UNC Men’s Lacrosse Beats No. 3 Syracuse in ACC Opener

No. 2 UNC earned another ranked win Saturday in a heavyweight clash vs. No. 3 Syracuse, beating the Orange 14-9 at Dorrance Field.

UNC took a 1-0 lead inside a minute off an opening goal from Dominic Pietramala, but fell behind later in the quarter as Syracuse took a 3-2 lead with 1:13 to go. The Tar Heels got a critical answer off the stick of Peter Thomann just 13 seconds later to even the score, and Ty English scored with 3 seconds remaining in the period to give Carolina the lead back at 4-3.

The Tar Heels rode that momentum into the second quarter, scoring four consecutive goals to take an 8-3 lead. Syracuse cut the deficit to 8-5 at halftime, but UNC stretched the lead back out to 12-6 in the third quarter thanks to two more goals from Pietramala. The redshirt junior attackman put the capper on the day with his fifth and final goal midway through the fourth quarter.

Pietramala finished the game with 10 total shots, four more than any individual Orange player. He anchored a UNC offense which outshot Syracuse 41-36, though shots on goal were more even: Carolina led 25-24. Notably, UNC won 17 of 27 total face-offs.

The third-ranked Orange are the sixth ranked team to fall to the Tar Heels this season. Carolina has now won five consecutive games and is 10-1 overall and 1-0 in ACC play. The team will be back in action when it visits No. 4 Notre Dame in South Bend next Saturday, April 11 at 5 p.m.

Featured image via UNC Men’s Lacrosse on Twitter

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

‹

Photo Gallery: UNC Men's, Women's Lacrosse Win NCAA Tournament Openers in Chapel Hill

Both the UNC men’s and women’s lacrosse teams hosted NCAA Tournament action at Dorrance Field during the weekend. The No. 3 seeded men’s team earned a blowout, first round victory against Albany on Saturday, before the No. 2 seeded women’s team handled Clemson on Sunday after having a bye in the first round. Check out […]

Pietramala's Record-Breaking Day Helps UNC Men's Lacrosse Beat Albany in NCAA Tournament

UNC junior attackman Dominic Pietramala rewrote several record books in a 24-6 Tar Heel win against Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday in Chapel Hill. The win was the Tar Heels’ first in the NCAA Tournament since 2021. 🗣️ HEELS WIN#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/2tGpLXLAB1 — UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) May 9, […]

4 UNC Lacrosse Players Named First Team All-Americans, Several Others Honored

A combined four players between the UNC men’s and women’s lacrosse teams were named as first team All-Americans by USA Lacrosse this week. Brady Wambach earned first team honors on the men’s team, while Chloe Humphrey, Sam Forrest and Eliza Osburn each earned nods on the women’s team. Wambach, a junior faceoff specialist, has already […]

UNC Women's Lacrosse No. 2 Overall Seed, Men No. 3 in NCAA Tournament

The UNC men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are both national seeds in their respective NCAA Tournament fields, which were announced Sunday night. The women’s team is the No. 2 overall seed in the bracket, while the men are No. 3 overall. On the women’s side, the Tar Heels earned the No. 2 overall seed despite […]

UNC Men's Lacrosse Falls to Virginia in ACC Championship Game

Virginia scored 11 unanswered goals to end the first half to blow open the ACC Championship game early and beat UNC 16-6 in Charlotte Sunday. Carolina is still searching for its first conference tournament title since 2017. The Tar Heels had opened on the front foot, scoring two goals in the first five minutes to […]

UNC Men's Lacrosse Beats Syracuse, Will Face Virginia in ACC Championship

UNC fought back from multiple deficits Friday night against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinals in Charlotte and finished strong to defeat the Orange 12-10. 🗣️HEELS WIN #GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/BOPH3HoE0G — UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) May 2, 2026 A low-scoring first quarter ended with the two teams tied 1-1, but Syracuse opened up a […]

UNC Men's Lacrosse Falls to No. 16 Duke in Regular Season Finale

No. 16 Duke raced out to an early lead and never looked back in a 16-12 win against UNC Saturday at Dorrance Field in the regular season finale for both sides. The Tar Heels found themselves down 2-0 inside of two minutes played, then trailing 4-0 before finally finding the back of the net late […]

Overtime Winner Helps UNC Men's Lacrosse Escape No. 8 Virginia

Despite losing a four-goal lead in the final 5:28 of regulation, UNC found a winning goal in sudden-death overtime to beat No. 8 Virginia 16-15 in a thriller in Charlottesville Saturday. 🗣 HEELS WIN#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/Y9oX8zVRcf — UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) April 18, 2026 In a topsy-turvy game, the Tar Heels found themselves trailing […]

No. 1 UNC Men's Lacrosse Falls at No. 2 Notre Dame

In a matchup of the two top-ranked teams in the nation, No. 2 Notre Dame got the better of No. 1 UNC Saturday in South Bend, outscoring the Tar Heels 6-2 in the second half to earn a 10-5 win. Carolina started on the front foot after Dominic Pietramala and Brevin Wilson each netted goals […]

UNC Men's Lacrosse Beats No. 3 Syracuse in ACC Opener

No. 2 UNC earned another ranked win Saturday in a heavyweight clash vs. No. 3 Syracuse, beating the Orange 14-9 at Dorrance Field. 🗣️ HEELS WIN#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/KVdR277PVR — UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) April 4, 2026 UNC took a 1-0 lead inside a minute off an opening goal from Dominic Pietramala, but fell behind […]

›