Big Green Drop First Game of Season, Falling at No. 13 UNC

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Next Game:

at Hampton

3/21/2023 | 3:00 PM

FloSports

Mar. 21 (Tue) / 3:00 PM

at Hampton

History { element.remove(); }); } else{ let elementsToRemove = document.querySelectorAll(‘.postgame_3_nextgame’); elementsToRemove.forEach(element => { element.remove(); }); } ]]> CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC scored 21 of its 25 goals in the first and third quarters, which proved too much for the Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team to overcome, as despite a stellar day at the faceoff X from senior Mitchell Myers, the Big Green fell 25-7 on Sunday afternoon. Myers finished 24-of-34 with 11 groundballs, continuing one of the top seasons for a faceoff specialist in the nation so far in 2023. The loss marks Dartmouth’s first of the season, as the Big Green and Notre Dame were the only two remaining unbeaten teams entering the day.

Dartmouth falls to 4-1 overall while North Carolina improves to 5-3.

“Obviously, tough game today,” said Dartmouth head coach Brendan Callahan. “Carolina jumped out to a fast start on us and we never really recovered. They do a great job in the middle of the field with their ride and we weren’t able to handle that, had a bunch of turnovers early, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Credit to them. They came out flying today.”

Myers consistently gave Dartmouth possession off the faceoff, but the Big Green turned the ball over 29 times, 13 coming in the first quarter which played a key role in UNC jumping out to an 11-0 lead. Dartmouth responded by scoring five of the seven second-quarter goals, but the Tar Heels erased any doubt with a 10-1 third quarter.

Myers has now won 68.5 percent of his faceoffs on the season (98-of-143) with 51 groundballs.

“Mitch did another great job today,” said Callahan. “A bunch of groundballs and competed really well. That did give us some sparks. Then we got down to the offensive end and really struggled to get going. It’s clear they had a game plan for us and had some good stuff that they did. We’ll have to make some adjustments as we move forward.”

Sophomore Colin McGill led the offense with two goals and an assist while junior Nate Davis also had a goal and two assists. Sophomore Quinn Moore scored twice to round out Dartmouth players with multiple points. 

North Carolina came out with a vengeance, scoring nine goals in the game’s first 8:14. The margin eventually reached 11, but Dartmouth began the second quarter on a 3-0 run, behind goals from Moore and McGill twice. The Big Green also ended the first half with two of the final three goals, including one from freshman Cameron Brown with just a second remaining, to pull within 13-5 after 30 minutes of play.

Clock stopped with 8.7 seconds?@DartmouthMLax has a set piece for that

(via ACCN) pic.twitter.com/qKadFjqAcM

— TLN 🥍 (@LacrosseNetwork) March 19, 2023

UNC began the third quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 21-5 lead, on the way to the 25-7 final. Second-half Dartmouth goals were scored by senior Tommy Rogan and Moore.

For the game, UNC held a 47-25 edge in shots and 41-29 advantage in groundballs. While Dartmouth had 29 turnovers, the Tar Heels had 12. UNC was 3-of-4 on the extra man while the Big Green were 1-of-6.

“The last two times we’ve been out, first quarters have been slow for us,” said Callahan. “We need to get that figured out here before Tuesday.”

Dartmouth will look to rebound on Tuesday when it travels to Hampton for its first-ever meeting against the Pirates. Gametime is set for 3 p.m. on FloSports.

After our face-off against UNC today, Coach Callahan speaks on the game’s highlights and shadows as we move on to playing Hampton in just a few days. As always, Go Big Green#TheWoods #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/byg1aUr7xR

— Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse (@DartmouthMLax) March 19, 2023