It wasn’t always easy, but the No. 6 UNC men’s lacrosse team opened its 2022 season with two home wins over Richmond and Colgate.

Carolina took the lead just 30 seconds into the opener against the Spiders on a goal from senior attacker Jacob Kelly, and led 4-0 midway through the first quarter. But Richmond fought back, scoring six of the next seven goals to lead 6-5 at halftime, finishing off the second quarter with three consecutive scores.

“We knew how good Richmond was, how talented they are, very well-coached,” said head coach Joe Breschi, now in his 14th season leading the Tar Heels. “I love how we responded at halftime.”

Indeed, after the Tar Heels and Spiders exchanged two goals apiece to begin the second half, Carolina put the pedal to the metal with three straight goals to end the third quarter, taking a 10-8 lead into the final period. They would finally put away the Spiders with three more goals in the fourth quarter to take a hard-fought 13-9 victory.

Kelly finished with a hat trick and two assists, but the top scorer of the day was preseason National Player of the Year Chris Gray, who finished with four goals and four assists, for a total of eight points. Gray’s 11 shots taken were almost half as many as the entire Richmond team (24). 15 different Tar Heels fired a shot, and seven players found the back of the net. For the game, Carolina outshot the Spiders by a 58-24 margin. UNC sophomore keeper Collin Krieg finished with six saves, anchoring a defense featuring three new starters.

“It’s only going to help us down the road,” said preseason All-American midfielder Connor Maher. “It was a great first game and I thought everyone just kind of grinded and did a great job.”

Maher and the Tar Heels had no such trouble two days later against Colgate in Chapel Hill. Carolina exploded out to a 7-1 lead midway through the first quarter, using a goal from Gray and two apiece from Kelly and junior attackman Lance Tillman to do the damage. UNC would extend that lead to as many as nine goals at 13-4 in the third quarter, with Gray’s seventh goal of the young season punctuating the run.

Gray, Kelly and Tillman were three of 10 Tar Heels who found the back of the net against the Raiders. Junior midfielder P.J. Zisner and senior attackman Nicky Solomon each netted their first goals of 2022 in the rout. On the other end, Krieg once again anchored Carolina’s defense with eight saves on the day.

Now 2-0 in 2022, the Tar Heels will stay at home next weekend when Ohio State visits Dorrance Field.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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