Men's Lacrosse Collects 12-11 Win Over No. 19 Army

Saturday, March 21

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4:30 PM

North Carolina

8-1

Army

6-3

Army West Point

North Carolina

Photo by: DALTON T WAINSCOTT

March 21, 2026 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – An all-around effort from the fifth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team propelled the Tar Heels over No. 19 Army, 12-11, Saturday afternoon at Dorrance Field.

With the win, Carolina is 8-1 on the campaign, including a perfect 6-0 at Dorrance Field this spring.

How It Happened
• In a defensive opening quarter, Dominic Pietramala and Caden Harshbarger hit the back of the net for the Tar Heels, who led 2-1 after 15 minutes.
• Army scored the first three goals of the second quarter, taking a 4-2 lead with 5:05 remaining in the half.
• The Tar Heels responded, as Pietramala scored his second of the game, followed by back-to-back goals from Gary Merrill.
• The Black Knights scored with three seconds remaining in the half, tying the score at five-all entering the half.
• In the third, five different Tar Heels converted, as Carolina held a one-goal lead entering the final frame.
• Anthony Raio and Harshbarger each hit the back of the net in the fourth, giving Carolina the one-goal victory.

Tar Heel Performances
• Harshbarger and Merrill each scored three goals, followed by a pair from Raio and Pietramala.
• Owen Duffy dished out three assists in the win.
• Between the pipes, Josh Marcus posted 10 saves and five ground balls.
• Defenseman Peter Thomann led Carolina with three caused turnovers.
• Brady Wambach went 21-27 at the X, recording 16 ground balls.

Inside The Numbers
• Carolina leads the all-time series, 4-2. Saturday was the first win over Army since 1994.
• With his first-quarter assist to Harshbarger, Duffy has now recorded a point in all 36 career games.
• Saturday was Merrill's second career multi-goal game and first career hat trick.
• Carolina's second midfield has had a different three-goal scorer in three-straight games (Bair vs. Brown, Raio vs. Penn State, Merrill vs. Army).
• Harshbarger scored his first goal of the campaign, also posting his first career multi-goal effort and first career hat trick.
• Carolina posted 10 caused turnovers in the game, eight of which came in the first half.
• After starting the game 2-6 at the stripe, Wambach rattled off 17-straight faceoff wins.

Up Next
• Carolina travels next weekend to face fourth-ranked Harvard in neutral site action on Sunday.
• Opening faceoff between the Tar Heels and Crimson gets underway at 1 PM, from Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md., streamed on the Corrigan Sports Network.