North Carolina

Shirley Jeffrey, an East Baltimore resident, remembers the painful moment five years ago when two Sioux Indians told her that "Lumbees aren't really Indians."Jimmy Hunt recalls a similar experience as an Army recruit when a sergeant asked the American Indians in the group to stand up. "There were two others besides myself," he says. "Later they said I wasn't an Indian because I was a Lumbee."Not really Indians? How could this be said of the largest American Indian group east of the Mississippi?

The One Love Foundation announced Thursday that North Carolina's Zoe Skinner (Towson High) and Loyola's Jason Crane (Chesapeake-Anne Arundel) have been selected as the 2013 Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award winners.  Now in its third year, the award celebrates selfless acts of initiative and commitment performed by Division I lacrosse players; it is named after the former Notre Dame Prep and Virginia player.  Skinner and Crane are being rewarded...

Freshman attackman Michael Guerin of Kent (Conn.) School has orally committed to North Carolina, joining a select group who have chosen a college before making their official high school debuts. Guerin, a left-hander, is a member of the New England Select Lacrosse League 2016 Black team, according to the league website. He also played on the NESLL under-15 team that took fifth at the US Lacrosse U-15 National Championships last summer. Guerin is a member of the U-15 national team that will compete in Florida this summer.

ESPN analyst Mark Dixon was in the network's studio in Charlotte providing his perspective on each of the four games in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals this past weekend, and he will do the same this Saturday before appearing in person at Monday's title game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The former Blue Jays midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter @Dixonlacrosse, discussed the most intriguing game of the quarterfinal round, top-seeded Syracuse's 7-6 decision against Yale, and his thoughts on the Final Four.

Et cetera Terps men land two sophomore lax recruits Two rising high school sophomores, St. Mary's defenseman Hunter Smith and Winston Churchill attackman Louis Dubick , have committed to play lacrosse at Maryland, the national runner-up the past two seasons. Smith, an All-Star at the Baltimore Summer Kickoff, plays club ball for the Annapolis Hawks and Looney's Lacrosse Club. He also considered North Carolina and Duke. Dubick totaled 50 goals and 47 assists last season, helping his team to the state semifinals and becoming the first freshman to be named first-team All-Montgomery County.

No. 10 Maryland (5-1) at No. 13 North Carolina (6-3) Saturday, noon Outlook: While much of the lacrosse community will focus on the contest between No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Johns Hopkins, Va., this game might be just as compelling. The Terps looked much improved in routing then-No. 9 Villanova, 11-5, on Saturday, but they have dropped three of their past five meetings with the Tar Heels. North Carolina is blessed with enviable talent on offense, but if that unit struggles as it did in last Friday's 13-11 loss to then-No.

Maryland's fight to get out of its $52 million exit fee for leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014 took an unpleasant - but not unexpected - turn Monday when a North Carolina judge refused a motion by the school to drop a lawsuit filed by the ACC in November. The ACC sued Maryland when university officials announced in November that the school was leaving for the Big Ten after being a charter member of the ACC. According to a spokesman for Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, Guilford County Superior Court Judge John O. Craig III denied a motion filed by attorneys for Maryland last month.

Prior to Saturday, No. 10 North Carolina had yet to string together two consecutive wins in 2013 and was just one game above .500 heading into a pivotal road contest against top-ranked and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Maryland. But that didn't prevent the Tar Heels from pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season as they tagged the Terps with their first loss of the year in a 10-8 victory at Byrd Stadium in College Park. Maryland (6-1) may have been the team with all of the accolades and the momentum, but it also had all of the pressure, according to North Carolina senior attackman Marcus Holman.

The Maryland football team might be without another one of its captains in Saturday's season finale at North Carolina. Defensive tackle Joe Vellano has been listed as doubtful on Maryland's injury report. The fifth-year senior is battling an ankle injury. If Vellano misses Saturday's game, he will be the third Terps captain sidelined, joining quarterback C.J. Brown (ACL) and linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield (ACL). Senior wide receiver Kevin Dorsey, who is healthy, is Maryland's fourth captain.

R ebuilding North Carolina's men's lacrosse program has been a gradual process for second-year coach Joe Breschi, but another major step will be taken if the No. 3 Tar Heels can defeat No. 5 Maryland on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels surprised some teams last year when they advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals before losing, 12-11, to Duke, but they haven't snuck up on anybody this year. It's no longer a question whether Breschi can rebuild North Carolina, but when the Tar Heels will arrive.

The Syracuse women's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament final four with a 13-9 win over visiting Florida on Saturday. The fourth-seeded Orange (18-3) will make its second straight appearance, and its fourth since 2008, in the national semifinals, facing unbeaten and top-seeded Maryland on Friday at 5 p.m. or 7:30p.m. at Villanova. The Orange extended its winning streak to 13 games. The Gators end the year with an 18-3 record. "We knew it was going to be a tough game against a very good Florida team," said Syracuse coach Gary Gait.

Salisbury transfer Eric Law picked up a rebound on the edge of the crease and scored with 13.4 seconds left to cap a historic comeback and give No. 4 seed Denver a 12-11 win over fifth-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament quarterfinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. The game, played before an announced 7,749, was the first men's lacrosse quarterfinal held at a venue not on the East Coast. Denver, the first team in men's quarterfinal history to win after trailing by five goals or more, will face No. 1 seed Syracuse in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts more teams in the NCAA women's lacrosse quarterfinals than any other conference - No. 1 seed Maryland, No. 3 North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. Those teams have posted a .822 winning percentage against non-conference teams this season. Boston College also made the tournament, but fell in the first weekend as ACC teams went 6-1. Only two ACC teams will make it to the final four, however, since in Saturday's semifinals Maryland will play Duke in College Park and North Carolina will play Virginia in Chapel Hill.

The deputy superintendent for the Baltimore County school system will step down next month, officials confirmed Thursday. Kevin Hobbs, who was brought on by Superintendent Dallas Dance last year, will return to his family in North Carolina, said schools spokesman Mychael Dickerson. Dance informed the county school board of Hobbs' planned departure, saying that he "vigorously recruited [Hobbs]," who was a top administrator in the Wake County, N.C., public schools, to help him during his transition.

Maryland's Alex Aust, Katie Schwarzmann, Iliana Sanza and Taylor Cummings earned Division I first-team All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Wednesday. Johns Hopkins' Taylor D'Amore, Loyola's Marlee Paton and Towson's Alexa Demski were selected to the second team. The third team included Navy's Jasmine DePompeo, who became the program's first IWLCA All-American, and Loyola's Taryn VanThof. For the No. 1 Terps (20-0), Aust and Schwarzmann are also among five Tewaaraton Award finalists.

Loyola saw its season come to an end Sunday in the second round of the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament, losing to No. 3 seed North Carolina, 19-9, at Chapel Hill. The Greyhounds' Taryn VanThof scored the game's first goal, but North Carolina (14-3) scored the next five, and with a 12-8 halftime lead, put the game away with seven more. Sophomore Annie Thomas (John Carroll) led Loyola (11-8) with five points on four goals and one assist, while junior Marlee Paton had four points on three goals and one assist.

The North Carolina men's lacrosse team rallied from a three-goal deficit in the second half to nip host Navy, 9-8, on Saturday, but there was no convincing R.J. Wickham about which team was the real victor. "I was disappointed we lost because as hard as we played, I don't feel like they deserve it," the senior goalkeeper said . "I don't feel like they deserved to win. I know they won, but that's basically how I feel. " Wickham's post-game comments were likely rooted in frustration after he and the Midshipmen (1-2)

When No. 13 North Carolina plays No. 10 Maryland on Saturday, it might be a great time for the Tar Heels to find an identity. They've been nomads for more than a decade. Syracuse has an identity. The Orange likes to run and gun and have great midfielders. Virginia is known for its fast pace, transition and athleticism. When you think of Maryland and Johns Hopkins, you think of physical defense and gritty play. But Carolina? Nothing comes to mind. Even in Joe Breschi's four years as North Carolina's head coach, the Tar Heels still haven't found themselves.

ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra provided color commentary for fifth-seeded North Carolina's 16-7 rout of Lehigh and Cornell's 16-8 upset of sixth-seeded Maryland in a pair of NCAA tournament first-round contests this past weekend. The former Syracuse All-American midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @paulcarcaterra, will be part of the crew covering Saturday's quarterfinals in College Park and Sunday's quarterfinals in Indianapolis. Carcaterra offered his perspective on results that impressed and surprised him, concerns for the top two seeded teams and the most interesting quarterfinal.

Down 7-3 in the fourth quarter, No. 2 Notre Dame put together a 6-0 rally to edge upset-minded Detroit in an NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday, 9-7. Matt Kavanagh, who scored four second-half goals, tied the game at 7 with 10:10 left and then put the Irish (11-4) ahead for good with less than six minutes remaining. The Titans (5-10) were able to keep Notre Dame in check during the first half as Detroit took a 5-1 lead into halftime. Brandon Beauregard led the Titans with three goals.