collected five-or-more ground balls.
• Michael Gianforcaro made nine saves between the pipes in the win.

Inside The Numbers
• Saturday was Carolina's first win over the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill since 2016.
• The 18-goal effort was the most for Carolina in an ACC game since scoring 19 at Syracuse in 2023.
• The Carolina defense did not allow a goal for the remaining 24:24 of the contest.
• The Tar Heels are 7-0 this year and 13-0 in the last two seasons with allowing nine-or-fewer goals.
• Carolina has won the ground ball and faceoff battle in nine games this spring.
• Ryan Levy's three goals was a career best for the Senior.

Up Next
• The Tar Heels travel to Duke next Saturday, for the first ACC road test of the campaign.
• Opening faceoff with the Blue Devils is set for 4 PM, with the game airing on ACC Network.