University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina & Virginia Meet On National TV Saturday
April 3, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
April 3, 2008
Tar Heels Look For Big ACC Win Over Virginia Saturday: Coming off a huge win at defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins last Saturday, the North Carolina men's lacrosse team will play host to the University of Virginia Cavaliers this coming Saturday at 4 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The game will be nationally televised live by ESPNU, the third successive Saturday the Tar Heels have been featured nationally on ESPU. Admission for Saturday's match is $5 and admission is free for UNC students, faculty and staff who present UNC One Cards at the Fetzer Field gates. Carolina heads into the match ranked No. 6 in the nation in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll while Virginia is ranked No. 4 this week after being ranked No. 1 just a week ago. Coach John Haus' Tar Heels are 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference heading into Saturday's game. Carolina's only two losses this season have come against No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Maryland. Virginia is 9-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC with the Cavaliers' only loss coming against No. 3 Maryland.
Back-to-Back Games Against Recent NCAA Champions: Carolina is playing the second of two successive games against two teams which have accounted for the past three NCAA championships. Last Saturday, the Tar Heels upset Johns Hopkins 13-8 at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md. The Blue Jays won NCAA titles in 2005 and 2007. This Saturday, North Carolina will play host to No. 4-ranked Virginia. The 9-1 Cavaliers won the NCAA title in 2006.
North Carolina Versus Virginia: Saturday's match will mark the 63rd meeting between North Carolina and Johns Hopkins on the lacrosse field. The teams first met in 1949 when Cavaliers defeated North Carolina 12-1 in Chapel Hill. Virginia leads the all-time series with North Carolina by a 42-20 margin. Last season, in Charlottesville, Virginia defeated the Tar Heels 10-9 in overtime. Carolina's last win over Virginia came on April 10, 2004 when the Tar Heels defeated the Cavaliers 11-9 at Fetzer Field. Virginia has won four in a row over the Tar Heels and 14 of the past 16 meetings.
Last Week For the Tar Heels: North Carolina recorded one of its most satisfying victories in recent memory when the Tar Heels defeated No. 8-ranked Johns Hopkins 13-8 last Saturday at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md. The victory was the first for the Tar Heels at Johns Hopkins since 1994 and it broke a six-match road losing streak for the Tar Heels against the defending NCAA champion Blue Jays. Prior to last Saturday's victory, the Tar Heels had not won at Homewood Field since April 2, 1994, an 11-9 victory at Homewood Field. Coupled with last year's 13-10 UNC victory over Johns Hopkins at Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels now have back-to-back wins over Johns Hopkins for the first time since the 1993 and 1994 seasons. The five-goal victory margin was the largest for UNC over Johns Hopkins since a 16-10 victory over the Blue Jays in the 1993 NCAA Tournament semifinals at College Park, Md. Junior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman was the chief spark behind UNC's victory as he faced 40 shots, making 14 saves, allowing only eight goals and scooping up four ground balls. Two Tar Heels had four-point games. Junior midfielder Ben Hunt had three goals and an assist and sophomore midfielder Sean Delaney had two goals and two assists.
