University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 6 Men's Lacrosse Falls To No. 9 Duke, 13-8
March 22, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
March 22, 2000
DURHAM, N.C. - Down 7-6 at the half, Duke played smothering second-half defense, limiting North Carolina to one goal while scoring six straight goals of its own en route to a 13-8 victory in ACC men's lacrosse action Wednesday night at Koskinen Stadium. With the win, the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (4-2, 2-0 ACC) halted a two-game losing streak while handing the Tar Heels (6-1, 0-1 ACC) their first loss of the season.
The match got off to a fast start, as both teams notched two goals apiece by the middle of the first quarter. Duke then went on a 3-0 run, scoring all three goals in a span of just over two minutes. UNC cut the lead to two, scoring on an extra-man opportunity, but Duke senior Jared Frood (Elbridge, N.Y.) scored his second goal of the game to close out the first period with a 6-3 Duke advantage.
The second half belonged completely to the Tar Heels, as UNC scored four unanswered goals while holding Duke to zero goals and five shots. UNC's first two goals came during man-up periods, giving three straight EMO goals at that point of the game. Tar Heel junior Mac Hammer tied the game at six with a solo shot, his second of the game, at 4:14 into the second period, and Chase Martin added his second goal at 7:44 into the period to give UNC a 7-6 lead going into halftime.
Duke tied it at seven early in the third, on a T.J. Durnan (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) shot, but North Carolina went up again 20 seconds later, as defender Bobby Gormsen snuck one in off a feed from Jeff Sonke, his second assist of the game. Duke tied it again at eight, when Craig Schubert (New Canaan, Conn.) scored off a Greg Patchak (Timonium, Md.) assist. The Blue Devils added two more goals to close out the third period, 10-8.
Duke maintained that momentum for the remainder of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, Stephen Card's (Princeton, N.J.) hard-hitting defense created a midfield turnover that allowed him to dish the ball to Durnan for a quick goal that put Duke up 11-8. The Blue Devils then added two more goals, from brothers Chris and Nick Hartofilis (Huntington, N.Y.) to cushion their lead to 13-8. UNC was unable to get off any shots in the final period, and committed four penalties in the closing minutes to help seal the Duke victory.
Duke's Jared Frood led all scorers with five points (two goals, three assists), while T.J. Durnan had four goals and Chris Hartofilis added three. For the Tar Heels, Matt Crofton, Hammer and Martin each scored two goals, while Sonke contributed two assists. The Blue Devils outshot the Tar Heels 33-27, while UNC won the ground battle, picking up 33 ground balls to Duke's 29. UNC goalkeeper Kris Blindenbacher tallied six saves while allowing a season high 13 goals. Duke's Matt Breslin (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) recorded seven saves.
Duke has won the seven of the last nine meetings in this series, and Wednesday's victory avenged a one-goal loss to the Tar Heels at home during the regular season last year.
The Blue Devils return to action on Sunday, March 26, as they host fourth-ranked Georgetown in a 1:00 p.m. match at Koskinen Stadium.
