CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Junior Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) matched his program record with seven goals for the second consecutive game, but the Bryant University men's lacrosse team was held off by No. 5 North Carolina in an 18-16 defeat Tuesday at Dorrance Field.

Bryant scored seven goals in the second quarter from six different scorers to build a 9-7 halftime lead, but North Carolina responded to score eight times in the third quarter and lead the rest of the way.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 5 North Carolina 18, Bryant 16
Records: Bryant (3-4), North Carolina (7-0)
Location: Dorrance Field (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

KEY MOMENTS

• A seven-goal second quarter helped Bryant build a 9-7 halftime lead.
• UNC scored eight goals in the third quarter to build a 15-11 advantage, but Bryant was able to close the deficit to one. The Tar Heels would respond to score the next two and hold off the Bulldogs down the stretch.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• North Carolina jumped out to a 5-1 lead before a goal from freshman Kevin Groeninger (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) in the closing seconds of the opening quarter brought Bryant back within three through 15 minutes.
• Bryant scored the first three goals of the second quarter with two from O'Rourke and one from junior Pat Brosnan (South San Francisco, Calif.) to tie the game 5-5 with 6:57 to go in the second quarter.
• The Tar Heels would retake the lead before two goals in seven seconds from junior Sam Goforth (Chester Springs, Pa.) and junior Emmet Kemble (Clifton, Va.) gave Bryant a 7-6 lead with 5:35 to play before halftime.
• Senior Trevor Weingarten (Allendale, N.J.) scored to push the lead to 8-6 and redshirt-freshman Logan McGovern (Darien, Conn.) answered a Tar Heel goal with 76 seconds to play in the half, sending Bryant to the locker room up 9-7.
• UNC scored the first two goals of the second half to tie the game at nine 72 seconds into the third quarter.
• O'Rourke scored his third of the day to briefly go back in front by one before UNC scored the next four goals to lead 13-10 with 4:53 to play in the third quarter.
• Three goals from O'Rourke and one from junior Austin Kent (Franklin, Va.) helped Bryant get back within one at 16-15 with 5:41 remaining.
• The Tar Heels responded with a pair of goals to go up by three before a Brosnan man-up goal with 3:15 to go cut the deficit to 18-16, but it was the closest the Bulldogs would come.

STATS

• O'Rourke's seven goals brought him to 26 on the year.
• Brosnan recorded the second multi-goal game of his career.
• Nine Bulldogs scored at least one goal in the contest.
• Sophomore Luke Caracciolo (Centreville, Va.) made 15 saves.
• Junior Ryan Baker (Draper, Utah) collected four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
• UNC outshot Bryant, 44-41.
• The Tar Heels held a 44-23 advantage in ground balls and won 25 of 38 face-offs.
• The Bulldogs scored on seven of their 13 shots in the second quarter.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant drops to 0-3 all-time against North Carolina with the three contests decided by a total of four goals.
• The Bulldogs move to 1-5 all-time against ACC competition.
• Bryant falls to 5-12 in its Division I history against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USILA poll.
• The Bulldogs have been leading or tied at the half in six of their seven games.
• O'Rourke jumped to fourth on Bryant's D1 career goals list with 93, passing Cam Ziegler.

UP NEXT
Bryant returns to Beirne Stadium to open NEC play Saturday at noon against Saint Joseph's. Tickets are available by clicking HERE.

Tickets for the 2020 season at Beirne Stadium are available HERE.

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