UNC vs. Army, Mens lacrosse preview

March 29 will see several big-time matchups in college lacrosse, but no matchup is bigger or better than the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels vs No. 9 Army Black Knights.

The top 10 matchup is scheduled for a first draw at noon at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. This will serve as the final non-conference game for both teams before they finish out the season with four straight conference games.

This matchup will be crucial for both teams to bolster their at-large resumes if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.

Each Team’s Resume

The Tar Heels enter this game with a record of 7-1 and a record of 2-0 in road games. They have won three straight games, however it was not against top-tier competition.

That is not to discount their resume, as they hold wins over multiple ranked teams, including No. 14 Johns Hopkins and No. 19 Michigan. They also knocked off a Penn team that received votes in the latest edition of the USILA Coaches Poll.

They are currently ranked third in RPI. The caveat to all of those wins is that they came at home, so this will be the first big test for the Tar Heels away from Chapel Hill.

As for the Black Knights, they enter the game with a record of 7-1, with their most recent game being their first loss of the year. They fell to Boston University in overtime 10-9 on March 22, so this could be a major bounce back spot if the Black Knights pull off the upset.

They are currently ranked at 12 in the RPI, the best mark of any team in the Patriot League. However if they lose this game, they may have to win the Patriot League if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.

This would be their best win of the season, which would leapfrog their 16-9 win over currently unranked Yale. They have a 2-1 record in home games this season, although their most recent game was the aforementioned loss to Boston.

Key Players

For the Tar Heels, their key players to watch are pre season second team All-American attacker Owen Duffy. The sophomore has registered 23 goals so far this season, with 11 coming during the team’s three game winning streak.

He will need some support on the attack from redshirt-sophomore Dominic Pietramala, who is second on the team in points and put his name on the map with a six goal game vs No. 14 Johns Hopkins.

They will be the keys to breaking through a stout Army defense that has only allowed 5.25 goals per game.

As for the Black Knights, one of their key players is senior long stick midfielder Christian Fournier. Fournier leads the team with 20 caused turnovers on a defense that causes 10 turnovers per game.

On the offensive end, the Black Knights are led by Brayden Fountain and Jackson Eicher. Eicher leads the team in points with 46 and Fountain leads the team in goals with 27. They will need to lead the team that averages 13.75 goals per game.

Keys to Victory

For the Tar Heels, they need to avoid the penalty box. Their penalty kill has allowed opponents to go 11-26 on man up opportunities, and the Black Knights this season have gone 10-19 on the man up.

So the Tar Heels need to stay at full strength and play a very careful game. The other key is to avoid turnovers. The Tar Heels turn the ball over an average of 10 times per game, and the Black Knights cause 10 turnovers per game. The Tar Heels need to control the ball if they will have success in this game.

For the Black Knights, their biggest key will be controlling faceoffs. Preseason All-American Will Coletti has only played in five of the team’s eight games this season, and is currently week-to-week with an upper body injury.

Without him, the team has won just 50 percent of faceoffs this season, and against a Tar Heels team with a slew of offensive weapons, they will need to control the ball and limit the opportunities for those scorers.

The other key is to play defense. The Black Knights conceded a season high 10 goals to Boston last week, and they are not a high scoring team themselves. Keeping the Tar Heels in the single digits will be the biggest key for the Black Knights to come out on top.

Nate Johns is a first year majoring in broadcast-journalism. To contact him, email jzn5275@psu.edu.