Chris Gray came back for moments like the one experienced on Saturday afternoon at Dorrance Field. The North Carolina star has come up big for the Tar Heels, who responded with two wins after getting blown out by Ohio State.

Denver came to Chapel Hill looking for yet another upset victory on Dorrance Field, but it was up to Gray to help North Carolina avoid a second home loss.

Gray dropped six goals and two assists, including the eventual game-winner with 1:19 left to lead the Tar Heels to the 17-16 victory — their fifth on the season. North Carolina led by as many as six goals, but Gray’s goal helped it withstand a furious Denver rally.

The Tewaaraton candidate dropped three goals in a first half which featured no lead by more than one goal. North Carolina held Denver scoreless over the final 9:40 of the first half, allowing it to take a 7-6 lead.

The Tar Heels scored five straight goals out of halftime, including Gray’s fourth and two of Tillman’s three goals, to take an 12-6 lead. Faced with the big deficit, Alex Simmons and Jack Hannah scored back-to-back goals, part of a run of five goals out of six to pull within 13-11 entering the fourth quarter.

Denver used a three-goal rally early in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 14-14 on a blast from JJ Sillstrop. The Pioneers briefly took a lead when Noah Manning scored with 9:44 left to make it 15-14 and Sillstrop followed with another 42 seconds left.

Gray stepped up soon after, assisting on a Nicky Solomon goal and tying the score at 16-16 with 5:35 remaining. After a back-and-forth that did not produce a go-ahead goal, Gray came through with a leaping shot that clanged off the left post to make it 17-16.

MARYLAND STIFLES NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame had plenty of motivation with the No. 2 team in the nation coming to South Bend, Ind. Not only was an upset a possibility, but a win would constitute revenge from the 2021 NCAA quarterfinal loss in overtime.

A week after falling to a stingy defense in Georgetown, Notre Dame faced an even greater challenge on Saturday.

Behind a strong showing on faceoffs and against Pat Kavanagh, Maryland continued a torrid start to the season with an 11-9 victory. Kyle Long and Logan Wisnauskas each had four points in the win at Arlotta.

With the Irish leading early in the second quarter, the Maryland offense found its momentum thanks to a 6-1 advantage on faceoffs. Eric Malever, Wisnauskas, Jack Koras and Roman Puglise each chipped it to give the Terps the 5-4 lead before halftime.

Maryland controlled the third quarter, tallying three straight goals to take a commanding 8-4 lead with 13:18 left in the quarter. The Kavanagh brothers (Chris and Pat) led a three-goal Notre Dame run into the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to a goal with 13:06 left. Pat Kavanagh had the highlight of the day with a filthy backhander, but he finished with two goals on 10 shots.

Notre Dame twice got within a goal, but the Maryland defense held strong throughout the fourth quarter. Kyle Long ripped a top-shelf scorcher with 4:56 to seal the 11-9 victory.

RUTGERS SURVIVES STONY BROOK

Rutgers men’s lacrosse had plenty of expectations heading into the 2022 season, fresh off an NCAA quarterfinal appearance. Through six games, the Scarlet Knights have done nothing but meet those expectations.

Thanks to a balanced effort that saw five different players score multiple goals, Rutgers held off a feisty Stony Brook team for the 17-16 victory — the Scarlet Knights’ second straight one-goal victory. Ross Scott led the Rutgers offense with four goals and an assist.

Dylan Pallonetti punctuated a back-and-forth first quarter that saw four different multi-goal runs and ended at 5-5. Pallonetti added another for Stony Brook, which led by two goals in the second quarter, but Rutgers answered to tie the score at 9-9 before halftime.

Rutgers and Stony Brook traded two-goal runs in the third quarter before the Scarlet Knights caught fire. Ronan Jacoby opened a run of four goals in six minutes from four different Rutgers players to push the lead to 15-11 with 12:27 left.

The Scarlet Knights led 17-12 with 9:54 before Stony Brook mounted a furious comeback. Mike McCannell and Pallonetti each scored twice in the run, which cut the deficit to 17-16 with 4:58 left. Stony Brook tallied two more shots in the final minutes but were not able to beat Colin Kirst, who finished with 12 saves.

YALE SURVIVES AGAINST UMASS

Yale men’s lacrosse had an up-and-down first two games, with a loss to Penn State following a big win over Villanova. A win against UMass on Saturday would get the Bulldogs season back on track as it forged forward with the 2022 campaign.

Despite trailing by as many as three goals, Yale completed a comeback with an overtime game-winner from Matt Brandau to move to 2-1. Brandau, who finished with four goals and three assists, wrapped around x and scored to the left of the crease.

UMass took a 5-2 lead in the second quarter thanks to a Tim Hoynes goal, but Brandau fueled a rally to tie the score less than 10 minutes later. Gabriel Procyk gave the Minutemen another cushion at 9-7 with two straight third-quarter goals, but Will Cabrera added a pair of goals to keep Yale in the game in the fourth quarter.

Brad Sharp gave Yale its first lead since 1-0 on a tally with 5:20, but Procyk answered again with 3:13 to tie the score at 12-12. Both teams struggled to find a game-winner until Brandau came around x for the unassisted winner.

BIG RED, BIG WIN

Cornell might just boast the best run of results of any Division I team so far this season. Under new coach Connor Buczek, the Big Red tore through three straight quality opponents before meeting No. 5 Ohio State.

Thanks to a seven-goal second quarter, Cornell pulled ahead of Ohio State and held off the Buckeyes to move to 4-0 with another ranked victory. The Big Red held Ohio State star Jack Myers to just one goal, while CJ Kirst and John Piatelli each scored four goals in the win.

Ohio State scored the game’s first three goals, but Cornell answered with seven of its own to take a 7-4 lead by halftime. Kirst and Piatelli each had two goals in the seven-goal second quarter that gave the Big Red a cushion.

With Cornell leading 9-5 in the third quarter, Jason Knox scored twice and Justin Inacio went coast-to-coast to highlight a four-goal run and tie the score at 9-9 with 4:04 left in the quarter. After a back-and-forth next 10 minutes, Kirst and Piatelli scored clutch fourth-quarter goals to help Cornell pull away for the commanding 14-10 lead.

MICHIGAN DOMINATES DELAWARE

The hottest team in Division I men’s lacrosse? The Michigan Wolverines, who are off to the best start in school history.

The Wolverines had not faced a ranked opponent in its first six games, all commanding victories. Delaware came to Ann Arbor in a major opportunity for Michigan to prove its worth.

Jake Bonomi, Michael Boehm and Josh Zawada combined for 12 goals and Michigan dominated No. 15 Delaware 18-8 in its biggest victory of the young season. The Wolverines held Delaware’s Mike Robinson to two goals on 10 shots.

Delaware scored the first three goals, but Michigan answered with a nine-goal run that effectively ended the Blue Hens’ hopes by midway through the second quarter. The Blue Hens scored three straight goals (JP Ward, Clay Miller, Joe Speers) to pull within 10-7, but that was as close as the visitors would get.

Michigan answered with eight straight goals, including two from Boehm and Bonomi, to pull away for the blowout victory.

NOTABLE

• No. 2 Virginia used a strong defensive effort and eight points from Connor Shellenberger to dominate No. 11 Johns Hopkins 19-8 at Klockner Stadium.

• Brennan O’Neill and Joe Robertson each scored hat tricks to help No. 12 Duke pull away for the 14-8 victory over Richmond.

• Aidan Olmstead scored five goals, including a furious BTB, to lead No. 20 Loyola to the 14-12 win over Lafayette. It’s the Greyhounds first win of the 2022 season.

• Luke Shilling scored a season-high six points to lead Towson to the 11-10 comeback win over UMBC. Shilling’s goal with 4:04 left proved to be the game-winner for Towson, which trailed by as many as four goals in the first half.

• Villanova overcame a four-goal deficit and scored the final two goals to fuel an 8-6 victory over Hofstra. The Wildcats scored just one goal in the first half, but answered with a 7-1 second half to come back.

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 1 Maryland defeated No. 7 Notre Dame 11-9
No. 2 Virginia defeated No. 11 Johns Hopkins 19-8
Princeton defeated No. 3 Georgetown 10-8 (Read about this game here)
No. 4 Rutgers defeated Stony Brook 17-16
No. 9 North Carolina defeated No. 17 Denver 17-16
No. 10 Yale defeated UMass 13-12 (OT)
No. 12 Duke defeated Richmond 14-8
No. 13 Cornell defeated No. 5 Ohio State 14-11
​No. 19 Michigan 18 defeated No. 15 Delaware 8
No. 20 Loyola defeated Lafayette 14-12

FULL SCOREBOARD

Air Force 17, Marist 8
Boston U 18, Colgate 6
Brown 22, Providence 10
Bucknell 17, Binghamton 11
Cornell 14, Ohio State 11
Dartmouth 11, Siena 9
Drexel 10, LIU 8
Duke 14, Richmond 8
Harvard 16, Fairfield 12
High Point 15, Bellarmine 4
Loyola 14, Lafayette 12
Marquette 13, Detroit Mercy 7
Maryland 11, Notre Dame 9
Michigan 18, Delaware 8
North Carolina 17, Denver 16
Princeton 10, Georgetown 8
Robert Morris 13, Mercer 11
Rutgers 17, Stony Brook 16
Saint Joseph’s 15, Monmouth 10
St. Bonaventure 21, Hampton 0
St. John’s 9, Manhattan 7
Towson 11, UMBC 10
Vermont 16, Bryant 6
Villanova 8, Hofstra 6
Virginia 19, Johns Hopkins 8
Wagner 7, NJIT 5