No. 4 Virginia defeats top-seeded North Carolina in men's lacrosse semifinals
Virginia's Jared Conners (28) drives down the field against North Carolina during the semifinals of men's NCAA Division I tournament at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field Saturday, May 29, 2021, in East Hartford, Conn. Credit: AP/Kassi Jackson
Virginia is one win away from its second-straight men’s lacrosse national championship. But it wasn’t easy.
No. 4 Virginia defeated top-seeded North Carolina, 12-11, in the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. Saturday afternoon.
Virginia (13-4) plays No. 3 Maryland in the final at the same location on Monday at 1 p.m.
Virginia, which won the 2019 national championship, led 9-4 at halftime before North Carolina rallied back in the second half. Virginia never trailed in the second half, but the Tar Heels scored the final three goals of the game and had two possessions in the final minute with the opportunity to send the game into overtime.
"You can’t expect a team like that to lay down, so we had to keep our foot on the pedal," said Connor Shellenberger, who had two goals and four assists for Virginia. "They ended up coming back and we just needed to keep punching back in the fourth quarter and that’s why it was a great game."
Chris Gray, a senior from Wading River, had three goals and two assists for North Carolina. The Tar Heels (13-3) had possession as time expired but were unable to get a shot on goal. Gray fired a shot wide with 29 seconds remaining in the game and North Carolina regained possession following a Virginia turnover with 20 seconds remaining in the contest.
Gray set a North Carolina single-season record in points, finishing the year with 49 goals and 42 assists.
"Going into the locker room, we were obviously down five goals, and it was pretty incredible the way we were able to rally back and cut the deficit down," Gray said. "Just no quit in our team, I think that’s the most important part and that’s something to be proud of for us."
Ian Laviano, of Cold Spring Harbor, had a goal and Petey LaSalla, from Miller Place and graduate of Rocky Point High School, won 15-of-27 faceoffs and had five ground balls for Virginia.
No. 3 Maryland (15-0) keeps its undefeated season going into the national championship game after a 14-5 victory over No. 2 Duke in the semifinals Saturday. Jared Bernhardt led Maryland with five goals and two assists.
Maryland, which last won a national championship in 2017, is looking forward to the matchup with Virginia Monday.
"That program, obviously they are reigning national champions," Maryland coach John Tillman said. "They’re a who’s-who in terms of recruits and they are very talented and always have been."
Maryland outscored Duke, 6-2, in the second quarter to take an 8-3 lead into halftime and led 11-4 after the third quarter.
"I think we were just kind of easing into the game," Bernhardt said. "Final Four game, but just settled down a little bit. We know what we’re capable of. [We needed to] get the ball moving and such and settle down."
Duke (14-3) was filled with Long Island talent that made contributions Saturday. Brennan O'Neill, a St. Anthony’s High School graduate from Bay Shore, had a goal and Cameron Mule, a Half Hollow Hills West High School graduate from Dix Hills, had an assist. Starting defender Kenny Brower, from Massapequa, forced three turnovers and had two ground balls for Duke.
