University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#10 North Carolina
Massachusetts Upsets No. 10 North Carolina, 14-9
March 12, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse freshman attack Tyler Bogart scored three times and sophomore goalie Dan Dolan tallied a career high 18 saves as the Minutemen upset No. 10 North Carolina at Garber Field Saturday afternoon.
Bogart dedicated the game to his uncle, Paul Jacobs, who passed away on Wed., March 9 after an extended battle with leukemia. His three goals marked a career high as the Newton, Massachusetts, native scored twice in the second quarter and once more in the fourth.
Dolan's 18 saves marks the most by a UMass goalie since the 2013 season when Zach Oliveri also had 18 in a 12-11 victory over No. 4 North Carolina on Feb. 16. After he made two saves in the first quarter, Dolan notched six in the second and five each in the third and fourth quarters as the Minutemen weathered the North Carolina comeback try.
Brendan Hegarty, Dan Muller and Ben Spencer added two goals each while Muller collected two assists and Hegarty dished out one. Jake Lisauskas, Gianni Bianchin, Jake Marino and Tyler Weeks scored once apiece.
Kyle Karaska led the defensive effort in front of Dolan with three groundballs and as many caused turnovers. Six additional Minutemen created one UNC turnover each as the team combined for nine forced in the game. The groundball effort was also balanced across the team as Dylan Gruder, Kurt Hunziker and Shane Rinkus tied with Karaska for the team high in the category.
Steve Pontrello led the Tar Heels with three goals and two assists while Chris Cloutier scored twice and helped out on two more North Carolina conversions. Luke Goldstock added a pair of goals as well.
The Minutemen never trailed after Carr's game-opening strike only 49 seconds into the contest, but had to fight off a pair of North Carolina rallying attempts to secure the team's second victory over a ranked team this season.
Already ahead, 3-2, Bogart sandwiched his first two strikes around Muller's initial goal of the day for a 6-2 advantage with eight minutes to play in the second quarter. For his second, Bogart scooped up a loose ball after Carr caused an Evan Connell turnover and quickly fired in a shot from straightaway 15 yards out before the defense could adjust to the change of possession.
The Tar Heels rallied back with four of the next five goals spanning into the middle of the third quarter to cut to within one goal of tying. Cloutier and Pontrello keyed the UNC run as Cloutier hit the first two goals before Pontrello followed with a back-to-back streak of his own.
Lisauskas reenergized the offense when he sidestepped a defender, reached back and ripped a shot low before Tar Heels goalie Brian Balkam's reaction to the 8-6 advantage. It started a streak of five consecutive goals by UMass, which included both of Hegarty's tallies as well as one each from Bianchin and Marino.
Back-to-back man-up conversions from Goldstock and Pontrello ended the Minuteman scoring streak and brought the Tar Heels within four of tying with more than nine minutes still to play.
However, Bogart responded for the Maroon and White and silenced the rally. For the hat trick, Bogart raced toward the crease as Hegarty cradled possession goal line extended with the cage even with his right shoulder. As Bogart broke for the crease, Hegarty dished into the middle of the field for Bogart, who converted on a catch-and-shoot at full stride
The Maroon and White go on the road for their next contest with a trip to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a Sat., March 19 contest against Penn State at Noon. For more information on the Minutemen follow the men's lacrosse program on Twitter through @UMassMLacrosse.
