Chapel Hill, N.C. – David Williamson recorded his first career hat trick, but it wasn't enough as eighth-ranked North Carolina downed Furman men's lacrosse 14-6 on Saturday. The win moves the Tar Heels to 2-0 on the season, while the loss, Furman's second-straight to a ranked opponent, drops the Paladins to 0-2.

Williamson led the Paladins with three goals, while Jonah Moore, Chase Hancock, and Gus Pinsoneault each added one. Scott Primeau tallied a team-high two assists, while Riley McDermott recorded a season-high 13 saves.

Steve Pontrello and Luke Goldstock each scored three goals for the Tar Heels, while Brian Balkam recorded nine saves.

North Carolina opened the scoring with back-to-back goals to take the early 2-0 lead, but Furman responded with a goal from Gus Pinsoneault to cut the lead to 2-1 with 7:44 remaining in the first. The Tar Heels again rattled off back-to-back goals to push the lead to 4-1, but Furman responded with a goal from Jonah Moore to cut the Tar Heel lead in half at 4-2 with 3:11 remaining in the first. North Carolina ended the first half on a 6-1 scoring run, however, taking a 10-3 lead into halftime.

David Williamson netted back-to-back goals to open the second half and cut the North Carolina lead in half at 10-5, but the Tar Heels used four-straight goals by Patrick Kelly and Steve Pontrello to push the lead back to nine at 14-5 with 9:28 remaining in the fourth. Both teams stayed off the board for the next eight minutes, before Williamson scored his third goal of the day with 1:17 remaining in the game to cut the UNC lead to 14-6 and complete his first career hat trick.

Furman is back in action on Saturday, February 20, hosting Lehigh at 11:00 a.m. in Paladin Stadium.