The No. 12 UNC men’s lacrosse team avoided its second consecutive loss Wednesday afternoon at Dorrance Field, but it wasn’t always a sure thing. The Tar Heels and Brown went at it for a full 60 minutes, and only a career performance from sophomore midfielder Cole Herbert allowed Carolina to escape with a 14-11 win.

Herbert netted a career-high four goals Wednesday, the last two of which came in a critical 3-0 run in the fourth quarter to give the Tar Heels the lead for good.

Herbert’s first goal of the game opened the scoring, and was part of a trio of unanswered goals from Carolina in the first quarter. But the UNC lead wouldn’t survive the period, as the Bears scored four of the next five goals, and the teams entered the second quarter deadlocked at 4-4. Senior attackmen Chris Gray and Jacob Kelly would each find the back of the net on go-ahead goals in the quarter, but once again Brown had an answer for each one, sending the game to halftime tied at 7-7.

Herbert’s second goal of the day tied the game at 9-9 in the third, and Gray’s second followed less than two minutes later to give Carolina the lead again. Kelly scored once more to open the fourth quarter, and Carolina had its first multi-goal lead since the first quarter. But Brown struck twice in the span of 21 seconds to tie it at 11-11, setting up a nervy final 10 minutes in Chapel Hill.

More than six minutes would pass before Herbert’s third and fourth goals, each on man-advantage plays for the Tar Heels, restored the two-goal lead. Kelly would ice the game with 52 seconds left, completing a hat trick and putting the finishing touches on an outstanding performance. Herbert led the team in goals, but Kelly doubled him up in points with three goals and a career-high five assists. Gray had five points with his two goals and three assists while taking a team-high 10 shots. Goalie Collin Krieg made a season-high 17 saves on the defensive end.

Wednesday’s game was the fourth in a seven-game homestand to open the season for Carolina. It will conclude with three straight visits from ranked opponents. No. 13 Johns Hopkins will face off with the Tar Heels Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Eight goals from Gray helped UNC earn a win in its last meeting with the Blue Jays in 2020.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Men's Lacrosse's Season Ends vs. Syracuse in NCAA Quarterfinals
Despite leading 6-2 in the second quarter, UNC fell to No. 6 overall seed Syracuse 13-11 in the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y. The Tar Heels’ season is over. Carolina, the No. 3 overall seed in the field, had taken its early lead thanks to three goals in rapid succession from Brady Wambach, Anthony […]
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 […]
›