CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 10 North Carolina men's lacrosse team opened its 2008 campaign Saturday by holding Bellarmine scoreless for the last 48:26 of the game en route to a 15-2 victory at sun-drenched Fetzer Field. Five different Tar Heels scored two goals apiece and Carolina rallied with 14 successive goals in the last 39:43 of the match to record an easy win.

Carolina fell behind 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, but the Tar Heel defense then tightened up and allowed the Knights only 11 shots and 17 ground balls in the final three quarters. UNC also forced 15 turnovers and 10 failed clears in the final 45 minutes of play.

Sophomore midfielder Sean Delaney led the Tar Heels with two goals and two assists for four points while junior attackman Michael B. Burns had a three-point day with two goals and an assist. Both junior attackman Bart Wagner and sophomore attackman Gavin Petracca had a goal and two assists, while freshman Billy Bitter added a goal and an assist. Sophomore attackman Kevin Federico, sophomore midfielder Cryder DiPietro and senior midfielder Rob Driscoll each scored two goals for Carolina.

UNC outshot the Knights 51-17, including 35-5 in the middle two periods of action. The Tar Heels had a 55-24 edge in ground balls with 15 of UNC's coming in the second quarter and 22 in the third quarter. Four different Bellarmine goalkeepers combined for 16 saves while allowing 15 goals on 51 Tar Heel shots. Grant Zimmerman played the first 46:29 of the game for UNC and had six saves while allowing two first-quarter goals. Zimmerman also snared five ground balls. Chris Madalon played the final 13:31 in goal for the Heels and made three saves.

Junior athlete Shane Walterhoefer was brilliant in the faceoff circle, winning two-thirds of his draws. He was 12 of 18 overall and had a game-high 11 ground balls. Freshman Michael J. Burns won both of his faceoff attempts for the Heels.

The one concern in the Tar Heel game was the 18 turnovers the Tar Heels committed, including six in the opening period when the Heels fell behind 2-1. Bellarmine had 19 turnovers.

Carolina opened the scoring with 10 minutes left in the first quarter on a goal by midfielder Bobby McAuley. Michael B. Burns sent a pass from behind the goal cross field to the right of the box where McAuley's hard over handed shot found the back of the goal.

Bellarmine seized the lead with a pair of tightly spaced goals later in the quarter. Defenseman Jon Esposito intercepted a UNC clearing pass and motored down the middle of the field untouched to score at 4:45 of the opening period. After a slashing penalty on Bart Wagner at 3:47 of the quarter, Bellarmine scored on the extra-man situation just seconds later with Adam Gardner taking a pass from John Kirk on the right of the crease and scored on the doorstep.

Carolina finally got its offense going in the second period, scoring six goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half to build a 7-2 lead. Sophomore midfielder Cryder DiPietro tied the score at 2-2 with 9:43 left in the half on an extra-man goal. DiPietro took a pass from Bart Wagner on the right side of the box and cranked a rocket into the upper left of the goal while being closely defended. The goal seemed to jump start the Heels' offensive thrust.

Fifty-eight seconds later North Carolina took the lead for good as Wagner took a pass from senior midfielder Nick Tintle and sent an outside shot from the left wing hard and low and into the goal. The Heels made it 4-2 with 6:22 left in the first half on Sean Delaney's first goal of the game, an unassisted tally that was aided by a textbook pick from Bobby McAuley at the top of the box.

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2008-02-16