Men's Lacrosse

North Carolina senior attack Luke Goldstock poses deadly threat to No. 1 Syracuse

Courtesy of Jeffrey A. Camarati | UNC Athletics

In his sophomore season, Goldstock broke a 24-year single-season scoring record with 50 goals for the Tar Heels.

In 2016, Syracuse’s season ended when Maryland’s Matt Rambo torched the Orange for six points. This year, nobody had picked apart the Syracuse defense the way Rambo did — until Luke Goldstock exploded for three goals and three assists two weeks ago. Goldstock, a versatile senior attack in his third year as a starter for North Carolina, led UNC to a near-upset of the top-ranked Orange on April 15.

When North Carolina head coach Joe Breschi described his offense, he focuses on Goldstock. His size and strength, ability to use both hands and off-ball skills mixed with an evolving dodging game helps break down and baffle defenses.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has scored 11 goals and added seven assists in five career starts against Syracuse. Goldstock is a versatile playmaker — he can camp behind the cage, set up from outside and get out in transition, posing as one of the most potent threats Syracuse has seen in 2017. The No. 4 seed Tar Heels (6-7, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) need a win to get to .500 and enter the NCAA tournament discussion, and Goldstock could bring them a step closer to doing that. He will present a challenge to the No. 1 seed Orange in the ACC semifinal Friday at 6 p.m. in Durham, North Carolina.

“He can see things develop before they happen,” Breschi said. “He’s at the center of our schemes.”

Syracuse coaches and players say Goldstock’s greatest strength is his lacrosse IQ. He spaces the field such that he puts teammates in dodging spots and shooters in shooting lanes. SU head coach John Desko said he’s “very smart.” Goldstock easily backs out of space and shoots from distance, too.



Regardless, he can score in a variety of ways. His three goals against SU two weeks ago, for example, were nothing alike. His first, also UNC’s first of the game, came on a man-up after back-to-back skip passes. Planted to the right of the goal, Goldstock caught a pass, made a quick move and scored.

In the images below, Goldstock camps out to the right of Evan Molloy in goal. He’s left alone for a score two passes later.

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Courtesy ESPN 

His second goal came on a one-on-one fake from behind the cage. He faked a pass right, using the cage to create separation between him and SU defender Marcus Cunningham. He darted left and beat SU goalie Evan Molloy for his second score of the day.

“It’s very difficult because if you pay too much attention to him off ball, you leave a hole inside,” Desko said. “If you don’t slide to help out, somebody else can come in and swirl by the goaltender.”

His third goal came in transition, off a feed from North Carolina close defender Austin Pifani. Running down the left side, Goldstock caught Pifani’s pass, ran straight to the goal and scored from outside of the crease. Cunningham gambled on the pass and paid the price.

Below, Goldstock operates from behind the crease, tying up Cunningham and making a move to the goal.

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Courtesy ESPN

Two of Goldstock’s assists came from the behind the cage, where he looks for cutters to the crease on a regular basis. Syracuse’s best defender, Scott Firman, matched up on him early in the game. SU threw a variety of looks on him, including brief matchups with Tyson Bomberry, Cunningham and zone looks. It limited Goldstock’s dodging capabilities, but not those without the ball.

“We’d slide and it’d be tough for us to get to the second guy,” Bomberry said. “He’d be wide open.”

This season, the Tar Heels have pushed transition more than they have in recent years, SU senior midfielder Nick Mariano said. That’s benefited Goldstock, who can get up and down the field and beat midfielders to spots. When he catches the ball, he doesn’t veer away from contact.

“He’s an excellent finisher,” Mariano said.

Firman said UNC forced Syracuse to rotate to get favorable matchups. Goldstock’s offensive production didn’t come in the form of dodging. Rather, a lot of what he did came off rapid ball movement and inverts. SU changed its slide package in the second half against UNC, which helped turn a 9-1 Tar Heels run into a 7-1 Syracuse run.

North Carolina has dropped four straight to Syracuse since the 2015 ACC tournament. Syracuse, riding a nine-game winning streak, has not lost since Feb. 25 and will look for its third consecutive ACC title. If there’s one guy who could help the Tar Heels shift the tides, it’s Goldstock.





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