UNC pushes defending NCAA men’s lacrosse national champion Virginia to the brink

Virginia came up with the best possible plan for dealing with the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team’s potent offense.

It kept the ball away from the Tar Heels long enough to build a lead North Carolina could never fully erase.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers seized control during a four-minute stretch in the second quarter when North Carolina never possessed the ball, then fended off a late rally for a 12-11 victory in an NCAA semifinal at Rentschler Field.

“These guys laid it all on the line and gave us everything they had throughout the year, and they certainly did here when the chips were down 9-4 at halftime,” coach Joe Breschi said. “They weren’t rattled. They didn’t flinch. They just came out and played the way we’ve played all year. It gave us a chance to win. We just ran out of time.”

Attackman Chris Gray, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, had three goals and two assists, and William Perry added five goals for the top-seeded Tar Heels (13-3), who suffered two of their three losses to Virginia.

It was North Carolina’s first trip to the sport’s final four since 2016, when it won its fifth national title.

Petey LaSalla won 15 of 27 faceoffs for the Cavaliers (13-4), who advanced to Monday’s title game to face either second-seeded Duke or third-seeded Maryland. Connor Shellenberger had two goals and four assists, and Alex Rode made 15 saves for Virginia.

North Carolina trailed by as many as five, but closed within 12-11 on Perry’s goal with 3:05 remaining. But the Cavaliers denied the Tar Heels several opportunities from there, including when North Carolina came out of a timeout with 20 seconds remaining.

Gray came off a pick and was matched up with Virginia short stick defensive midfielder Chris Merle, who pressed out in an attempt to disrupt the Tar Heels star. Gray then tried to feed it inside, but defenseman Cole Kastner knocked down a pass to prevent North Carolina a shot in the closing seconds.

“They did a great job as a defense and unfortunately we didn’t get the best look at the end,” Gray said. “Just a tough loss.”

North Carolina led 4-3 early in the second quarter, but Virginia rattled off the final six goals of the half to take control.

In the middle of it all was LaSalla, who won all nine faceoffs that quarter. At one point, Virginia scored four goals in a span of 2:07 without ever allowing the Tar Heels to secure the ball.

“It was really possessions,” Breschi said. “We just didn’t have possessions in the second quarter. You have a senior-laden team that works its tail off and has put us in this position, and we just kept battling.”

The Tar Heels closed within 10-8 late in the third quarter, and Gray appeared poised to tie it after taking a crow hop on the way to the cage during an extra-man opportunity. But Rode made the save, and Virginia’s Payton Cormier beat goalie Collin Krieg (five saves) a minute later to re-establish a cushion.

North Carolina went 0 for 5 in extra-man opportunities.

Still, the Tar Heels made things interesting in the closing minutes. Gray scored once in the fourth quarter and Perry added two goals to cut the deficit to one for the first time since the middle of the second quarter.

North Carolina’s ferocious ride flustered Virginia in the final period, playing a part in the Cavaliers’ eight turnovers in the fourth quarter. But Virginia never surrendered the lead, getting the late stop to deny the Tar Heels a chance to play on the final day of the season.

“It was pretty incredible the way we were able to rally back and cut the deficit down,” Gray said. “There was no quit in our team and that was the most important part. That’s something for us to be proud of.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2021 at 2:34 PM.