The UNC men’s lacrosse team earned a 13-5 win against Mercer in the 2024 season opener on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. It’s the 26th consecutive year the Tar Heels have won the opener.

Logan McGovern led the way for Carolina with three goals and four assists, and three other Tar Heels scored twice. UNC outshot Mercer 56-41 (37-18 in shots on goal) and won 17 of 21 face-offs.

The game remained close through the third quarter, with Mercer scoring the first goal of the second half to cut UNC’s lead to 5-4. But the Tar Heels scored the next eight goals (two of which came from McGovern) to blow the game open and win going away. Carolina will be back in action when it takes on Fairfield in another neutral-site game February 17 at noon.

The No. 3 women’s team had no such luck in its first game, as the Tar Heels fell on the road to No. 6 James Madison, 19-18 in overtime. Carolina and the Dukes went back and forth all day, with no team leading by more than four goals. The largest advantage of the game came when James Madison scored seven unanswered goals across the second and third quarters to grab a 14-10 lead, but Carolina answered with five unanswered of its own.

The Dukes promptly rattled off four straight goals, only for Carolina to score three in the game’s final 3:04 to tie it at 18-18 and force overtime. Alyssa Long found the back of the net with 17 seconds remaining to temporarily keep the game alive for the Tar Heels. But it wasn’t meant to be for head coach Jenny Levy and company, as the Dukes scored 1:05 into sudden-death overtime to end it. It’s the first time since 2018 UNC has lost its season opener. Ironically, that game also came against James Madison and was also decided in overtime on the road.

Four Tar Heels scored three goals, including senior Caitlyn Wurzburger. Alecia Nicholas started in goal for the Carolina and made three saves in 30 minutes. Nicholas is returning to the field after beating cancer during the fall.

Carolina will be back in action when it hosts Liberty on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Dorrance Field.

 

Featured image via UNC Men’s Lacrosse on Twitter

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