Virginia Stumbles at No. 9 North Carolina, 18-9

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In its ACC opener, Virginia (5-6, 0-2 ACC) fell behind early and was out-performed in the second half as No. 9 North Carolina (8-2, 1-0 ACC) cruised to an 18-9 victory in warm, bright conditions at Dorrance Field Saturday afternoon (April 5). 

North Carolina attackman Dominic Pietramala scored a game-high four goals, all of which came in the first half. 

The Cavaliers were led by McCabe Millon, who scored two goals and logged two assists. Midfielder Will Inderlied also notched a pair of goals to record the first multi-goal effort of his career. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Tar Heels scored the first four goals of the game, Virginia stopped the bleeding and mounted a 3-0 run of its own to close out the quarter. After Andrew Greenspan was charged with a violation, Henry Metz won his first draw of the day and barreled down on the cage before firing a shot on the run, which found the back of the net for his first career score. On UVA’s next possession, Millon notched his first goal of the day on a dodge from X. Metz won the ensuing faceoff and Will Inderlied ripped his sixth goal of the year on a left-handed shot after Millon fed him from X. 

Once again, it was all Tar Heels to begin the second as they scored three of the first four goals. Trailing 7-4, the Hoos fired off three straight goals in 1:17, one of which was by Thomas Mencke while man-up. After Inderlied scored his second of the day, Greenspan won a faceoff and charged at the cage unimpeded and his shot got past the UNC keeper to tie the score, 7-7. However, Pietramala’s third goal of the day halted the UVA scoring spree. Carolina held the Cavaliers scoreless for the final 8:40 of the first half and held a 10-7 at the break. 

After Griffin Schutz scored an unassisted goal less than two minutes into the second half, UNC scored four of the next five goals in the third quarter, including an extra-man score to kick-start its run. UNC, which held a 10-9 advantage on faceoffs in the first half, dominated the stripe in the third quarter, 5-1.  

UNC kept UVA off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter and ultimately scored the last six goals of the game.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM 
“Today is a day that is unacceptable for the University of Virginia sports fans, and certainly the lacrosse faithful and alumni. I did not do my job well and did not prepare our team the way it needs to be done—and has been done in the past. Give credit to Coach [Joe] Breschi and his team; they were clearly the better-prepared and coached team today. There’s a spirit, an energy, and a joy that comes from playing this great game, but today we witnessed an opponent play with more of that tempo, secure more loose balls, and thus create more scoring opportunities.  We did receive infusions of juice from our faceoff men with both Andrew Greenspan and Henry Metz scoring goals in the first half. Give credit to those two for battling one of the best faceoff men in the country at a high level and going toe-to-toe with Brady Wambach.” 

NOTES 

• With the win, North Carolina snapped a six-game skid in the all-time series. 
• UVA still leads the series, 59-33. 
• The Tar Heels secured their first-ever win over UVA at Dorrance Field, which opened in 2019. 
• For the second straight game, McCabe Millon (2g, 2a) led UVA in points. 
• Will Inderlied (2g) recorded his first career multi-goal effort. 
• Both of Virginia’s primary faceoff specialists, Andrew Greenspan and Henry Metz, recorded goals.  
• Metz’s goal was the first of his career. 
• Virginia was outshot, 51-32. 
• Carolina successfully cleared the ball on all 17 attempts. The last time a UVA opponent successfully cleared the ball on all of its attempts was North Carolina (in Chapel Hill) on April 10, 2021. 
• UNC scored the last six goals. 
• The Tar Heels held UVA scoreless for the final 24:24, its second-longest scoring drought of the season. 

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers continue their two-game ACC road swing next Saturday (April 12) at Notre Dame (5-3, 1-1 ACC), which is ranked No. 5 in this week’s edition of the USILA poll. Opening faceoff from Arlotta Stadium is set for 5 p.m. on ESPNU. 

Syracuse defeated the Fighting Irish 14-9 in Syracuse, New York, Saturday afternoon.