North Carolina
Air Force
Men's Lacrosse Crushes Air Force, 18-5
June 21, 1999 | Men's Lacrosse
March 13, 1999
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - North Carolina junior attackman Kevin Mehm scored a career-high five goals as the 13th-ranked Tar Heels made the most out of their first journey across the Mississippi River, defeating Air Force, 18-5, on a sunny and clear Colorado day in men's lacrosse action.
The win by Coach Dave Klarmann's team broke a two-game losing streak for the Tar Heels and improved their record to 3-2 on the season. The Falcons fell to 0-4 on the campaign with the loss.
The Falcon lacrosse field showed no traces of a spring snow shower early Friday, but the Tar Heels brought a storm of their own to the Rampart Range. Tar Heel midfielder Justin Bowman took a pass from junior attackman Matt Crofton four minutes into the game to open up a 1-0 lead for Carolina, but Air Force rebounded three minutes later on a goal by Scott Seigfried to tie the game at one. Carolina then opened the floodgates by scoring eight consecutive goals with seven different players contributing to the scoring. The Falcons didn't score again until freshman John Ritcey collected his fourth goal of the season with 45 seconds left in the first half.
Heading into the second half, Carolina held a commanding 9-2 lead, and Mehm hadn't even started his own private barrage on the Falcon goal. The attackman from Herndon, Va., doubled his career point total by finding the net five times in the second half, including three straight tallies to give the Tar Heels a 15-2 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Falcon Adam Ochs notched his first goal of the season to make it 15-3 with seven minutes left, and Air Force scored two more times off Tar Heel reserve goalkeeper Robert D'Urso in the remaining minutes. Ritcey scored his second goal of the game at 3:04, while junior defenseman Brock Miller scored his first career goal a minute later.
Despite the 13-goal loss, Air Force head coach Fred Acee was pleased with his team's performance against one of the best teams in the country. "I wasn't disappointed with our performance," said Acee, whose son played at Carolina from 1989-93. "We're a young team, but our kids played hard and didn't quit, and I'm proud of them for that. We had too many turnovers and Carolina is great in transition."
The Tar Heels (3-2) kept up the pace for most of the game, despite obviously feeling the effects of playing at high altitude - the elevation at the Academy is over 7,000 feet. Carolina out-shot the Falcons, 40-27, and picked up 40 ground balls to 31 for Air Force.
"It means a lot to have a team of this caliber come out and play us," said Acee. "We need to play these teams to make our program more visible, and it's good for all the young players in Colorado to see a team like Carolina play. It also shows the players on our team what we have to do to compete at the top level."
Air Force (0-4) heads out on its spring break road trip back east this week, playing at Stony Brook (March 19), Hofstra (March 22), Navy (March 25) and VMI (March 27). Carolina, meanwhile, takes its high-powered offense down a couple thousand feet to face Denver Sunday afternoon.
STATISTICAL SUMMARY
No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Air Force Falcons Falcon Lacrosse Field (artificial turf) Attendance: 100 Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 OT Final North Carolina (3-2) 6 3 5 4 18 Air Force (0-4, 0-1 GWL) 1 1 0 3 5
Scoring
Per.Time Team Player (Assist) Score 1 11:34 UNC Justin Bowman (Matt Crofton) 0-1 1 8:46 AFA Scott Seigfried (Peter Schnobrich) 1-1 1 7:25 UNC Ryan Beard (unassisted) 1-2 1 4:38 UNC Bob Gormsen (unassisted) 1-3 1 2:32 UNC Jeff Sonke (unassisted) 1-4 1 0:52 UNC Sonke 2 (Crofton) 1-5 1 0:12 UNC Joel Miller (unassisted) 1-6 2 10:41 UNC Bowman 2 (unassisted) 1-7 2 2:17 UNC Miller 2 (Jeremy Carey) 1-8 2 1:32 UNC Pat Jackson (Sonke) 1-9 2 0:45 AFA John Ritcey (unassisted) 2-9 3 5:03 UNC Jeremy Carey (unassisted) 2-10 3 4:02 UNC Kevin Mehm (Sonke) 2-11 3 3:11 UNC Brett Kohart (Peter Dell'Olio) 2-12 3 2:45 UNC Mehm 2 (unassisted) 2-13 3 0:54 UNC Mehm 3 (unassisted) 2-14 4 13:44 UNC Mehm 4 (Tom Carey) 2-15 4 7:32 AFA Adam Ochs (unassisted) 3-15 4 6:26 UNC Ryan Damon (unassisted) 3-16 4 5:00 AFA Ritcey 2 (unassisted) 4-16 4 3:04 UNC Peter Dell'Olio (Tom Carey) 4-17 4 2:25 AFA Brock Miller (unassisted) 5-17 4 1:08 UNC Mehm 5 (Tom Carey) 5-18
Scoring Summary
Goals Air Force: John Ritcey 2, Adam Ochs, Scott Seigfried, Brock Miller UNC: Kevin Mehm 5, Joel Miller 2, Justin Bowman 2, Jeff Sonke 2, Peter Dell'Olio, Brett Kohart, Pat Jackson, Jeremy Carey, Ryan Beard, Bob Gormsen, Ryan Damon Assists Air Force: Peter Schnobrich UNC: Tom Carey 3, Jeff Sonke 2, Matt Crofton 2, Peter Dell'Olio, Jeremy Carey Shots: Air Force 27; UNC 40 Ground Balls: Air Force 31; UNC 40 EMO: AFA 0/5; UNC 0/3 Penalties: Air Force 3/2.0; UNC 5/4.0 Face-Offs Won: Air Force 12/26; UNC 14/26 Goalie Saves: Air Force 12 (Ryan Principi 4, Art Patek 8); UNC 17 (Jarron Harkness 9, Robert D'Urso 8) Goals Against: Air Force 18 (Ryan Principi 6, Art Patek 12); UNC 5 (Jarron Harkness 2; Robert D'Urso 3) Win: Harkness Loss: PrincipiShots by Period 1 2 3 4 OT Total UNC 14 7 9 10 40 Air Force 6 8 6 7 27 Goalie Statistics UNC: Jerron Harkness (45 minutes, 2 goals against, 9 saves); Robert D'Urso (15 minutes, 3 goals against, 8 saves) Air Force: Ryan Principi (15 minutes, 6 goals against, 4 saves); Art Patek (45 minutes, 12 goals against, 8 saves)
Saves by Period 1 2 3 4 OT Total UNC 2 3 4 8 17 Air Force 4 3 2 3 12
Ground Balls 1 2 3 4 OT Total UNC 13 8 6 13 40 Air Force 8 11 8 4 31
Faceoffs Won 1 2 3 4 OT Total UNC 6 1 4 3 14 Air Force 2 3 2 5 12
Penalties UNC 5/4.0 Air Force 3/2.0 Clears/Failed UNC: 20/5 Air Force: 13/9
