RALEIGH — Senior midfielder Stephen Kelly knew it was going to be a big day for the No. 1 North Carolina men’s lacrosse team from the first whistle.
Kelly won the face-off, grabbed the ground ball from behind him, ran toward the UMBC net and saw no one had slid over to cover him. So he fired a shot from the left side.
The ball flew past the goalie — 1-0 Tar Heels, 15 seconds into the game.
“It was a good way to start the year,” Kelly said with a smile.