CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Junior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman had career highs in saves and ground balls and junior midfielder Ben Hunt scored a career-high five goals as fourth-ranked North Carolina defeated fifth-ranked Notre Dame 8-6 Saturday afternoon in men's lacrosse action before 1,312 fans at chilly Fetzer Field. The win boosts the Tar Heels to 4-0, while Notre Dame falls for the first time this season and is now 4-1.

This marks Carolina's first 4-0 start since the Tar Heels opened the 2002 season with a 6-0 mark. In the last six days, the Heels have beaten a pair of teams ranked No. 5 in the USILA coaches poll as the Tar Heels dispatched Cornell 13-8 last Sunday at Fetzer Field prior to their Saturday decision versus the Irish.

UNC jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game before holding off a furious second half rally by the Fighting Irish. Zimmerman's goalkeeping was superb and his play helped the Tar Heels overcome some statistical disadvantages in other aspects of the game. But the Heels played relentless defense and benefitted from good shot selection on the offensive end.

Zimmerman finished with 18 saves while allowing only six goals. His previous career high save total was 15 in 2007 against both Johns Hopkins and Virginia. His eight ground balls equaled the eight he had against the Blue Jays last year. Hunt's five goals exceeded his previous personal best totals of three set last year against Dartmouth, Navy and Fairfield. Hunt also had an assist for a six-point day while junior midfielder Sean Delaney had a pair of third-quarter unassisted goals that were key in stemming the tide of Notre Dame's second-half rally.

Hunt opened the scoring with 5:45 left in the opening quarter on a man-up goal assisted by junior attackman Bart Wagner. Hunt caught the ball on the left side of the box, took a couple of steps and was able to measure his well-placed shot which escaped Joey Kemp, who also played very well, making 11 saves and allowing only eight goals. Just 58 seconds after the first goal, Nick Tintle fed a nifty pass to Hunt who finished his scoring opportunity again to make the score 2-0.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman and the Tar Heel defense was keeping Notre Dame off the scoreboard in the first half as the Irish had 15 shots, but Zimmerman's seven saves helped the Tar Heels build a 4-0 edge at the half. UNC added two goals in the second quarter. Hunt scored his third straight goal in the game, with another assist by Tintle, to increase the lead to 3-0 with 8:06 left in the period. Carolina added another goal in the final minute of the first half as Hunt found a streaking Rob Driscoll, who split the Notre Dame defense, and rocketed a shot past Kemp from 15 yards out. Driscoll's goal made the score 4-0 just 41 seconds before the end of the half.

In the second half, the Fighting Irish scrapped their way back into the game, outshooting Carolina 26-12 after halftime and winning nine of the 11 face-offs in the second half. Carolina did not help itself, turning the ball over eight times in the second half and failing on four clears but Zimmerman and the Heels' defense prevailed in the end.

The Tar Heels gained their biggest edge of the day at 5-0 on Hunt's fourth goal, an unassisted tally just 46 seconds into the half. Shortly after that, the Heels faced a two-man down situation with Ryan Flanagan having been called for two slashing penalties and Fletcher Gregory for a pushing foul. Notre Dame capitalized on an extra-man goal by Michael Podgajny assisted by Grant Krebs with 12:51 left in the quarter. Just 1:07 later, Podgajny scored his second straight goal, assisted by Peter Christman, to make the score 5-2.

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2008-03-08