University of North Carolina Athletics
2001 Men's Lacrosse Outlook
January 4, 2001 | Men's Lacrosse
Jan. 4, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The statement that "it's a whole new ball game" was never more appropriately used than in reference to the 2001 men's lacrosse season at the University of North Carolina. You see, John Haus, a great player for the Tar Heels in the glory days of the early 1980s in Carolina lacrosse lore, has returned to his alma mater after a 17-year absence. But this time he won't be playing defense, although deep in his heart, it's a sure bet the desire is still there.
No, this time Haus has returned as the head coach and his job his to rekindle an enthusiasm both inside the program and among the program's fan base and its alumni. So far, the reports are good in this area even though the Tar Heels have yet to take the field for a real game during the 2000-01 school year.
When Haus was hired last June to take over the reins of the Tar Heels, there was an immediate outpouring of support for his efforts. Head Coach Dave Klarmann, who had served the Carolina program well for the previous 10 years, resigned from his position effective at the end of the 2000 campaign. Klarmann's team had been exceptional in the early part of the decade of the 1990s, winning five Atlantic Coast Conference championships and an NCAA title in 1991.
ut arguably the Tar Heel program had fallen on hard times in recent years. UNC, which had not had a losing season since 1967, experienced three straight such campaigns, going 6-7 in 1997, 7-8 in 1998 and 6-9 in 1999. That streak was finally broken by last year's team, which finished 8-6 but failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 2000 season dawned with great hopes as the Tar Heels ran off six successive wins to open the season but six losses in the last eight games meant Carolina had to settle for an early end to its season while other squads went on to compete in the postseason. Worse yet, the Tar Heels continued to struggle in ACC play last year and have now lost 16 of their last 17 games against conference opponents.
ut all that, hopefully, is now simply fodder for the history books. The reality of those statistics cannot be denied but a new day has dawned with the arrival of the intense Haus as Carolina's new head coach.
Everywhere Haus has been he has produced winners. He was a winner during his playing days at Carolina when the Tar Heels won national championships in both 1981 and 1982. He was a winner during his high school coaching days at his alma mater, the Loyola Blakefield School in Towson, Md. He worked with some dynamic squads as an assistant at Johns Hopkins in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And in the past six years he has been a terrific head coach--first for four years at Washington College and then the past two years at Johns Hopkins. He led the Shoremen to three successive berths in the NCAA Division III championship game and he coached Washington College to its first such title in 1998. The past two years at Hopkins he took the Blue Jays to the NCAA semifinals.
ut the lure of returning to his alma mater was there for Haus and he could not deny his interest so on June 1, 2000 he officially donned the Carolina Blue and White again, rubbed his hands together, smiled and said, "Let's get to work."
Haus will certainly have some talent to work with as the task of returning Carolina to the NCAA Tournament again begins in 2001. This team is young. The seven-man senior class last year was an outstanding one. But the attitude of the players appears to be top notch and there is an excitement about this team and getting back to the basics. Carolina may not out-talent a lot of people in 2001 but there will be an emphasis on out-working some foes.
All in all, UNC returns six of 10 starters and 29 of 36 lettermen from the 2000 team. A solid mix of seniors will be asked to assume a large role in piloting this team towards achieving a record that will make it worthy of postseason consideration. The four captains each bring different skills and talents to the job.
Senior attackman Jeff Sonke (Birmingham, Mich.) was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and second-team All-America selection last season. Considered one of the top athletes in the ACC, Sonke led the Heels a year ago in both goals scored with 33 and total points with 49. Senior defenseman Bobby Gormsen (Baldwin, N.Y.) has been one of the top long-stick defensive midfielders in the nation in his first three seasons in a Tar Heel uniform. He led Carolina in takeaways last season with 60 and was among the team leaders with 52 ground balls. This year Gormsen may well be asked to fill a different role as one of UNC's starting close defensemen. Two midfielders who excel in the face-off circle complete the quartet of Carolina captains. This duo includes senior Ryan Damon (Darien, Conn.) and senior Mac Hammer (Fairfax, Va.). Damon led all Tar Heels in ground balls last year with 70 and he won 101 of 184 face-offs, a 54.9 percentage. Hammer is extremely versatile. He had 12 goals last season, scooped up 62 ground balls, caused 35 takeaways and won 57 face-offs. On the flip side both Sonke and Hammer need to cut down on their penalty minutes in 2001, staying out of the penalty box and on the field where the Tar Heels need their talents.
The rest of the Tar Heel senior class includes goalkeeper Robert D'Urso (Brookside, N.J.), attackman Andy Jonas (Charlotte, N.C.), midfielder Peter Dell'Olio (Garden City, N.Y.), midfielder Judd Lattimore (Auburn, N.Y.) and defenseman Hunter Sims (Virginia Beach, Va.). All of these players saw action in backup roles last year but some may be asked to step up and fill some graduation voids in 2001. D'Urso is the chief backup in the nets for UNC and will probably continue in that role. Jonas started three games on attack last year and netted eight goals for the Tar Heels. Dell'Olio is a reliable third face-off man behind Damon and Hammer. Lattimore showed great promise is freshman and sophomore years but has been sidelined from any action the past two years because of a string of injuries. Sims showed great improvement as a long-stick midfielder last year and he may be given a shot at starting on close defense this season.
That brings us to the junior class and there are some players who will be expected to make major contributions on this list of Tar Heels. Chiefly those players will be goalkeeper Kris Blindenbacher (Narberth, Pa.), defenseman Zack Leader (Birmingham, Mich.) and midfielders Pat Jackson (Towson, Md.) and Joel Miller (Worthington, Ohio). "Blindy" moved into the starting role protecting the Carolina net on a full-time basis last season after sharing time with Jarron Harkness in 1999. His stats last year were solid but not dazzling. He saved 56.5 percent of the shots against him, giving up 10.35 goals per game. With an improved defensive effort by the Tar Heels this season, look for those numbers to show progress. Leader has been a starter on close defense for the Heels each of the past two campaigns, making eight starts as a freshman and then starting all 14 games last season. He had 47 takeaways (only Gormsen had more) and 44 ground balls last season. Jackson and Miller are two different kinds of Tar Heel midfielders. Jackson had a solid freshman year with eight goals and five assists but he was underutilized last season. Miller has evolved into one of the game's premier short-stick defensive midfield specialists. He scores on occasion--witness his five goals last season--but his strengths are ground balls (31) and takeaways (a tidy total of 43).
Other members of the junior class are midfielder Tim Gosier (Roxbury, Mass.), attackman Steve Perdue (Flemington, N.J.), defenseman Matt Rabil (Winston-Salem, N.C.), midfielder Peter Anselmo (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), midfielder Dane Almassy (Flanders, N.J.), defenseman Sean Hizey (Durham, N.C.) and defenseman Jon Manekin (Baltimore, Md.). Of these two-year letter winners Gosier is the most experienced. As a backup in both the attack and midfielder last season he had five goals and one assist in 14 games. Manekin saw action in 11 games last year in a long-stick midfield capacity.
Carolina's sophomore class came to Chapel Hill a year ago and truly made an impact. There is tremendous optimism about the future for this class as leaders for the Tar Heel program. Sophomores who were impact players last year include midfielder Steven Will (Phoenix, Md.), midfielder Austin Garrison (New Canaan, Conn.), midfielder Kyle Bell (Baltimore, Md.), defenseman Ben Dobson (Charlotte, N.C.) and midfielder Peyton Chane (Lake Bluff, Ill.). Both Garrison and Will were amongst Carolina's top five scorers last season. Garrison had 13 goals and seven assists and Will added 12 goals and seven assists. Both played in all 14 games for the Tar Heels. Bell finished the season with seven goals and six assists and Chane played in every game as a short stick defensive midfield specialist. These four sophomore midfielders give Carolina tremendous athletic ability at the position. Dobson was a surprise last season as he came on as a true freshman to earn a starting role on close defense midway through the campaign.
Other members of this year's sophomore class include goalkeeper Andrew Larkin (Severna Park, Md.), midfielder Justin Reed (Darien, Conn.), midfielder Brandon Pierce (Durham, N.C.), defenseman John O'Hara (Skillman, N.J.), midfielder Jack Alsup (Winston-Salem, N.C.), goalkeeper John Cattonar (Kings Point, N.Y.) and defenseman Bowen White (Summit, N.J.).
Finally we get to the incoming freshman class. It has been touted as a good in many lacrosse publications and on the outstanding lacrosse Internet sites out there. But one must always remember they are still freshmen and until they have experienced the college game they haven't proved anything yet. Having said that the Tar Heels will be looking for significant contributions from this class if they are to attain their ACC and NCAA goals.
The class includes red-shirt attackman Jesse Kohler (Baltimore, Md.,), midfielder Phil Pennington (Birmingham, Mich.), defenseman Joe Paglino (Troy, Mich.), defenseman Matt Pessagno (Harwood, Md.), red-shirt midfielder Johnny Seivold (Efland, N.C.), red-shirt defenseman Joe Hubbard (Chapel Hill, N.C.), midfielder Dave Duffy (Garden City, N.Y.), defenseman Ronnie Staines (Severna Park, Md.), midfielder Lance Zimmerman (Cockeysville, Md.), midfielder Brad Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.), midfielder Dan Stringer (Baltimore, Md.), midfielder Kevin Frew (Baldwin, Md.) and attackman Andrew Lucas (Glen Arm, Md.).
The Tar Heels will open their 2001 campaign when they play host to the Fairfield Stags at Fetzer Field on February 18. Carolina's other non-conference opponents include Bucknell, Navy, Delaware, Butler, Johns Hopkins, UMBC and an opponent to be determined on April 28. Carolina's regular season schedule will also include ACC opponents Duke, Maryland and Virginia and the annual ACC Tournament at Orlando, Fla., on April 20 and 22.
