In a stunning display of offensive firepower, the UNC men's lacrosse team punched their ticket to the NCAA quarterfinals with a commanding 24-6 victory over UAlbany on Saturday—and they did it without their star player.
With Tewaaraton Award finalist Owen Duffy sidelined due to a lower body injury, the Tar Heels needed a hero. They found one in Dominic Pietramala, who delivered a performance for the ages. The redshirt junior scored 10 goals—seven in the first half alone—shattering both the program and NCAA Tournament records for most goals in a single game. To put that in perspective, Pietramala outscored the entire UAlbany team by himself.
From the opening whistle, Carolina was relentless. They stormed to a 7-1 lead after the first quarter, stretched it to 12-2 by halftime, and cruised to a 19-4 advantage by the end of the third. The 24 goals marked the team's highest output since 2023 and the most ever in an NCAA Tournament game for the Tar Heels. Dominance showed in every stat: a 51-28 advantage in shots, 36-18 in shots on goal, 34-28 in ground balls, and a commanding 20-11 edge in faceoffs.
Pietramala's historic day didn't stop with the single-game record. His 10-goal outburst pushed his season total to 53—breaking Luke Goldstock's 2015 program record of 50. He also surpassed Bert Fett's career mark of 128 goals, which had stood since 1975, now sitting at 136 career goals. It's the kind of performance that cements a player's legacy in the record books.
But Pietramala wasn't the only Tar Heel rewriting history. Junior Brady Wambach won 15 faceoffs, bringing his season total to 278 and breaking Shane Walterhoefer's 2009 program record of 269. Wambach now sits just 15 faceoff wins away from also surpassing Walterhoefer's career record of 723.
The victory sends UNC to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2021—a milestone that speaks to the team's resilience and depth. Next up, the Tar Heels will face either #6 seed Syracuse or unseeded Yale, who face off on Sunday at 5:00 PM ET. Carolina's quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for May 16 at Hofstra, with a time still to be announced, and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
For fans looking to gear up like the Tar Heels, this is the kind of performance that inspires—historic, dominant, and unforgettable. Whether you're hitting the field or cheering from the stands, make sure you're ready for the next chapter of UNC lacrosse.