Over 5,000 people were in attendance in Hempstead, N.Y., to watch the nation’s fourth-leading scorer Marcus Holman and the third-ranked North Carolina men’s lacrosse team extend its winning-streak to six with a 14-5 win over No. 20 Hofstra on Saturday.
Holman led the way for UNC with three goals and four assists for the game.
The Pride (7-5, 2-2 Colonial Athletic Association) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead behind first period goals from Sam Llinares and Lance Yapor, but the Tar Heels (9-3, 3-1 CAA) tied up the game at two goals a piece by the end of the first.
Hofstra remained competitive with UNC throughout the first half, taking a 5-3 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the second.
Things looked promising for the Pride early, but the Tar Heels quickly pulled away with 10 unanswered goals in the second half.
UNC took 28 of its 48 shots in the second half to Hofstra’s 15 second half attempts. The Heels took a total of 37 groundballs and won 13 of the 24 face-offs in the victory, establishing themselves as the No. 1 defense in the country, allowing just 6.36 goals per game.
Hofstra goalie Chris Selva made 17 saves in the defeat, while UNC’s Kieran Burke had 12 of the 13 saves in the win.
Up next for the Pride is a meeting at UMass Saturday at 7 p.m.
Tigers drop thriller at PSU
Towson gave No. 11 Penn State all it could handle at University Park, but ultimately fell, 10-8, to its conference rival on Saturday.
Both teams had 33 shots on goal, while the Nittany Lions (9-3, 4-0 Colonial Athletic Association) held a slight edge in groundballs, 27-24, as well as in face-offs (18-16).
There were three ties over the course of the game, but Penn State reeled off four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead midway through the third quarter. The Nittany Lions took their biggest lead at 8-4 before the Tigers (7-6, 3-1 CAA) cut the advantage in half.
Penn State’s T.J. Sanders dominated with five goals, while Jack Forster contributed with a goal and three assists and goalkeeper Austin Kaut made nine saves.
Towson’s Justin Mabus added two goals and an assist while Andrew Wascavage had 11 saves in the net.
The Tigers had won five of their previous six games before taking on PSU, a big improvement after starting the season 0-3. While Penn State had a three game slide early in the season as well, they went on a tear and have won seven in a row dating back to March 16.
Hens hand Hawks loss
In a battle between two struggling teams this season, Delaware topped Saint Joseph’s 11-6 in Philadelphia.
The Hawks (5-8, 1-4 CAA) never saw their lead survive past the first period as the Blue Hens (5-8, 1-3 CAA) scored five-straight goals early.
Delaware dominated everything from shots (40-27) to groundballs (32-16) to face-offs (16 to 5).
The Hens’ Nick Diachenko added two goals and two assists and goalie Conor Peaks had 12 saves on the day. Delaware has now won three games in a row with its next game coming against Penn State at home Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Hawks have dropped four of their last five and look to get back in the win column when they take on Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday at 1 p.m.
Frank Corona can be reached at [email protected].
