In the first quarter, CSU was able to jump out to an early 6-0 lead before UNC could find an answer late in the quarter. This was thanks to strong attack play from junior Mike Roth (Eaglecrest, CO- 5g,1a), sophomore Mike Napollili (Heritage, CO- 3g, 4a), and senior Ryan Ferrin (Wheatridge, CO- 4g, 3a). UNC committed 5 fouls and was man-down 3 times in the first stanza and CSU was able to capitalize once. The CSU offense controlled the ball for much of the first and kept the defense well rested en route to an 11-3 first quarter advantage.
The second quarter was much of the same as CSU controlled the ball and wore down the UNC defense. CSU scored 7 goals in the second frame to build an 18-3 half-time lead over the Bears. Freshman attackman Andy Shultz (Air Academy, CO) stepped into his first college lacrosse game and responded with 2 goals and 3 assists as CSU was able to rest its starters for most of the second quarter and rest of the game.
In the second half, CSU outscored UNC 5-2 and was able to clear the bench to get everyone playing time. Sophomore Andy Kliewer (Highlands Ranch, CO) saw his first action ever in the goal and made 3 quality saves CSU dominated statistics as they outshot the Bears 60-15. Face-off midfielders for the Rams also played well winning 20 of 31 face offs. The Rams also recorded 47 ground balls to UNC’s 11. UNC’s offense was led by Keith Hulen (2g) and Mark Douglas (3g). Colorado State travels to Boulder on Friday to battle in-state rivals, and #9 ranked Colorado in what promises to be a very emotional and hard fought game.
Shots:
CSU 60
UNC 15
Ground Balls:
CSU 47
UNC 11
Extra-man:
CSU 5/8 63%
UNC 0/4 0%
Clears:
CSU 15/21 71%
UNC 11/32 34%
Turnovers:
CSU 26
UNC 15
Penalties:
CSU 8 (6:30 min.)
UNC 12 (9:30 min.)
Face-offs:
CSU 20 (Lambert- 7, Wolper- 7, Mueller- 4, Beasley- 1, Nelson- 1)
UNC 11
Saves:
CSU 4 (VanVelkinburgh 3ga, 1s- 25% save %, Kliewer 2ga, 3s 60%)
UNC 13 (Geng M. 23g, 13s- 36%)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CSU | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 23 |
| UNC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |