CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Griffin Brown opened his senior season with a hat trick to highlight the Colgate effort Saturday in a 19-6 loss to No. 10 North Carolina.
The Raiders did build momentum for the future by outscoring the hosts 4-1 in the fourth quarter, but it was not nearly enough against the ACC powerhouse Tar Heels on their home surface.
Brown got Colgate on the board in the second quarter with a man-up tally, and then he scored back-to-back in the fourth as the Raiders were gaining their footing. It was Brown's 11th career hat trick.
Other goal-scorers for Colgate were
James Caddigan with a nice putback in the third quarter,
Mike Hawkins with a man-up goal to start the fourth and then
Ryan Decker with an unassisted goal to wrap up the scoring.
North Carolina was led by Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American Chris Gray, who scored a hat trick in the first quarter on his way to four goals and two assists. Nicky Solomon, William Perry and Justin Anderson all added hat tricks for Carolina.
Will Sidari earned his first career start and led the Colgate position players with a career-high five ground balls.
Parker Baddley contributed three caused turnovers, one shy of his career best, while
Thor Adamec pitched in four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Bottom Line
• North Carolina 19, Colgate 6
Raider Facts & Figures
• Saturday's game was Colgate's first against North Carolina since the Raiders won the 2015 Patriot League championship and took on the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
• UNC won that game 19-12.
• Saturday was the season opener for both teams.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Dorrance Field was 612.
Up Next
• Colgate returns to the Carrier Dome to take on No. 5-ranked Syracuse in its season opener.
• Faceoff Friday is 4 p.m., with the ACC Network carrying all the action.
