University of North Carolina Athletics
2008 Lacrosse Outlook
February 16, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 16, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse program, under the aegis of eighth-year head coach John Haus, returns one of the nation's most experienced and talented teams in the 2008 season as the Tar Heels seek their first Memorial Day weekend appearance in the NCAA Final Four since 1993.
All 10 starters on attack, in the first midfield unit, on the close defense and in the goal return for the Tar Heels, who are coming off a 10-6 season in which UNC advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. The 2007 season marked Carolina's second quarterfinal appearance since 1996 and with most of the team's personnel returning and a solid freshman class joining the UNC program, North Carolina is ranked No. 5 in the preseason by Faceoff Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine while the Tar Heels are No. 10 in the preseason United States Lacrosse Association preseason coaches poll.
More than 40 lettermen overall return from the 2007 team which finished with a 10-6 overall record and defeated Navy 12-8 in the NCAA quarterfinal round at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels lost five seniors off the 2007 team who will be sorely missed for their talent and leadership -- midfielders David Ryan, Ben Staines, Ryan Walterhoefer and Tom Sciolla and attackman Sam Wagner.
Coach John Haus, who has 117 career coaching wins heading into 2008, is looking to lead the Tar Heels to their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past five seasons. To do so, the Tar Heels will look to continue to improve on defense at the same rate as they did during the 2007 campaign. The last line of defense is junior Grant Zimmerman who is back as one of the nation's most experienced and athletic netminders. Zimmerman started nine of the 13 games UNC played in 2006 and he started all 16 games last season at the position. Zimmerman played all but 51 minutes of UNC's 2007 season in the goal for the Tar Heels.
In front of Zimmerman will be a very experienced close defense unit with all three starters returning from 2007. Seniors Tim Kaiser and Brian Burke have been regulars there for three years already and junior Jack Ryan shared the team's most improved player award last year after a successful switch from the midfield.
Kaiser was a third-team U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America last year and is a 2008 Faceoff Yearbook preason second-team All-America. Kaiser, who was named All-ACC last season, started all 16 games last year and was among the nation's leaders in ground balls for close defensemen with 69 and in caused turnovers with 32. Burke and Ryan provide perfect complements for Kaiser, who himself excels as a takeaway specialist. Ryan is a tough, physical presence around the crease while Burke is a fast player with good stick skills and excellent clearing ability. Kaiser and Burke have good end-to-end abilities and they can both score on the fast break.
Sophomore Chris Madalon will be the No. 1 backup in goal for Carolina after playing in a limited role in 2007. The Tar Heels are deep at the close defense position with sophomore Sean Jackson back after he started four games last season and two outstanding defensive freshmen -- Ryan Flanagan and Kevin Piegare -- added to the mix, both of whom will compete for significant playing time .
The Tar Heels are also well stocked at the rope position with sophomores Michael Jarvis, Kerry McCormick and Jackson all back. All three saw extensive action there last season and Jarvis started 12 games on the wing for UNC. Flanagan will also get a look at the long stick midfield role.
Adding depth on the defensive end will be senior goalkeeper Andrew Moss and freshman goalkeeper Jamie Locke as well as a host of solid defensemen -- junior Pell George, junior Chris Cortina, junior Andrew Pyke, freshman Mike Chires, freshman Emmit Kellar, freshman Scott Bollert, senior Tim McCall, sophomore Hunter Meldman and freshman Milton Lyles.
The Tar Heels return all three starters on attack just as they do on close defense. Junior Bart Wagner is a preseason third-team All-America after earning honorable mention postseason honors a year ago. Wagner has led the Tar Heels in scoring each of the past two seasons. A year ago he had 44 points on 23 goals and 21 assists to go along with a hefty total of 51 ground balls.
Carolina's other two returning starters are redshirt sophomore Gavin Petracca, an honorable mention preseason All-America, and redshirt junior Michael B. Burns. Petracca was Carolina's second-leading scorer last year with 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points and Burns led the Heels in goal scoring with 28 and he had 35 points overall. The second attack unit is quite capable with junior Matthias McCall, sophomore Kevin Federico and freshman Billy Bitter all expected to see significant time. McCall and Federico both played significant minutes last year. Other attacking options for Carolina include sophomore Ian Morrison and sophomore Colin Sherwood. Altogether it will be a deep and talented uit for the Tar Heels.
At short stick defensive midfield the Tar Heels lost two seniors who saw the bulk of the time last year at the position -- Ben Staines and David Ryan. However the SSDM unit is well stocked being led by senior captains Fletcher Gregory and Mike Munnelly and redshirt freshman Michael J. Burns. Gregory played in all 16 games for the Tar Heels last year and was one of the team's most improved players. Munnelly returns after a year off recovering from surgery and Burns will also be the No. 1 backup at the faceoff spot after taking a medical redshirt last year.
The Tar Heels return junior Shane Walterhoefer, considered by many to be the nation's No. 1 player at the X. Walterhoefer, a preseason first-team All-America selection by Faceoff Magazine, set the school record for faceoffs won in a season last year with 222. He was among the nation's leaders in ground balls with 113 and overall he won 60.5 percent of his faceoffs.
In the offensive midfield the Tar Heels return a considerable amount of experience and firepower. enior captain Nick Tintle is a preseason second-team All-America and he returns as UNC's leading scorer from the midfield in 2007 when he had 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points. Junior Ben Hunt is a preseason honorable mention All-America after scoring 20 goals and passing for eight assists as a sophomore. Hunt was UNC's fourth-leading goal producer last season. Senior Rob Driscoll with 13, sophomore Sean Burke with 10 and sophomore Sean Delaney with 10 add to the double figures goal scorers out of the midfield who played for UNC in 2007. Other players who have worked their way into the Top 3 units in preseason practice inlude senior Brian Connors (10 points in 2007), junior Bobby McAuley, freshman Matt Davie, sophomore Tommy D'Alessandro, freshman Chris Hunt and sophomore transfer Cryder DiPietro. Sophomore Joe Howard and senior Jamie DeBole round out a unit which should be amongst the team's top strengths this season.
