Tar Heel Lacrosse Team Takes Two In Japan
June 17, 2006 | Men's Lacrosse
June 17, 2006
UNC Lacrosse In Japan Report
Saturday, 9:41 p.m. Tokyo Time, 8:41 a.m. Chapel Hill Time
TOKYO, JAPAN--In anticipation of the opening ceremonies of the 2006 International Lacrosse Friendship Games coming up on Sunday, the North Carolina men's lacrosse team took to the field twice Saturday just 21 hours after arriving from a trip across the Pacific Ocean which lasted nearly a day's length on its own.
The jet-lagged Tar Heels played well on Saturday however as they defeated the Tokyo Under-20 Youth Team 11-1 in a 40-minute game before defeating the Japanese Under 21 National Team in a full regulation match that started just an hour later by a 13-5 score.
Opening ceremonies for the International Lacrosse Friendship Games are slated for 12 noon Sunday Tokyo time on Sunday (11 p.m. Saturday in Chapel Hill). The morning game will feature the U-21 Japanese National Team against the U-23 Tokyo All-Stars. After opening ceremonies, a women's all-star game will be played before the premier event of the tournament which will match the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Japanese National Team at 3 p.m. in an 80-minute game (four quarters of 20 minutes each). The Japanese National Team is just a month away from playing in the upcoming World Lacrosse Games. All action Sunday will be played at the 12,000-seat Edogawa Stadium in Tokyo.
The Tar Heels started Saturday by playing the U-20 Tokyo Youth All-Star game at Rinkai Field, a facility which features a playing field made of volcanic dirt.
The Tar Heels found the adjustment difficult at first as they lost their first five face-offs and senior starter Kyle Stringer went out just 10 seconds into the match with an ankle injury. But once Carolina found its rhythm the Tar Heels dominated the game. UNC led 8-0 at the half and went on to outscore the Tokyo All-Stars 3-1 in the second half for an 11-1 final.
Senior attackman Drew Habeck carried the day for the Tar Heels offensively as he scored three goals and had one assist. Freshman Bart Wagner had three assists for the Tar Heels.
Other multiple goal scorers for UNC were junior attackman Ben Mark with two, junior attackman Sam Wagner with two and single goals were also scored by senior attackman Ryan Blair, senior midfielder Ryan Tolson, sophomore midfielder Rob Driscoll and senior midfielder Kyle Henderson. Besides Bart Wagner's three assists, UNC had single assists from Drew Habeck, Ryan Blair, Sam Wagner, Brian Connors and Tom Sciolla.
Junior Trey Sheain, sophomore Andrew Moss and freshman Grant Zimmerman split the 40 minutes in goal for UNC and came near to pitching the shutout.
At the conclusion of the game against the Tokyo All-Stars at 2:15 p.m., the team bused to Edogawa Stadium to play the U-21 Japanese National Team in a game which started at 3:15 p.m. The Tar Heels outscored the Japanese in each quarter (3-1, 4-0, 3-2, 3-2) en route to a 13-5 victory which saw all three goalkeepers see significant playing time -- Sheain (22.5 minutes), Zimmerman (22.5 minutes), and Moss (15 minutes) while Coach John Haus used his entire bench in order to keep the team fresh for Sunday's sterner test.
The Tar Heels had a balanced effort against the U21 Team with 11 different Tar Heels scoring goals. The top point producer was Ben Mark with a goal and three assists while Habeck again had a solid game with two goals and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Fletcher Gregory had a pair of goals for UNC and junior midfielder Tom Sciolla had a goal and an assist.
Other goals off Tar Heel sticks came from senior midfielder Andrew McElduff, freshman attackman Michael Burns, sophomore midfielder Brian Connors, senior attackman Ryan Blair, freshman attackman Matthias McCall, senior attackman Sean Link and freshman midfielder Ben Hunt.
UNC is playing short-handed in the tournament with four players missing from the roster who could not make the trip -- Stephen McElduff, Dave Werry, Jamie DeBole and Pell George. In addition, attackman Gavin Petracca and midfielders Mike Munnelly, Shane Walterhoefer, Kyle Stringer and Ryan Walterhoefer all currently have injuries and will be unable to play Sunday. Despite the lack of rest and depleted roster, the Tar Heels fared well Saturday and they will look forward to their third game in two days Sunday.
UNC Associate Athletic Communications Director
