Matt Weichel is the founder and editor-in-chief of Friday Night Film Room, a regional sports media outlet covering North Carolina high school basketball, football, and lacrosse. He launched the outlet to fill a gap in local prep sports coverage and to give the freelance videographers and photographers working the circuit a legitimate media home.
Outside of the outlet, Matt runs HRD Studio, a full-service creative and digital studio where he builds websites, produces video content, and helps small creators and athletes own their digital presence. His work sits at the intersection of sports, media, and technology — he's as comfortable breaking down a game as he is building the platform you're reading it on.
He's currently embedded in the NC prep sports scene, working with teams and organizations across basketball, football, and lacrosse at the high school and club level. He lives in North Carolina and Switzerland where he is a Coach of the U20 National Lacrosse Team.
The Hornets can dominate their weight class. But the Grimsleys and Dudleys of their conference remain a different universe. Can 2026 change that?
From High Point’s composed road win at Hobart to Belmont Abbey’s 35-goal avalanche, Saturday gave North Carolina college lacrosse both ends of the spectrum: contenders handling business, middle-tier programs fighting in coin-flip games, and a few brutal reality checks.
No. 10 Princeton stunned No. 1 North Carolina 11-9 on Sunday afternoon at Sherrerd Field in front of 2,404 fans, handing the Tar Heels their first loss of the season and completing a jaw-dropping ACC/Ivy Challenge sweep after the Tigers took down No. 6 Syracuse 11-7 on Friday night. It was Princeton's third consecutive win over a team that has held the No. 1 ranking this season — Maryland, Syracuse, and now UNC — all in a nine-day span.
We told you Penn would keep it close. We told you not to sleep on Taylor Wray's squad. And we told you the real question was Josh Marcus. All three came true Friday night in Philadelphia. The Tar Heels survived a gritty, physical affair against the Quakers to win 11-9 and improve to 5-0 on the season — but this was not the blowout that the final margin or UNC's recent 23-7 and 20-9 romps might have suggested was coming. Penn made them earn every single goal.
The No. 1 Tar Heels are 4-0 and rolling. The schedule is about to stop being polite and start getting real. North Carolina heads north this weekend for the third annual ACC/Ivy League Challenge, facing Penn on Friday night in Philadelphia and Princeton on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey. It's a back-to-back road swing against two Ivy League programs with absolutely nothing to lose — and for a UNC team that's been beating up on mid-majors at Dorrance Field, this is the first real gut check of the season.
Southwest Guilford opened the 2026 season with a 5-4 win over Cornerstone Charter at home on Wednesday night.
