Wading River's Chris Gray helps send top-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse to NCAA Final Four
Chris Gray #4 of North Carolina, right, gets pressured by Bobby Russo #88 of Rutgers during the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse quarterfinals at Shuart Stadium, located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Credit: James Escher
Chris Gray is one of the final five in men’s lacrosse up for the Tewaaraton Award that goes to the nation’s top player. He’s now in the Final Four, too.
The prolific senior attackman from Wading River helped send North Carolina there not with a goal, but by causing a turnover.
That resulted in Connor McCarthy scoring with 1:38 left in overtime Saturday, ending the top-seeded Tar Heels’ epic struggle with unseeded Rutgers. They emerged with a 12-11 win in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
So UNC (13-2) will play in the semifinals for the first time since it claimed first prize in 2016. It will face another ACC team next Saturday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Fourth-seeded Virginia (12-4), the defending champ from the pre-pandemic days of 2019, trounced No. 5 Georgetown, 14-3, in the other quarterfinal at Shuart.
"It means everything," Gray said. "I think this is why people come to UNC. You really come to win a national championship . . . Obviously, this will be my first Final Four, so I’m really excited for that."
Gray lost his 31-game goal-scoring streak, which included 10 as a Boston University sophomore. But the ACC Offensive Player of the Year contributed three assists. He also came over and chopped the ball away from Connor Kirst on an attempted clear, forcing the pivotal turnover.
"Cris just sells out and makes a huge play to give [McCarthy] an opportunity to win the game," North Carolina coach Joe Breschi said.
The Scarlet Knights (9-4) lost when McCarthy closed in from the right side and beat Colin Kirst. It capped a game that was tied at 1 after one quarter, tied at 3 by halftime and tied at 7 after three. Stony Brook’s Collin Krieg also helped with 10 saves for the Tar Heels.
"North Carolina is a good team; they’re the No. 1-ranked team in the country," said Rutgers coach Brian Brecht, a Sachem grad. " . . . Just inches, seconds, one play away."
Virginia, which went 1-1 against UNC during the regular season, owned a 10-1 cushion over Georgetown (13-3) by halftime.
Connor Shellenberger paced the Cavaliers overall with six goals and one assist. Laurel Hollow’s Ian Laviano scored two goals and Miller Place’s Petey LaSalla contributed a goal and was 15-for-19 in faceoff work.
Ian Laviano #3 of Virginia, right, a graduate of Cold Spring Harbor High School, gets congratulated by teammate Connor Shellenberger #1 after scoring the opening goal in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse quarterfinals against Georgetown at Shuart Stadium, located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Virginia went to win by a score of 14-3. Credit: James Escher
James Reilly, the Hoyas’ primary faceoff man, suffered a leg injury in the first minute and only appeared twice at the "X."
"It was a big blow," said coach Kevin Warne, a former standout at Hofstra.
LaSalla, who arrived with a .626 faceoff winning percentage, won 4 of 5 in the first quarter. Laviano scored the first goal, and Virginia had a 4-1 lead after 15 minutes.
Then LaSalla won the opening faceoff of the second quarter. The junior collected one of his team-high nine ground balls, went on a long run and scored.
As Shellenberger put it, "His success is so crucial to our success."
