UNC men’s lacrosse falls flat against Duke

The third-ranked Carolina men’s lacrosse team ended the regular season on a sour note with a 16-12 loss to #17 Duke on Saturday. The Tar Heels (11-3, 2-2 ACC) didn’t get on the scoreboard until almost 13 minutes into the game, at which point the Blue Devils (9-4, 1-3) had climbed out to a 4-0 lead.

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What is the story about?

The third-ranked Carolina men’s lacrosse team ended the regular season on a sour note with a 16-12 loss to #17 Duke on Saturday.

The Tar Heels (11-3, 2-2 ACC) didn’t get on the scoreboard until almost 13 minutes into the game, at which point the Blue Devils (9-4, 1-3) had climbed out to a 4-0 lead. UNC drew within 5-3 about five minutes into the second quarter, but Duke scored six straight goals to make it 11-3 going into halftime. The fourth quarter began with Carolina trailing 15-8.

Duke’s 16 goals

are the most UNC has allowed this season, topping the 15 the Tar Heels allowed against Virginia on April 18. Carolina was outshot 47-37, including 26-24 in shots on goal, and lost the ground ball battle 31-25. The Tar Heels did win the faceoff battle 18-13 and matched the Blue Devils with 14 turnovers.

Individually, redshirt junior Dominic Pietramala led Carolina with four goals, and freshman Gary Merrill recorded a career-high four assists. Freshman goalie Josh Marcus stopped 10 shots, marking his seventh game with double digit saves this season.

UNC is the #2 seed in the ACC Tournament and will face #3 seed Syracuse in the semifinals on May 1. The game starts at 8:00 PM ET and will be broadcast on ACC Network. The Tar Heels beat the Orange 14-9 on April 4.