It was a humbling day at Dorrance Field for the UNC men’s lacrosse team. The Tar Heels fell to Ohio State 20-8 on Saturday afternoon after being outscored 14-3 in the second half.

A back-and-forth first half saw UNC trailing just 6-5 at the end of the second quarter. All-American attackman Chris Gray scored two goals in the half, and assisted on a Jacob Kelly score with four seconds remaining in the second quarter to cut the Buckeye lead down to one goal.

But Ohio State would respond in a big way in the third quarter. The Buckeyes outscored Carolina 8-2 in the period, with a goal just 28 seconds in and two ensuing goals coming within just 13 seconds of one another. Three more unanswered goals to begin the fourth quarter punctuated a 7-0 run from the Buckeyes, turning a competitive 10-7 game into a 17-7 blowout. Ohio State’s Jason Knox would score three consecutive goals in the fourth quarter, giving him four on the day and the Buckeyes 20 in total. Ohio State outshot UNC by a 53-37 margin.

It’s the first time in almost 16 years Carolina has given up 20 goals in a game. The 12-goal loss is its largest in 25 years. Gray recorded yet another hat trick to go along with four assists, but he was one of only four Tar Heels to find the back of the net. In contrast, 11 different Buckeyes scored a goal.

The loss was the third game in a seven-game homestand to begin the season for Carolina. The Tar Heels will host Brown at Dorrance Field on Wednesday at 1 p.m., before a showdown with No. 15 Johns Hopkins marks the first of three consecutive ranked matchups.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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