University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Lacrosse Looks To Kick Off Season In Eight Days
February 10, 2006 | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 10, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina carries high hopes for success into the 2006 lacrosse season despite the loss of 11 lettermen and five starters off last year's 5-8 team.
The Tar Heels lost an inordinate number of close matches in 2005 and head coach John Haus and his staff believe the Tar Heels have the makings of a much improved squad this season, the kind of squad which can turns some of those close losses into victories this year. In UNC's five wins last year the Tar Heels outscored their opponents by 31 goals while in the eight losses the Tar Heels were outscored by only 26 goals, an average of only 3.25 goals per game.
Head coach John Haus enters his sixth season at his alma mater and one of the things Haus is most impressed with is the leadership and work ethic of the team.
"The biggest thing that stuck out in fall ball was the leadership of our two captains, Stephen McElduff and Hayward Howard," Haus says. "They really took control of the leadership of this team.
"Our work ethic is as good as its ever been since I've been here as head coach. Our drive and our hunger to succeed are at as high a level as I've seen," Haus continues. "Credit for that goes not only to the captains but our whole senior class. There's a realization on this team that we need to do some things differently coming off what was a disappointing season in 2005."
"We obviously have unknowns at a lot of positions heading into this season, however, in practice it's as competitive a situation as it's been in a long time as these individuals battle for playing time," Haus says. "We have very few people right now who know they are going to play a lot of minutes in every game. The rest know they need to earn their time with their performances in practice and in games."
THE TAR HEELS ON DEFENSE
Although the Tar Heels will be in search of a new starting goalkeeper this spring, the defensive end of the field is where Carolina is the most experienced. If the Tar Heels get the kind of effort they need on the defensive end they will stay in most games even against the brutal schedule North Carolina will encounter.
Senior Stephen McElduff will be in his fourth year as a starter on close defense and sophomore Tim Kaiser returns after starting the last 10 games of the 2005 season. McElduff was a third-team All-America last year after earning honorable mention accolades the previous year.
UNC also returns two long-stick defensive midfielders who have been the top players at that position since they were freshmen. Senior Hayward Howard is likely to move out of that role this year and start as the third close defense spot. Meanwhile, senior Billy Staines returns as UNC's top long-stick middie. He is expected to be joined in that role by sophomore Brian Burke, one of the team's most athletic and quick players.
Haus likes what he see so far from this chief defenders.
"As long as we can get solid goalie play we feel we can play at a high level on the defensive end. We feel we are as athletic and as fast as we've been at that end of the field in a long time. Obviously our leader back there is a person I believe is one of the premier defensemen in the country, Stephen McEldfuff," says Haus.
"We have two close defensemen who have started for us. We have two ropers who have been mainstays for us for the past three years. For the third position at close defense we feel we have a couple of options. We know that both Burke and Howard can play both the close defense and rope positions. Billy Staines has had his best fall season in the three seasons he's been here. He's improved his strength and endurance and has been a terror on ground balls.
"Stephen McElduff plays with tremendous passion and is as tough and nasty a defender as I've coached. He's relentless. He possesses the versatility of being able to guard both a quick attackman and a big, dodging attackman. Stephen knows how to get to ground balls and advance the ball up the field. Tim Kaiser has a year under his belt as a starter for us. He is as athletic a defenseman as we have. He has good quickness and solid takeaway skills. Tim is outstanding between the lines clearing the ball."
For the third position Haus knows both Howard and Burke can be outstanding at the third close defenseman slot or as a rope. "Hayward Howard plays at only one speed -100 miles an hour. He is very fast and outstanding between the lines," Haus says. "Hayward creates havoc with his tenacity. Brian Burke has improved his strength. He's one of the top stick handlers on the defensive end with a tremendous ability to clear the ball."
A NEW STARTER IN THE GOAL
One of the challenges North Carolina faces is finding a new face to man the goalkeeper spot. From 2002 through 2005, Paul Spellman was the man in the net for UNC, missing only one start in those four seasons. He left Carolina as the school's all-time saves leader.
The two chief contenders for the starting spot are junior Trey Sheain and redshirt freshman Grant Zimmerman.
"Zimmerman and Sheain give us two solid options in the goal. They are competing with the realization one will start against Ohio State February 18," says Haus. "They both played well in the fall and competed hard each and every day.
"Both have been consistent at stopping the ball for us. Both give us good clearing skills. They both can throw tremendous outlet passes," Haus says.
"I am confident with either one of them in the goal. The only drawback is their inexperience in game situations at the college level."
REBUILDING THE ATTACK
Carolina begins the season knowing its No. 1 man at the attack position is senior Ryan Blair. Blair had a tremendous junior year and was deserving of postseason recognition that unfortunately did not come his way.
Blair led the Tar Heels in scoring with 51 points and in assists with 29. He was also the third leading goal producer with 22.
"The challenge that lies ahead for Ryan Blair is that on most occasions last year he drew the other team's No. 2 or No. 3 defender when we had Jed Prossner and Mike McCall on the field," says Haus.
"Ryan knows he's going into this year drawing the No. 1 defender on each team we play. Ryan's strengths are his quickness and his ability to break down a defender and feed the ball. He has worked in the off season to become a much-improved shooter."
Beyond Blair chances to play in the attack are there for the taking. Prossner and McCall are now gone and combined they scored excatly one half of the goals UNC registered in 2005--62 of 124.
Carolina returns three upperclassmen who have been tremendous practice players but have seen limited playing time in games up until now. This group includes senior Sean Link, redshirt senior Drew Habeck and junior Sam Wagner.
"They all bring different strengths to the game. Habeck is a strong right-handed dodger who plays well on the inside. Sam Wagner is a left-handed attackman and he is an aggressive kid. He's tough and he rides hard. Sean Link has decent speed, is a good time and room shooter and can ride hard," says Haus.
There are four freshman who are right in the mix for a starting spot or at the very least a lot of playing time. Michael Burns is a red-shirt freshman who played in the opening game last year before being sidelined by injury the rest of the way. "He has a good knack at scoring in tight. Michael has tremendous quickness and is a tough rider," says Haus.
The Tar Heels also have three true freshmen who are contenders for starting spots. This group thinned by one after outstanding newcomer Gavin Petracca underwent knee surgery less than two weeks before the start of the season. He will redshirt and return with four years of eligibility remaining next season.
Bart Wagner, Ben Hunt and Matthias McCall are the other freshmen who could end up being big contributors from the get go for the Tar Heels.
"All of these kids have had great high school careers. Two of the four, Bart Wagner and Ben Hunt, have the versatility to play in the midfield if we need them there," comments Haus.
"Ben Hunt has good size and strength and tremendous field sense. He instinctively knows when to shoot and when to feed. He has the versatility to run between the lines as a midfielder. Matthias McCall simply has a nose for the goal. He can score as a dodger or as an off-ball player. He's a real heady player with good field sense. Bart Wagner is similar to Ben Hunt in that he has tremendous versatility and can play anywhere. He has very good speed and endurance. He's a good time and room shooter and possesses solid feeding ability."
PRODUCTION FROM THE MIDFIELD KEY TO CAROLINA CHANCES
It is in the midfield where Carolina needs to make the most improvement in its game from 2005 to 2006. Only 33 of UNC's 124 goals came from the midfield last year and if Carolina is to be an NCAA Tournament team in 2006 that percentage has to increase.
Three seniors are the most experienced players UNC has at the position--Andrew McElduff, Kyle Henderson and Ryan Tolson.
"At the midfield position we are going to have to find out about ourselves in the spring," Haus admits. "Ryan Tolson, Andrew McElduff and Kyle Henderson were all hurt during the fall season and did not practice with us. McElduff had shoulder surgery. Tolson had surgery on his ankle. Henderson had hamstring problems.
"McElduff is big strong middie who can run. He's worked hard on improving his shooting percentage. We know he is a good defender and can get ground balls. Henderson is a middie who we feel has good quickness and change of direction, the ability to feed the ball and improve his shooting. Kyle Stringer and Ryan Tolson are both senior middies with some experience."
Another key senior is Dave Werry, one of the university's top citizen-athletes, an individual whose commitment to community service is virtually unrivaled in UNC athletic history.
"Dave Werry has improved his ability to faceoff for us. Even though he wasn't elected a captain he is one of our team leaders on and off field," says Haus.
"In the junior class we are led by David Ryan and Tom Sciolla. Ryan is playing with tremendous confidence. He was able to run as a defensive midfielder last year, gaining a lot of game experience. He played as well as any middie we had in the fall. Sciolla has worked tremendously hard. He has improved in areas we asked him to, particularly decision making, shooting ability and his defensive game. Ben Staines was the biggest surprise of all the junior middies in fall. He faced off for us and also played man down defense."
Carolina has a large group of sophomore midfielders, five of whom played significant roles on the 2005 team. That quintet includes Rob Driscoll, Nick Tintle, Mike Munnelly, Brian Connors and redshirt sophomore Ryan Walterhoefer.
"Rob Driscoll is a tough hard-nosed middie. He must become a bigger offensive threat for us to have a successful season. Nick Tintle is a tough middie. He has the versatility to dodge out top and he can invert and dodge from behind the cage as well. Nick is a tremendous off the ball player on offensive end. We need him to improve his scoring output," says Haus.
"Ryan Walterhoefer is our top left-handed midfielder. He has experience running on our man up unit and is an excellent time and room shooter. He has significantly improved his dodging skills. Mike Munnelly was used primarily as a defensive midfielder as a freshman. Mike is one of our best players in transition from offense to defense. He's an excellent wing player on faceoffs and remains our top defensive middie. We also look to work him into the offensive end of the field this year. Brian Connors has improved his offensive skills, increased his strength and speed and become a solid shooter."
The Tar Heels will also be looking for some freshmen to step right in and produce.
"Both Ben Hunt and Bart Wagner have a chance to play a lot for us in the midfield. Shane Walterhoefer will help us at the faceoff X and he's a player who can stay on the field whether he wins or loses the draw. Bobby McAuley could start for us in the No. 1 midfield unit. He had a great fall season and he exhibits a tremendous work ethic. Offensively he can break down his defender in order to feed or shoot. He can dodge from behind, plays solid defense, has speed between the lines and will faceoff."
