North Carolina rallied from a five-goal deficit to defeat top-ranked Notre Dame and stand alone in the NCAA.com Division I Men’s Lacrosse Team of the Week considerations.
The Tar Heels trailed 15-10 with 10 minutes to play before scoring seven unanswered goals for the 17-15 win in front of 3,371 fans at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The victory secured North Carolina the No. 1 seed for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship that begins Friday, April 29. The Tar Heels will face fourth-seeded Syracuse to begin the ACC tournament.
Luke Goldstock scored five of his six points in the fourth quarter. First, assisting Michael Tagliaferri’s goal at 8:16 to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 15-12 and then netting back-to-back goals within a minute to put the Tar Heels within one point of the Irish. Goldstock finished with an assist on North Carolina’s final goal, scored by Patrick Kelly with 1:49 to play.
Kelly won 19 of 35 faceoffs, including seven of 10 in the fourth, and grabbed a season-high 12 ground balls. He scored the game-winning goal, putting the Tar Heels ahead 16-15, off his faceoff win with 2:50 remaining.
