The No. 8 Virginia men’s lacrosse team dropped its second conference game in a row Saturday, falling 11-10 to No. 5 North Carolina. The loss drops the Cavaliers to just 1-3 in ACC play.
North Carolina (8-2, 2-2 ACC) jumped out to an early lead, scoring less than three minutes into the game. Virginia (8-4, 1-3 ACC) senior midfielder Chris LaPierre fired home a shot with 7:03 to play in the first quarter to even the score at one. The Tar Heels quickly responded, though, and took a 3-1 lead into the second quarter.
The Cavaliers started the second quarter with a run of their own, again evening the score 4-4. It appeared that North Carolina would take a one-goal lead into the intermission, as junior attackman Jimmy Bitter scored his second goal of the game with just more than a minute to play. But Virginia won the ensuing faceoff and senior attackman Mark Cockerton put away the equalizer as time expired.
Virginia took its first lead of the game 59 seconds into the third quarter, with sophomore attackman James Pannell tallying his first goal of the game. The teams continued trading body blows for the remainder of the third quarter and the Tar Heels carried a 9-8 lead into the final quarter.
Limited to just nine shots in the entire second half a week ago at Maryland, Virginia began the fourth quarter much more strongly against North Carolina. Cockerton and sophomore midfielder Greg Coholan both scored to give Virginia a 10-9 advantage with 3:38 to play.
The Tar Heels found life with time winding down, however, and tied the game a minute later. The tying goal re-energized North Carolina, and senior midfielder R.G. Keenan won the ensuing faceoff and scored the game-winner just five seconds later.
The Cavaliers won the following faceoff and had a chance to tie the game, but Pannell turned the ball over with less than a minute to play. The Tar Heels committed a 30 second violation on their ensuing possession, giving Virginia a final chance to force overtime, but another late turnover sealed the team’s fate.
Virginia will be back in action Friday when No. 3 Duke visits Klöckner Stadium. Faceoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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