Chapel Hill, N.C.—Junior attackman Rob
Grimm (Black River, N.Y./Carthage) tied a career-high with
five points, but a Retriever comeback fell short, as No. 11 North
Carolina (3-1) defeated UMBC (1-2),13-9,at Fetzer Field.
Grimm scored three goals and added a pair of assists, while
freshman midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St.
Paul's) and sophomore midfielder Scott
Hopmann (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) added two goals
apiece.
UMBC was 3-for-3 in extra-man opportunities in the game.
North Carolina was paced by attackman Nicky Galasso who scored a
pair of goals and added three assists, while midfielder Marcus
Holman scored four goals.
Trailing 9-2 at the 9:47 mark of the third quarter, UMBC rallied
furiously and closed the gap to 11-8 on a man-up goal by Linkous
with 7:09 to play in the game. After killing off a penalty, UMBC
had two opportunities to close with a pair of goals, but a
Linkous' shot attempt was blocked and Grimm's effort
was stopped by Tar Heel netminder Chris Madalon.
Carolina' Will Campbell would restore the three-goal lead
on an unassisted goal with 3:07 left, but Grimm netted his third
goal with 1:22 remaining to maintain UMBC's hopes. But the
Tar Heels won the ensuing draw and Billy Bitter closed the scoring
at the 1:06 mark to seal the win for the hosts.
UNC struck for the game's first two goals in the first
5:25 of action, but Linkous and freshman attackman Matt
Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) responded with scores to
tie the game at 2-2 with 1:20 to play in the first quarter. But UNC
controlled the ensuing face-off and Galasso netted his first goal
of the game seven seconds later and the Tar Heels led, 3-2, after
15 minutes.
For the second consecutive game, UMBC was blanked in the second
quarter as North Carolina built the lead to 6-2 at intermission.
The Tar Heels outshot UMBC, 24-10, in the first half and extended
the lead to 9-2 before UMBC made its spirited rally.
UMBC junior goalkeeper Brian McCullough (Garden City,
N.Y./Garden City) made a career-high 14 saves, while Madalon
stopped 13 in the Tar Heel net. North Carolina outshot UMBC, 48-30,
and captured 17 of 26 draws.
Grimm has 15 points in his last four outings and extended his
consecutive game scoring streak to eight straight.
The Retrievers return to action on Saturday, March 12 when they
face Johns Hopkins in the Konica-Minolta Face-Off Classic. The
final game of a triple-header of lacrosse takes place at M&T
Bank Stadium at 4:00 p.m.
