University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
#9 Tar Heels Upset #5 Blue Devils In Men's Lacrosse
March 20, 2002 | Men's Lacrosse
March 20, 2002
DURHAM, N.C. - #9 North Carolina got three goals from junior midfielder Austin Garrison and an 11-save performance by freshman goalkeeper Paul Spellman to upset fifth-ranked Duke 9-7 Wednesday night at Koskinen Stadium. The win by Carolina broke a four-game losing streak against the Blue Devils and was only UNC's second win over Duke since 1996.
The Tar Heels remained undefeated on the season, improving to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC with the win. It marked the first time since 1995 that Carolina has won its opening ACC game of the season. Duke fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC with the loss.
UNC used a balanced offense with seven different players scoring goals. The Tar Heels needed that balance to overcome some big-game performances by several Blue Devils. Duke junior midfielder Kevin Cassese scored two goals and had two assists, while freshman midfielder Matt Rewkowski had two goals and one assist. Senior attackman Alex Lieske added two goals for the Devils and junior attackman Kevin Brennan had two assists. For Carolina, freshman attackman Mike McCall came off the bench to spark Carolina in the second half with a goal and two assists. Freshman midfielder Bryant Will added one goal and one assist.
Duke came out in the first quarter and charged to a 3-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game. Rewkowski scored the first two Blue Devil goals, both off assists by Brennan. The second of Rewkowski's goals was an extra-man chance 4:22 into the game. Duke stretched its lead to 3-0 with 6:54 left in the first quarter on the first of two goals by Lieske.
Carolina finally broke through with 5:35 left in the first quarter as senior midfielder Tim Gosier beat Duke goalkeeper A.J. Kincel with an outside shot but the Blue Devils responded with a goal by attackman Mack Hardaker, assisted by Cassese, with 1:21 left in the quarter.
In the second quarter the Tar Heel defense buckled down and held the Blue Devils scoreless. The Tar Heel offense produced two goals to cut the halftime deficit to 4-3. Sophomore attackman Andrew Lucas drove from the right side to score unassisted 1:02 into the quarter and Garrison scored the first of his three goals with 2:20 left in the half. He was assisted on the goal by Will and it came on an extra-man situation.
Carolina's momentum continued after halftime as senior midfielder Pat Jackson snuck behind the defense for a free shot on the crease as he took a nifty pass from junior midfielder Kyle Bell and finished with 9:22 left in the quarter. Then with 6:33 left in the quarter, McCall scored as he rolled the crease on the left side and scored one-on-one with Kincel.
The Tar Heels' 5-4 lead was short-lived, however. Just seven seconds after McCall's goal, Duke got the equalizer as Cassese won the faceoff cleanly and sped to the goal to beat Spellman on a high, hard shot. Cassese's goal broke a scoring drought of 24:55 in the game for the Blue Devils. The Devils then regained the lead before the end of the quarter on another goal by Cassese, this time off an assist by Rewkowski with 1:16 left in the quarter.
eginning the fourth quarter the Tar Heels showed tremendous patience offensively and rallied to win by scoring four times on just seven shots in the final period. Garrison scored his second goal of the game with 10:47 to play as he dodged from the left and fired one past Kincel. The Heels then took the lead for good with 9:08 left in the fourth quarter as McCall passed from behind the goal to freshman attackman Jed Prossner who buried one from a tough angle on the left side of the crease.
Duke controlled the ball for the next several minutes but could not get the tying goal. Eventually the Heels gained possession and McCall found a cutting Will alone in front of the goal to score with 4:19 to play. Cassese won the ensuing faceoff (he was 8 of 12 on the night) and the Blue Devils ran a nifty play with Lieske firing a hard one past Spellman from about 15 yards out on the left. Cassese assisted on the goal, which came with 3:29 to play.
Again Cassese worked his faceoff magic but his shot on the break was saved by Spellman. Duke broke the Tar Heel clear, however, and Cassese had another shot saved by Spellman with under two minutes to play. Yet again the Blue Devils broke the Tar Heel clear to earn another possession. But an errant Duke pass resulted in a loose ball hold at midfield against the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels called a timeout and Garrison beat his defender for a carbon copy of his previous goal, bouncing one past Kincel with 1:14 to play. Duke's Dan Chemotti committed a dead ball slash on Garrison following the goal and the Tar Heels then held the ball for the final 1:14 of play, not even attempting to score during the one-minute extra-man opportunity.
The stats were very even. UNC outshot Duke 38-35 and won the ground balls 42-30. Duke won 11 faceoffs to eight for UNC. Spellman finished with 11 saves while Kincel had 10 for Duke.
The win was the first for Carolina over Duke since a 10-9 regular-season win over the Blue Devils in Durham in 1999. It was also only Carolina's third win over an ACC opponent in the last six seasons.
The win earned Carolina three points in the 2001-02 Carlyle Cup competition between UNC and Duke, given to the school with the best all-sports performance at the end of the school year. Duke won the initial Carlyle Cup in 2000-01 by a 27-21 margin but UNC now leads this year's competition 24 to 9.5
Neither team can rest on its laurels. The Tar Heels host Maryland, tied for fifth with Duke in this week's coaches poll, Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The Blue Devils will host #8 Georgetown Sunday at 1 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
SCORING SUMMARY Qtr. Team Scoring Time Score (UNC-Duke) Goal Assist 1 Duke 13:25 0-1 Matt Rewkowski Kevin Brennan 1 Duke 10:38 0-2 Matt Rewkowski (EMO) Kevin Brennan 1 Duke 6:54 0-3 Alex Lieske 1 UNC 5:35 1-3 Tim Gosier 1 Duke 1:21 1-4 Mack Hardaker Kevin Cassese 2 UNC 13:58 2-4 Andrew Lucas 2 UNC 2:20 3-4 Austin Garrison (EMO) Bryant Will 3 UNC 9:22 4-4 Pat Jackson Kyle Bell 3 UNC 6:33 5-4 Mike McCall 3 Duke 6:26 5-5 Kevin Cassese 3 Duke 1:16 5-6 Kevin Cassese Matt Rewkowski 4 UNC 10:47 6-6 Austin Garrison 4 UNC 9:08 7-6 Jed Prossner Mike McCall 4 UNC 4:19 8-6 Bryant Will Mike McCall 4 Duke 3:29 8-7 Alex Lieske Kevin Cassese 4 UNC 1:14 9-7 Austin Garrison EMG= Extra Man Goal
