CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Third-ranked North Carolina went on a 9-0 scoring run to break open a close game, going on to defeat Dartmouth 15-6 in men's lacrosse action Friday night before a crowd of 1,123 at Fetzer Field. Ten different Tar Heel players scored goals in the game and nine UNC players had assists as Carolina scored in double figures for the 15th time in the last 16 games. It was also the seventh time this season UNC's defense has limited its opponent to seven goals or less.

Senior midfielder Sean DeLaney matched his career high with five points to lead the Tar Heels as he exceeded the 100-point standard for his career. The Tar Heel co-captain now has 102 points on 76 goals and 26 assists.

With the win UNC improves to 8-0 on the campaign, the best start for the team since the 1993 NCAA runner-up team began its campaign with nine straight wins. Dartmouth, playing its first ranked team of the year, fell to 2-2 overall before a game at Duke next Tuesday.

Besides DeLaney's three goals and two assists, Carolina got three goals and an assist from senior attackman Gavin Petracca and two goals and two assists from sophomore midfielder Jimmy Dunster, who now has nine points in the last two games. Dunster has nine of his 15 points this season in the past two matches.

Cryder DiPietro matched his career highs with three points and two assists to go with a goal while Billy Bitter and Marcus Holman both had a goal and an assist. Carolina also benefitted from the first career goal by Jeff Muscatello and single goals from long-stick defensive midfielder Mark Staines and midfielder Chris Hunt. Logan Corey, Joe Howard and Sean Jackson all etched their names in the scorebook with assists.

Josh Etzion led the Big Green with two goals and an assist while Chris Costabile scored twice for Dartmouth and Ari Sussman had a goal and two assists.

UNC dominated the game statistically as the Tar Heels outshot the Big Green 43-22, including a 29-10 margin in the second and third quarters combined. UNC also won the ground ball battle 35-21 with Tyler Morton and Chris Hunt both claiming a team-high five. UNC dominated at the face-off X, winning 16 of 25 as Michael Burns won 10 of 14, Mark Staines 4 of 8 and William Scroggs 2 of 3. Burns' 71 percent success rate at the X was the highest of his career in a single game.

The riding and clearing game was a definite asset for the Heels as UNC converted 18 of 19 clears while Dartmouth was successful on only 13 of 25. The Big Green had 23 turnovers in the game and UNC had 13. Ten different Carolina players were responsible for 13 caused turnovers led by two each by Michael Jarvis, Charlie McComas and Mark Staines.

In the goal, Chris Madalon played the first 45 minutes for UNC, making six saves and allowing three goals. Steven Rastivo played the final 15 minutes and had a pair of saves. Michael Novosel played 55:53 of the game for the Big Green, making 12 saves and allowing 15 goals. Novosel kept the Tar Heels at bay in the first quarter but UNC started to find gaps in the Dartmouth zone beginning in the second quarter. The Tar Heels scored on 11 of their 17 shots on goal in the middle two quarters combined.

The game was a defensive struggle in the first quarter as the period ended with the game tied at 1-1. Novosel made three saves in the opening stanza to stymie the Tar Heels while Carolina forced Dartmouth in seven turnovers in the frame and allowed only four shots by the Big Green. The opening goal of the game came off a failed clear by Dartmouth as Sean DeLaney force a turnover and Jimmy Dunster came down to score an unassisted goal with 4:01 left in the first quarter. Dartmouth tied the game with 2:09 to play in the first quarter. After Chris Madalon made a save on a shot by Chris Costabile, Michael Jarvis claimed the ground ball for the Tar Heels but he was immediately stripped of possession by Josh Etzion. Etzion picked up the ground ball and scored one-on-one against Madalon.

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2010-03-20