It was a given North Carolina’s midfield was going to be different without a posse of fifth-year seniors to lean on. The Tar Heels were going to be an unenviable combination of young and inexperienced, and were going to have to figure things out on the fly.

Carolina’s offensive sputtering in back-to-back losses this month to Duke (by a 15-6 margin) and Virginia (11-4) amplified how untested and inconsistent the group was. So coach Joe Breschi and offensive coordinator Dave Metzbower decided to be a little unorthodox.

Attackmen Jacob Kelly and Nicky Solomon moved to the midfield. Lance Tillman and Dewey Egan entered the starting lineup as attackmen. And the Tar Heels (8-4, 1-3 ACC) delivered a 14-13 defeat of Syracuse to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.

“That was a big decision that we made, coming down the stretch with two games with 10 total goals. Where can we help ourselves?” Breschi said. “We put ourselves in a position where you put arguably your top six offensive threats on the field regardless of position and you let them go out and make plays and do the best we can.”

It’s hardly the first time Metzbower has leaned on a lineup of five attackmen; it’s been an option of his since his days as an assistant at Princeton in the 1990s. And it also made an immense amount of sense, given who has generated production for the Tar Heels this season.

Chris Gray, a Tewaaraton finalist a year ago, is having a Chris Gray kind of season — 44 goals, 27 assists and clearly the top man on opposing scouting reports. Kelly (19 goals, 15 assists) and Solomon (18 goals, 15 assists) have had fine years primarily as attackmen, but Tillman (17 goals) and midfielder Cole Herbert (13 goals) are the Tar Heels’ only other multi-goal scorers.

By shifting Kelly and Solomon to the midfield, North Carolina added an effective dodging presence up top. And the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Egan provided a presence on attack, even if he had only three goals prior to Saturday.

“We just felt getting our best, most skilled guys on the field at the same time, it had to happen,” Breschi said. “Dewey Egan was playing so well and had a great week of practice last week and even the week before. We felt it was time to make that switch. I really give a lot of credit to Solomon and Kelly for accepting their roles. It’s not easy, but they came in and said, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes for the team,’ and they did.”

The initial payoff was strong. Tillman had two goals and three assists against Syracuse, while Egan immediately registered a two-goal game. Kelly had four assists, including on the tying and winning goals in the final 61 seconds. Solomon posted three goals and an assist.

Most importantly to Breschi and his staff, there was a sense everyone on the field was a threat — something the Tar Heels will need to complete a playoff push.

It leaves North Carolina with plenty at stake over its final two games. The Tar Heels visit Notre Dame on Thursday, then close out the regular season at Duke on May 1.

With Duke closing the regular season against Notre Dame on May 8, it sets up a three-week scramble for ACC teams that are far from secure in their postseason prospects but can improve their chances while also hindering their league rivals near the edge of the tournament field.

“You go in with the mentality that Notre Dame is a playoff game, and that’s how we look at the next two games,” Breschi said. “They’re both playoff games. Do you get in, win, lose or draw? Who knows at this point, because it seems to be up for grabs.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

7

Division I teams that remain undefeated in conference play entering the week. Boston University (Patriot), Georgetown (Big East), Jacksonville (Southern), Maryland (Big Ten), Saint Joseph’s (Northeast), Utah (Atlantic Sun) and Vermont (America East) all own unblemished records within their respective leagues.

18

Caused turnovers for Princeton in its 12-10 defeat of Dartmouth on Saturday, setting a school record. The Tigers earned their fourth victory in a row and can clinch the Ivy League regular-season title and homefield advantage in the conference tournament with victories over Harvard and Cornell to close out the regular season.

70

Years since Army defeated both Cornell and Syracuse in the same season. The Black Knights handled Syracuse 17-13 on March 2 and then drubbed Cornell 17-10 on Saturday to hand losses to both in-state opponents in the same year for the first time since 1952.

100

Victories for coach Brian Voelker at Drexel, making him the second coach in Dragons history to reach the plateau. Voelker (100-80 in 13 seasons) trails only Randy Voigt, who won 141 games at Drexel between 1975 and 1999.