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What more can there possibly be to say about North Carolina?

Even beginning to type this story feels asinine. Syracuse men’s lacrosse — its players, coaches and fans — are intimately familiar with the Tar Heels. Far too familiar, some might argue. The squads already faced off once in the regular season, then met again in the Atlantic Coast Tournament Semifinals and are set to take each other on with a trip to the Final Four on the line Saturday in Hempstead, New York.

The first matchup was a 14-9 Orange loss. The second, by a slightly more respectable 12-10 margin, was also a loss. SU has one chance to vanquish the Tar Heels, and the stakes have never been higher. Perhaps the third time will, in fact, be the charm.

Here’s everything to know about No. 3 seed North Carolina (13-4, 2-2 ACC) before its NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals matchup against No. 6 seed Syracuse (12-5, 2-2 ACC) Saturday:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 20-15.

Last time they played

The Orange let one get away on May 1 in Charlotte. SU practically had a trip to the ACC Tournament Finals gift-wrapped for it, carrying a 6-4 lead into halftime and holding a 9-7 early fourth-quarter advantage. Syracuse was playing some of its best defense this season, holding the Tar Heels’ high-octane offense in check.

But it all looked a bit too good to be true. Brevin Wilson got UNC started in the fourth, scoring to cut its deficit to one. Then, it was Anthony Raio, following his teammate just over 30 seconds later, to tie it up at 9-9. Two goals followed in the next five minutes from Luke Bair and Mason Szewczyk, flipping the game on its head and sending Syracuse home with a second consecutive loss to UNC.

The Tar Heels report

There have only been two games since the Orange last played North Carolina, so, in all honesty, there isn’t too much new to report. But in any case, here’s what the Tar Heels have done since that 12-10 victory over SU.

Two days after the win, UNC took on Virginia in the ACC Tournament Finals and got waxed 16-6. The Cavaliers outscored North Carolina during three individual quarters and somehow carried an obscene 11-2 halftime advantage. It was, without a doubt, North Carolina’s worst performance this season.

Funnily enough, the Tar Heels followed that atrocity up with arguably their best performance this campaign in the NCAA Tournament First Round, defeating UAlbany 24-6. UNC held top Premier League Lacrosse draft pick Silas Richmond scoreless, scored at least five goals in each quarter and watched Dominic Pietramala break records with a 10-goal explosion.

But the most important news hanging over North Carolina had nothing to do with its on-field play. It has everything to do with the one who isn’t on the field.

Junior attack Owen Duffy, announced as a Tewaaraton Award finalist, did not appear against UAlbany due to a hamstring injury he suffered in that aforementioned loss to Virginia. He currently leads North Carolina with 69 points and 39 assists. It’s unclear if he’s available Saturday, and if so, in what capacity.

How Syracuse beats North Carolina

It’s tough to answer this question when SU already had two opportunities to defeat North Carolina and failed on both occasions.

But the key to victory for Syracuse might have to do with Duffy’s presence. If the Orange somehow face a UNC team without him — or is forced to go to war with a diminished Duffy — the scales might tip slightly in their favor.

He was arguably the biggest reason behind the Tar Heels’ resurgent ACC Tournament comeback against SU. He finished with a career-high six assists and assisted four of UNC’s five fourth-quarter goals to put away the Orange.

North Carolina’s offense looked fine against UAlbany, but it’s UAlbany. Syracuse is on a different level both defensively and offensively, and UNC’s attack is simply not as explosive without the junior. SU has to take advantage of that possibility.

Stat to know: 0

It’s already clear that the Tar Heels’ offense runs through Duffy at X. There’s no disputing that. But just to drive that point home, here’s the tally of UNC players — excluding Duffy — with at least 15 assists heading into Saturday.

Yes, that’s correct. It’s zero. North Carolina’s second-leading assister would be Szewczyk, with a grand total of 12. Only one other Tar Heel — reserve Gary Merrill — even has double-digit assists, and he barely qualifies with 10.

The point is, the Tar Heels need Duffy’s ball movement in the lineup. Badly.

Player to watch: Dominic Pietramala, attack, No. 77

Because if they don’t get his ball movement in the lineup, the burden of outshooting Syracuse’s offense will fall squarely on the shoulders of Pietramala. The redshirt junior attack’s a familiar name for Syracuse in more ways than one — his father, Dave Pietramala, was Gary Gait’s first defensive coordinator after becoming SU’s head coach.

But he’s made a name for himself in the lacrosse world as of late. That’s what happens when you score 10 goals in an NCAA Tournament game, the opponent’s quality be damned.

Highest single-game goal tally in North Carolina history, highest single-game goal tally in NCAA Tournament history, most career goals in UNC history; all gone in one fell swoop. Pietramala’s 10-goal eruption against UAlbany made him the Tar Heels’ greatest goal scorer, as if his team-leading 53 goals this season weren’t enough to make that clear.

Somehow, he did all that without Duffy. He might have to do it again Saturday.

Published on May 13, 2026 at 9:14 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO