University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Hosts Defending NCAA Champion Virginia Saturday
April 8, 2004 | Men's Lacrosse
April 8, 2004
2004 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels (5-3, ACC 1-1) vs. No. 15 Virginia Cavaliers (3-5, ACC 0-1)
Saturday, April 10, 2004, 1 p.m., Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Media Contact: Dave Lohse, 919-962-7257, dlohse@uncaa.unc.edu
Carolina Athletics on the World Wide Web at http://www.TarHeelBlue.com
TAR HEELS PLAY HOST TO DEFENDING NCAA CHAMPION VIRGINIA SATURDAY:
The fifth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team (5-3 overall, 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) will plays host to the defending NCAA champion Virginia Cavaliers Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field as the Tar Heels begin a long homestand to conclude the 2004 season. The Cavaliers, who won last year's NCAA title with a 9-7 win over Johns Hopkins, are ranked 15th with a 3-5 overall mark and 0-1 record in the ACC. These two schools have combined to win seven NCAA championships. North Carolina won NCAA titles in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1991. Virginia has won NCAA titles in 1972, 1999 and 2003. Admission to Saturday's Carolina-Virginia game is $4 for adults, $2 for students and children and free for UNC students, faculty and staff. Gates at Fetzer Field will open at 12 noon.THE ACC RACE: Saturday's match between Virginia and North Carolina will help sort out the seedings for the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Maryland has already clinched the top seed with a 3-0 league mark. UNC is 1-1 while Virginia is 0-1 and Duke 0-2. A win by Carolina will assure the Tar Heels of the No. 2 seed. If the Tar Heels defeat Virginia their ACC semifinal opponent would then be the winner of the Virginia-Duke game on April 17. That game will be played in Charlottesville, Va.
CAROLINA'S TOUGH SCHEDULE: North Carolina is playing the second toughest schedule in the nation in 2004 according to the Face-Off Yearbook/Under Armour Strength of Schedule Rankings. The yearbook rated Johns Hopkins' schedule as the toughest in the nation with a power rating of 178.0 with UNC's schedule second at 177.5. Virginia, Duke and Maryland are playing the third, fourth and fifth toughest schedules according to Face-Off Yearbook.
CAROLINA IN CLOSE GAMES: Carolina is 3-3 in games decided by three goals or less so far during the 2004 season. This is a decided improvement over Carolina's performance in close games during the 2003 season when the Tar Heels were 1-6 in games decided by three goals or less. UNC's improvement in close games has a lot to do with the fact Carolina is currently ranked No. 5 nationally with three losses. No other team with three losses is ranked in the Top 10. All three of UNC's losses this year have come by one goal--to No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Johns Hopkins and No. 4 Navy.
TAR HEELS TO HOST 2004 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: Fans are encouraged to come watch the Tar Heels and the other tremendous ACC lacrosse teams in action as UNC hosts the men's and women's 2004 ACC Lacrosse Championships April 23rd and 25th. Beginning on Friday, April 23rd, the women's games will be at 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. at Henry Stadium and the men's games will be at 6:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. at Fetzer Field. Sunday, April 25th will be the championship Sunday, starting with the women at 12:30 p.m. with the men following at 3:00 p.m. This year, Great Atlantic Lacrosse and Brine will sponsor a Fan Zone! The Fan Zone will be located on the grass football practice field between Henry Stadium and Fetzer Field. The Fan Zone will begin Friday at noon through warm-up of the second men's semi-final game and on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. through warm-up of the men's final game. The Fan Zone will feature face painting, an obstacle course, raffles, on-field promotions and much more. Come cheer on the top teams in the nation and enjoy the Fan Zone during the 2004 ACC Lacrosse Championships.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE TAR HEELS' PERSONNEL: Carolina features six players in double figures in points heading into the Virginia game led by junior attackman Jed Prossner who has 25 goals and seven assists for 32 points. Other players in double figures are junior midfielder Bryant Will with 18 points (5g, 13a), junior attackman Mike McCall with 17 points (14g, 3a), sophomore attackman Scott Falatach with 16 points (11g, 5a), sophomore attackman Ryan Blair with 16 points (10g, 6a) and junior midfielder Lance Zimmerman with 10 points (3g, 7a). Carolina starts a veteran close defense of senior Ronnie Staines, senior Matt Pessagno and sophomore Stephen McElduff that has helped the Tar Heels hold opponents to an average of 8.83 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Paul Spellman has a goals against average of 8.73 goals per game and he has saved .593 percent of the shots on goal against him. Another key player for the Tar Heels has been senior midfielder Kevin Frew. Frew leads UNC with 66 ground balls and he has won 108 of 179 faceoffs, a winning percentage of .603.
A QUINTET OF PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA CHOICES: Five Tar Heels were named to the preseason All-America Team by Face-Off Yearbook. They were senior defenseman Ronnie Staines as a first-team All-America, junior attackman Jed Prossner as a second-team All-America, junior midfielder Bryant Will as a third-team All-America, senior faceoff man Kevin Frew as an honorable mention All-America and junior goalkeeper Paul Spellman as an honorable mention All-America.
CAROLINA AGAINST RANKED TEAMS AND ON THE ROAD: After a 10-9 loss against second-ranked Johns Hopkins last Saturday in Baltimore, the Tar Heels are now 5-2 this season when they play teams nationally-ranked at the time of the contest. The loss was Carolina's first on the road this season. UNC is now 5-1 away from home this season. Ironically, the Tar Heels are 0-2 at home this year, both losses by one goal.
TAR HEELS FINISH SEASON WITH LONG HOMESTAND: After playing six of its first eight games of the season on the road, North Carolina begins a long end of the season homestand against Virginia April 10 at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The homestand continues against UMBC on April 17 at 1 p.m. at Kenan Stadium. UNC will also host the 2004 ACC Championship at Fetzer Field on April 23 and 25. The Tar Heels will close out the regular season with home games at Fetzer Field against Limestone May 5 at 7 p.m. and against Ohio State May 8 at 12 noon.
YOUTH WINS OUT: Carolina's top offensive stat leaders are a group dominated by players who will return to the Tar Heel team in 2005. Carolina's top seven leading scorers will all return to the Tar Heel team next season. The top senior scorer is midfielder Johnny Seivold with five points (4g, 1a).
THE PROSSNER FILE: Carolina sophomore attacker not only leads the Heels in scoring with 32 points but he also had the top scoring game of his career against Notre Dame in the Tar Heels' 14-11 win over the Fighting Irish on March 14. Prossner scored six goals against Notre Dame, topping his previous high total of five against UMBC on April 13, 2002. Prossner's eight points against the Fighting Irish topped his previous high of six points in the aforementioned UMBC game and against Duke on March 19, 2003.
WILL STEPS UP: Junior midfielder Bryant Will is the top assist man on the Tar Heel team in 2004 with 13. No other Tar Heel has more than seven assists. Will scored a career high three goals in Carolina's 14-11 win at Notre Dame on March 14 and he also had a career high six points in the match. His previous highs for a single game in his career were two goals and four points.
CAROLINA AS A TEAM IN THE NATIONAL STATS: Carolina goes into Saturday's game against Virginia ranked 17th in the nation in scoring offense at 10.38 goals per game. The Tar Heels are tied for 16th in scoring margin at 1.50 goals per game. UNC is tied for 18th in winning percentage at .625 and ninth in faceoff winning percentage at .600. Carolina leads the nation this week in man up offense with a .529 percentage.
UNC INDIVIDUALS IN THE NCAA STATS: Carolina's Kevin Frew currently ranks second in the nation in ground balls per game at 8.25. He is also 10th in faceoff percentage at .603. Junior attackman Jed Prossner ranks second nationally in goals per game at 3.13 and he is tied for 10th in points per game with 4.00. Junior midfielder Bryant Will is ranked in a tie for 17th with 1.63 assists per game.
LAST SEASON AGAINST VIRGINIA: Carolina dropped a pair of close games to Virginia in the 2003 season. The Cavaliers defeated UNC 10-7 during the regular season meeting between the two teams at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. Virginia also won in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament by a 13-12 score in overtime. The Cavaliers actually led that game 12-9 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation time only to see the Tar Heels rally to force overtime.
FACING OFF: Carolina is winning a solid at a solid rate of .600 in the faceoff circle so far this season. Senior Kevin Frew has taken all but one faceoff for the Tar Heels this season and he has won 109 of 179 faceoffs. His 18 faceoffs wins in 22 attempts were a key in UNC's overtime win over Duke on March 20.
SPELLMAN BETWEEN THE PIPES: Junior goalkeeper Paul Spellman enters the Virginia game with an 8.73 goals against average and .593 save percentage. Spellman had 18 saves and only seven goals allowed in the Tar Heels' 12-7 season-opening win over UMass. He had 17 saves against Notre Dame, 14 against Denver, 13 against Maryland, 12 against Air Force and 10 against both Johns Hopkins Duke.
CAROLINA IN THE POLL: UNC is ranked No. 5 this week by the coaches in U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll. This is the second straight week UNC has been No. 5 in the poll. UNC was ranked as high as No. 4 after the first week of the regular season and also the week after the win over Duke. Carolina had not been as high as No. 4 in the USILA poll since the final poll of the 1996 season.
COACH John Haus: North Carolina head coach John Haus, a 1983 Carolina graduate, is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Tar Heel program. Prior to returning to UNC, he was the head coach at Washington College for four years where his teams were 47-21 and the head coach at Johns Hopkins where his teams went 20-7. As the Tar Heel head coach his teams are 26-20 in four seasons. In 10 years as a collegiate head coach his teams are now 93-48. Including his time as a player, assistant coach and head coach he has been involved with teams that have a combined record of 198-83 in the collegiate ranks.
TAR HEELS WIN IN OVERTIME AT DUKE: When Carolina defeated Duke 10-9 in overtime on March 20, the Tar Heels broke a four-game losing streak in overtime games. Carolina had not won an overtime contest since beating Navy 11-10 in an NCAA record six overtimes on March 2, 2002.
THE SERIES WITH VIRGINIA: North Carolina is looking for its first win over Virginia since defeating the Cavaliers 7-5 on April 7, 2001 at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers have won four successive games over the Tar Heels since then. The series began in 1949. Virginia has won 38 times and Carolina has won 19. The Cavaliers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
PROSSNER NAMED ACC CO PLAYER OF THE WEEK MARCH 1: North Carolina's Jed Prossner was named Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Co-Player of the Week March 1 after leading Carolina to an impressive win over UMass. Prossner, a native of Easton, Md., helped lead North Carolina to a 12-7 win over Minutemen. The attackman tallied three goals and one assist for four points. The junior had an early assist and then scored three goals early in the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Tar Heels. Prossner has led the Tar Heels in scoring as both a freshman in 2002 and a sophomore in 2003.
PROSSNER CAPTURES ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS A SECOND TIME: North Carolina's Jed Prossner was named the week's Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week for the second time this season March 13. The junior attackman scored 11 goals and had four assists in three games as No. 9 North Carolina swept three ranked teams on its spring break trip. The Tar Heels defeated No. 10 Denver 11-6, No. 20 Air Force 10-9 and No. 5 Notre Dame 14-11 in a span of six days. The Easton, Md., native had two goals, one assist and two ground balls against Denver and three goals, one assist and three ground balls versus Air Force. In the Tar Heels' win over Notre Dame, Prossner had a career day with six goals, two assists and two ground balls. His six goals against the Fighting Irish were a career high, as were the eight points he tallied in the match.
STAINES COPS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD: North Carolina's Ronnie Staines was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week March 22. The senior defender was at his best March 20 in No. 8 North Carolina's 10-9 overtime win at No. 5 Duke. The Severna Park, Md., native limited Duke's leading scorer, Matt Danowski, to only two shots on goal and allowed him just one assist. It was the fifth time in the first six games of the season that North Carolina has held its opponents to single digit goals.
TAR HEELS SHOOTING FOR 21ST NCAA BID: North Carolina is seeking its 21st bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2004. Only four schools in history have been invited to the tournament more times than UNC. Johns Hopkins has 32 invitations, Virginia 27, Maryland 26 and Syracuse 22.
FREW WINS 18 FACEOFFS VERSUS DUKE: When Kevin Frew won 18 faceoffs in Carolina's 10-9 win over Duke on March 29, that equalled the third most faceoffs won in a single game in UNC history by a single player. Todd Oudemool won a school record 22 against Towson on May 13, 1989 and Frew won 19 against Delaware on March 9, 2002. Ryan Damon also won 18 in a game for Carolina on April 11, 1999 against Delaware.
FREW'S CAREER FACEOFF WINS: Kevin Frew has won 335 faceoffs in his career, third most in UNC history. Only Jude Collins (1993-96) with 429 and Ryan Damon (1998-2001) with 337 have won more.
FREW'S SEASON FACEOFF WINS: Kevin Frew;s 108 faceoff victories in 2004 equal the fourth most in a single season in school history. Donnie McNichol won 108 faceoffs in 1993. The school record is 145 by Jude Collins in 1996.
SPELLMAN RANKS FOURTH IN CAREER SAVES: North Carolina junior goalkeeper Paul Spellman enters the Virginia game with 444 career saves. That is fourth in UNC history. Barney Aburn ranks third in Tar Heel history with 467 saves from 1985-88. Tom Sears (1980-83) is the career leader with 629.
