University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Play Host To Undefeated Duke Saturday
March 18, 2005 | Men's Lacrosse
March 18, 2005
NORTH CAROLINA SEEKS END TO LOSING STREAK IN MATCHUP AGAINST DUKE SATURDAY: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team has its back against the wall as it prepares to face third-ranked Duke Saturday in a 2:30 p.m. match at Fetzer Field. Carolina, ranked 15th nationally, has lost its last three matches to drop to 1-3 on the season and things don't get any easier for the Tar Heels, who in their next five matches must play the Nos. 1-4 teams in the nation plus No. 12 Cornell. The quest for a successful end to the campaign must begin Saturday for North Carolina. The challenge for the Tar Heels will be immense as they face one of the nation's stellar lacrosse teams. Duke is ranked No. 3 in this week's U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll. Duke is 6-0 overall this season and the Blue Devil offense has been particularly productive, scoring at least 10 goals in five of the Blue Devils' first six matches. Duke's biggest win to date came against fourth-ranked Maryland, an impressive 10-8 victory at College Park, Md., on March 5 over a Terrapin team which at the time was undefeated and ranked even higher than at present. That win gives Duke a current mark of 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels play their ACC opener Saturday versus the Blue Devils. The match will begin at 2:30 p.m. at Fetzer Field on Saturday. It is the second game of a lacrosse doubleheader. The North Carolina's women's team will play the Virginia women at Fetzer Field beginning at 12 noonin a battle of Top 10 teams in the opening game.
SATURDAY'S MATCH WORTH ONE POINT IN 2004-05 CARLYLE CUP STANDINGS: The men's lacrosse match between Duke and North Carolina Saturday at Fetzer Field will be worth one point in the standings for the 2004-05 Carlyle Cup. The Carlyle Cup is currently in its fifth year of existence and it is awarded each year to the school which excels in the all-sports competition between Duke and North Carolina. The competition is sponsored by Carlyle and Company. Duke won the Carlyle Cup in 2001, 2003 and 2004 while North Carolina won in 2002. Based on a 27-point formula overall, the Cup standings currently have UNC in the lead 11.5-5.5 points with nine points yet to be decided. The men's lacrosse match is worth one point in the standings. After Saturday, one point each will remain in each of the following sports: baseball, rowing, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's golf, women's golf, women's track and field and men's track and field.
CAROLINA SQUAD HOPING TO GIVE John Haus 100TH COLLEGE COACHING WIN SATURDAY: In addition to securing a victory over an undefeated and nationally No. 3-ranked Duke Blue Devil team Saturday, the North Carolina men's lacrosse team will also be seeking to reward Tar Heel Head Coach John Haus with his 100th collegiate career coaching victory. Now in his 11th season as a college head coach, Haus has mentored teams which have compiled records totaling 99-53. In four seasons at Washington College from 1995-98, his teams went 47-21. Haus then coached at Johns Hopkins for two seasons in 1999 and 2000 where his squads were 20-7. Now in his fifth year at UNC, Haus has led the Tar Heels to a 32-25 ledger.
TAR HEELS COMPETE AGAINST MONSTER SCHEDULE IN 2005: North Carolina is playing what may possibly be the toughest schedule in the nation during the 2005 season. Carolina faces another talented team in the No. 3-ranked Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. Altogether, UNC plays seven of the top 12 teams in this week's U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll and eight teams in the Top 25. The Tar Heels have already played No. 24 Denver, beating the Pioneers 18-12. Following that match, UNC dropped back-to-back games against No. 6 Navy 9-6 and No. 9 Notre Dame 9-7. Beginning Saturday, the Tar Heels face the following five opponents in a row, a veritable Who's Who of the Nation's top teams -- No. 3 Duke, No. 12 Cornell, No. 4 Maryland, No. 1 Johns Hopkins and No. 2 Virginia.
THE SERIES WITH THE BLUE DEVILS The series between North Carolina and Duke began in 1952 with an 11-7 victory by the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils won the opening three games in the series from 1952-54 before the series when discontinued for 10 years after the Tar Heels dropped their varsity program. The series was restarted in 1964 when UNC defeated Duke 14-0 in Durham, N.C. Overall, North Carolina leads the series by a 37-14 margin, including victories in the past three matches. However, since the two teams met in the 1995 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship match, Duke has held the advantage in the series by a 9-5 margin. The teams played an overtime match last season in Durham with North Carolina winning 10-9 on a goal by midfielder Lance Zimmerman. The match was the first overtime decision in the series since 1986 when North Carolina won 9-8 in Chapel Hill. Over the last 14 matches, the Blue Devils have held the edge in close matches, winning three of eight games decided by one or two goals.
PROSSNER NOW TIED FOR EIGHTH IN CAREER GOALS: North Carolina senior attackman Jed Prossner (Easton, Md.) heads into the Duke game tied foreighth place as the leading goal scorer in North Carolina men's lacrosse history. Prossner, after scoring five goals against Hofstra this past Wednesday, currently has 98 career goals at UNC. In addition to being just two goals short of the century mark, Prossner is now tied with Chase Martin (1997-2000) for right place on the all-time Carolina chart. The all-time leader at UNC is Bert Fett who scored 128 goals from 1972-75. Immediately ahead of Prossner on the career chart are Jeff Sonke (1998-2001) in fifth place with 102 goals, Merrill Turnbull (1994-97) in sixth place with 101 goals and Harper Peterson (1968-70) in seventh place with 99 career goals. Prossner scored 41 goals during the 2004 season. That was the fifth most goals in a single season in Tar Heel history. The record output was 47 by Dennis Goldstein during UNC's national championship run in 1991.
McCALL & WILL PASS MILESTONES: A pair of Tar Heel seniors passed career milestones in the season's early games. Senior Mike McCall (Yorktown, N.Y.) has passed the 75 mark in career goals this season. McCall's 15 goals this season has pushed his career total to 84. McCall is chasing the Top 10 list at UNC. Jason Wade currently ranks 10th in career goal scoring at UNC with 95 goals. Senior midfielder Bryant Will (Phoenix, Md.) has recorded six assists this season to pass the 50 mark in his career. Will now has a total of 52 assists. He is aiming for the UNC Top 10 list which currently has Matt Crofton (1997-2000) and Chase Martin (1997-2000) tied for the No. 9 spot with 63 assists apiece.
SPELLMAN NOW THIRD IN CAREER SAVES:
Tar Heel senior goalkeeper Paul Spellman (Cockeysville, Md.), who has started 44 of the 45 games the Tar Heels have played since he arrived on campus in 2002, heads into the Duke game with 574 career saves. That total ranks third in Carolina history. Ahead of him on the chart are Tom Sears (1980-83) with 629 and Dave Shreiner (1971-73) with 621. Spellman had a season-high 16 saves against Navy on March 5 while allowing only nine goals in a hard-fought game against the second-ranked Midshipmen in which UNC fell short 9-6.CAROLINA IN ACC GAMES:
Since John Haus' arrival as the Tar Heels' head coach in 2001, Carolina is 6-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season matches. That is a marked turnaround for the Tar Heel program from the previous four-year period of 1997-2000 when UNC posted a 1-11 record in ACC regular-season games. In 2005, the Tar Heels will be seeking a winning record in the ACC for the third straight season. UNC was 2-1 in ACC play in both 2003 and 2004. The last time Carolina had three straight winning records in ACC play was 1992-94.TAR HEELS POST BIGGEST OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION SINCE 2001: When North Carolina defeated Denver 18-12 on February 26, 2005, it marked the most goals scored in a game by the Tar Heels since a 27-7 win over Pfeiffer on April 26, 2001. It was the most goals in a game by UNC against an NCAA Division I opponent since March 13, 1999 when the Tar Heels smacked Air Force 18-5 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
THE ALL-TIME HOME RECORD:
North Carolina has a record of 208-101-2 in home games dating back to the start of the varsity program in 1949.
