THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503190162
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
It was a make-it or break-it game for Princeton's men's lacrosse team on Saturday in the second annual Hampton Roads Lacrosse Classic. After holding North Carolina scoreless in the third quarter, the Tigers made it - but barely.
Princeton came back from a three-goal deficit in the second quarter to be four goals ahead by the end of the third at Old Dominion's Foreman Field.
Four unanswered goals by North Carolina gave Princeton a tenuous one-point lead going into the final seconds of the game. But as the clock ticked off and the North Carolina fans screamed for offense, North Carolina couldn't get off a shot, losing 9-8.
It was the second time in two years North Carolina (3-2) has lost to Princeton (2-2) in the local tournament.
Princeton, last year's national champion after defeating Virginia in overtime, came to Hampton Roads stinging from losing their first two games this season. The Tigers have lost to Johns Hopkins (14-15) and Virginia (4-11) and squeaked out a two-goal win over Notre Dame (6-4) last weekend.
But North Carolina came to win as well. And based on its surprising performance this season, it had the momentum to do so. The team, ranked seventh in most preseason polls, started off stronger than expected this year after graduating a number of its top players. Princeton was ranked fourth in preseason polls.
The Tar Heels' only loss this season has come against Loyola (12-13 in overtime). North Carolina took three overtimes to defeat Lehigh (12-11) in their last game.
Both teams began Saturday's game tentatively. But by the second quarter, UNC was offensively marching over Princeton. UNC won all but one face-off during the entire game. And at times, North Carolina's more experienced defense stymied the Tigers' offense and muffled the number of shots on goal.
Princeton returned to the field inspired for the third quarter, holding UNC scoreless for the while scoring seven unanswered goals.
Senior attackman Scott Conklin teamed up with freshman attackman Jon Hess to ignite the Tigers' offense, scoring a combined five goals. by CNB