Tar Heels

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference failure is behind them and the drive for the national title is on.That was the message last night at Joel Memorial Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional, as North Carolina rebounded from its defeat to Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament championship game.The Tar Heels were methodical and focused while defeating East Carolina, the only team in the tournament with a losing record, 85-65, to set up a 12:10 p.m. matchup tomorrow with Rhode Island.

Jasmine DePompeo had four goals and one assist, but Navy fell to North Carolina, 14-7, in the NCAA first round Saturday. The host Tar Heels (15-3) used a 5-0 run to take a 7-3 lead with 6:31 remaining in the first half, and the Midshipmen (18-3) were unable to recover. No. 1 Florida 6, Albany 4: The host Gators (18-2) outlasted the Great Danes' offensive stall to push past Albany (12-6). No. 2 Northwestern 12, Notre Dame 7: Paced by a 15-5 advantage on draw controls, the host Wildcats (18-2)

Northwestern outlasted North Carolina with a coolly efficient attack Friday night, 15-10, to avenge its only loss of 2010 and join Maryland in Sunday's NCAA Division I lacrosse championship. The largest crowd ever to watch a women's college lacrosse game in the U.S. — announced at 8,762 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium — saw the five-time defending champions pummel North Carolina for 10 second-half goals. Player of the Year finalist Katrina Dowd and teammates Danielle Spencer and Erin Fitzgerald each scored three goals for the Wildcats (20-1)

No. 3 North Carolina (13-1) @ No. 1 Northwestern (12-0) Friday, 7 p.m. Outlook: Defending national champion Northwestern has won 21 straight games and is beating teams by an average of 8.6 goals, but the Wildcats have had a couple of close calls, needing overtime to dispense with then-No. 2 Syracuse and then-No. 13 Ohio State. The Tar Heels have that same upset potential. Although they're well behind in the series, 8-2, the Heels pushed the Wildcats to overtime last season before falling, 7-6. Both teams have played nine ranked opponents, with North Carolina's only loss coming in overtime.

Isiah Thomas stood on the sideline and ordered his undersized Florida International team to spread the court against the defending national champions. That's when North Carolina's Deon Thompson walked over and teasingly asked why Thomas had to make the bigger Tar Heels defend so much on the perimeter. "He just started laughing and said, 'Man, that's the only thing I can do,' " Thompson said. Yes, the Tar Heels (1-0) were too talented and just too big in their 88-72 victory over the Golden Panthers (0-1)

North Carolina's charter flight landed at BWI Marshall Airport on Friday afternoon as the winter storm was intensifying. The Tar Heels headed immediately to Maryland's campus for a practice session that normally would have taken place in Chapel Hill, N.C. The storm meant that everything was moved up a day. Instead of practicing on their own campus Friday and departing today, the Tar Heels left Friday and got permission to practice on Maryland's court....

Saturday's Maryland-North Carolinamen's lacrosse showdown in Chapel Hill, N.C., was a fight to the finish - right up to the point where it actually became one. The two teams didn't shed their lacrosse gloves for boxing gloves as a bench-clearing brawl began in the final minute of the Tar Heels' 11-10 win , but that certainly didn't stop the fisticuffs before a national television audience. As you can see in the video below, in a matter of seconds, Tar Heels attackman Greg McBride goes from lying on the Fetzer Field grass to on the attack.

The snow-covered campus was closed and navigating area roads was dicey. But for Maryland students and their hot-shooting basketball team, Comcast Center turned out to be the perfect place -- and North Carolina the perfect victim -- to spend a frigid Sunday afternoon. Playing in front of an even more boisterous crowd than usual, the Terps (16-6, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their home-court success against conference foes by routing the Tar Heels, 92-71. Maryland has won its four ACC games here by an average of 19 points.

On a day when Johns Hopkins continued to struggle at the offensive end, it was the return of one of the nation's top attackmen - North Carolina's Billy Bitter -that ultimately made the biggest difference. Bitter, who missed last weekend's game against Maryland with a strained calf muscle in his left leg, scored a game-high four goals, providing a spark that the No. 12 Blue Jays simply couldn't match in an 11-7 loss Saturday to the No. 3 Tar Heels before an announced 4,012 at Homewood Field.

Steele Stanwick (Loyola) scored three goals and assisted on one to power the top-ranked Virginia men's lacrosse team past No. 2 North Carolina, 7-5, in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic on Saturday in front of an announced 25,710 at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cavaliers improved to 11-0, 2-0 and the Tar Heels fell to 10-1, 2-1. The record crowd for a regular-season game...

No. 1 Virginia (9-1) at No. 4 North Carolina (8-3) Saturday, noon Outlook: The winner of this contest figures to be in the driver's seat to claim the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Cavaliers bounced back nicely from an overtime loss to then-No. 2 Johns Hopkins with a convincing 12-8 victory over No. 11 Maryland. But they run into a Tar Heels squad that knocked the Blue Jays from the ranks of the unbeaten and appears to have put back-to-back losses to Lehigh and Penn in the rearview mirror.

Johns Hopkins moved to the top of many rankings with last Saturday's 11-10 overtime victory over then-No. 1 Virginia. The Blue Jays (8-0) are just one of three undefeated teams and put that unblemished record on the line when they meet No. 10 North Carolina at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic. The Tar Heels (7-3) have lost 24 of the 40 all-time contests with Johns Hopkins, but they are 4-1 in the teams' last five meetings. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday.

No. 10 North Carolina scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels upset the No. 1 Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team, 13-9, on Sunday night in the Big City Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. The previously unbeaten Blue Jays (8-1) had taken over the No. 1 ranking after beating defending-champion Virginia on March 24, but ran into a faster and quicker North Carolina team that dominated both the second and fourth quarters before an announced 25,934 at MetLife Stadium.

No. 10 North Carolina scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels upset the No. 1 Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team, 13-9, on Sunday night in the Big City Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. The previously unbeaten Blue Jays (8-1) had taken over the No. 1 ranking after beating defending-champion Virginia on March 24, but ran into a faster and quicker North Carolina team that dominated both the second and fourth quarters before an announced 25,934 at MetLife Stadium.

Saturday's Maryland-North Carolinamen's lacrosse showdown in Chapel Hill, N.C., was a fight to the finish - right up to the point where it actually became one. The two teams didn't shed their lacrosse gloves for boxing gloves as a bench-clearing brawl began in the final minute of the Tar Heels' 11-10 win , but that certainly didn't stop the fisticuffs before a national television audience. As you can see in the video below, in a matter of seconds, Tar Heels attackman Greg McBride goes from lying on the Fetzer Field grass to on the attack.

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.

If this was the game that proved North Carolina's program had arrived, then the No. 3 Tar Heels have made a major statement. On a day when their top attackman, Billy Bitter, didn't play because of a leg injury and their top midfielder, Sean DeLaney left the game in the third quarter holding his ribs, North Carolina still had too much in a 9-7 win against No. 5 Maryland before a near-capacity crowd of 4,542 at Fetzer Field. Maryland couldn't control Tar Heels freshman attackman Marcus Holman (Gilman)

North Carolina is clinging to a spot in the top 15, but the No. 13 Tar Heels (5-3) have dropped three of their last five contests. The final score of last Friday's game against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Duke was 13-11, but North Carolina trailed, 9-3, at halftime and 10-3 5 minutes, 46 seconds into the third quarter. So it would appear that No. 10 Maryland, which visits Chapel Hill, N.C., this Saturday, is getting the Tar Heels at an opportune time. But coach John Tillman pointed out that in 2011, the Terps were riding a four-game winning streak and North Carolina had lost two games before the Tar Heels beat Maryland, 11-6, in College Park.