University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Opens ACC Play Saturday Versus Duke
March 13, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
March 13, 2009
Tar Heels Host Duke Saturday On ESPNU: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team will play its third game in six days Saturday when the No. 6-ranked Tar Heels will meet No. 9-ranked Duke at 2 p.m. at Kenan Stadium. Admission to the game is free and fans should enter through Gate 2 and sit on the North side of the stadium. The Tar Heels enter the game with a record of 7-1. Duke has won three in a row and is 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. This Saturday's game will be the ACC opener for the Tar Heels. In this week's Inside Lacrosse/Nike media poll, the Tar Heels are ranked in a tie for sixth place with Cornell while the Blue Devils come in as the No. 9 team.
The Tar Heels On ESPNU: Saturday's match will be the first of four in a row to be telecast nationally on ESPU. After meeting Duke on Saturday, the Tar Heels have ESPNU appearances scheduled on March 21 in College Park, Md. against Maryland, on March 28 in Chapel Hill against Johns Hopkins and on April 4 in East Rutherford, N.J. at Giants Stadium against Virginia.
Tar Heels Seek To Reward Breschi With 100th Career Win Saturday: New UNC head coach Joe Breschi has started his Tar Heel career 7-1. On Saturday, his first Tar Heel unit can reward the 1990 UNC graduate with his 100th career coaching victory. Now in his 12th year as a head coach, including the first 11 at Ohio State where he was 92-63, Breschi is 99-64 overall as UNC prepares to meet the Blue Devils.
Carlyle Cup Point On The Line Saturday: Saturday's match will be worth one point in the 2008-09 Carlyle Cup competition, the annual all-sports matchup between the two schools. UNC currently leads the standings 11.5 points to 4.5 points in 2008-09. Points are awarded on head-to-head matchups in 23 varsity sports. Carolina has won the Cup four times, Duke three times and there has been one tie. The last time UNC won the men's lacrosse point was in the 2003-04 school year.
Seeking An ACC Win: The Tar Heels will be seeking to end an 18-match losing streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents on Saturday against Duke. Carolina's last ACC win came against Virginia on April 10, 2004 when the Tar Heels defeated the Cavaliers 11-9 at Fetzer Field. As of Saturday, that win came 1,799 days ago. The 18-match losing streak started on April 23, 2004 when Virginia defeated the Tar Heels 11-9 in the semifinals of 2004 ACC Tournament at Fetzer Field. During the losing streak, UNC has gone 0-12 in ACC regular-season games, 0-5 in ACC Tournament games and 0-1 in NCAA Tournament games against NCAA foes. Since the beginning of the 1997 season, UNC is 7-43 in games against ACC opponents.
Tar Heels Got Off To Fastest Start Since 2002: With a win over Detroit Mercy March 3 by a 19-4 score, North Carolina started the 2009 campaign with a record of 6-0. The last time UNC started a season with six straight wins was 2002. The Tar Heels finished that season 8-5 after going 2-5 over its last seven games of the season. Notre Dame snapped the Tar Heels' winning streak by beating UNC 9-7 on March 8. The last time a Tar Heel team had opened its campaign with seven straight wins was 1993 when Carolina started at 9-0. That Tar Heel team went on to play in the NCAA championship game, the last time a UNC team advanced to the Memorial Day Weekend final 4 in men's lacrosse.
Zimmerman Named To Lowe's Senior Class Award List: Senior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman has been named as one of 30 players under consideration for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition. A year ago, Tar Heel senior midfielder Fletcher Gregory was one of the 10 finalists for the prestigious national award.
The Starting Attack: UNC's starting attack unit of senior Bart Wagner, junior Gavin Petracca and sophomore Billy Bitter is currently averaging 10.125 points per game as a unit in the season's first eight games. Bitter leads the way for the Tar Heels will 30 points while Wagner has 27 and Petracca 24. Wagner leads the team in goals with 19 while Bitter is second with 17 and junior midfielder Sean Delaney is third with 16 goals. Bitter is the team leader in assists along with junior midfielder Sean Burke as each has 13. Petracca is also in double figures in assists with 11.
The Passing Game In High Gear As Wagner and Delaney Scorch Mountain Hawks: Playing against a zone defense February 28 against Lehigh, UNC had one of its most successful passing games in years as the Tar Heels scored 14 goals on an amazing 13 assists. Bart Wagner had a career-high seven points in the game on four goals and three assists, exceeding his previous high of six points against Marist on March 18, 2008. Junior midfielder Sean Delaney had a career-high four goals in the game against the Mountain Hawks. Delaney has scored 16 goals so far in 2009. He has already surpassed his goal total of 12 he scored in 14 games in 2008. He is within six goals of the 22 tallies he had in 2007 and 2008 combined. Delaney's four-goal game was his best as a Tar Heel as he bettered the hat trick he had against Navy on February 20, 2009 and the three he had against Providence on April 21, 2007. In the win over Navy, Delaney scored back-to-back goals in the final six minutes of the game to rally the Tar Heels from an 8-7 deficit to a 9-8 win over the Midshipmen.
Howard, Locke and McCall Against Detroit Mercy: The March 3rd 19-4 win over Detroit Mercy allowed Head Coach Joe Breschi to play his reserves the entire second half. This resulted in some new career high efforts for several Tar Heels. Junior attackman Joe Howard had the first hat trick of his career and finished with a personal best four points. Senior attackman Matthias McCall also had a career-high four points with a two-goal, two-assist effort. Sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Locke saw the first-ever action of his career, playing the last 18:52 of the match. Locke proved himself worthy with a six-save effort while allowing only two goals. He also had two ground balls.
Walterhoefer On The Career Charts: Shane Walterhoefer has now won a school record 568 face-offs in his career. He set the University record in the final game of the 2008 season, passing Kevin Frew's previous career record of 446 face-off victories.
The Offensive Output: Through the opening eight games of the 2009 season, North Carolina is averaging 13.75 goals per game. That compares to an average of just 9.96 goals per game scored by the Tar Heels in 14 games in 2008.
Walt Wins 20 Again Versus Friars: Shane Walterhoefer's 20 face-off wins against Providence March 11 marked the 15th time in his career he has won 15 or more face-offs in a match. It was only the fourth time in Tar Heel lore that a player has won as many as 20 in a game. Walterhoefer has done it two of the other three times as well. He set the school record with 23 face-off wins against Ohio State on April 12, 2008 and he also won 20 against Hofstra on April 19, 2008. The other occasion came when Todd Oudemool won 22 against Towson on May 13, 1989.
Walterhoefer Ties School Record For Ground Balls In a Game Versus Providence: Shane Walterhoefer's 15 ground balls against Providence March 11 marked the sixth time in school history a player has achieved that school record total. Walterhoefer has accomplished it twice now. The following players have claimed 15 ground balls in a game: Michael Burnett against NC State on May 2, 1981; Todd Oudemool against Towson on May 17, 1989; Jude Collins against Duke on April 23, 1995; Jude Collins against Virginia on April 6, 1986; Shane Walterhoefer against Ohio State on April 12, 2008; and Shane Walterhoefer against Providence on March 11, 2009.
Walt's Career Total: Shane Walterhoefer has now won a school record 568 face-offs in his career. Wednesday he passed Bart Aldridge of Delaware (1986-89) into 11th place in number of face-offs won in NCAA Division I history. Walterhoefer is currently 15th in NCAA history and second in UNC history in face-off winning percentage at .615. He has attempted the 14th most face-offs in NCAA history.
Walterhoefer On The Ground Ball Charts: With his 15 ground balls against Providence March 11, Walterhoefer moved past Gary Seivold (1984-87) and Chris Walker (1984-87) into fourth place on UNC's all-time ground ball list with 305. He is two ground balls short of Joey Seivold (1983-87) for the third spot on the list.
Riding And Clearing: Riding and clearing are an essential part of the game and the Tar Heels are doing a much better job of doing both in 2009. This year's group is clearing successfully at a .843 clip compared to .728 in 2008. UNC has also limited opponents to success on only .657 percent of clear attempts. A year ago, opponents cleared at a .850 clip.
Zimmerman In The Net: Senior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman began the week with the nation's seventh best goals against average at 6.80. A year ago, Zimmerman had a 9.42 goals against average per contest.
Tar Heels Explode For 20 Goals: The 20 goals UNC scored against Denver on February 14 were the most scored by UNC since a 27-7 win over Pfeiffer on April 26, 2001 at Henry Stadium. It was the most goals scored by UNC against an NCAA Division I opponent since April 16, 1997 when UNC won at VMI by a 22-2 score.
UNC Versus Duke: North Carolina and Duke will meet for the 60th time on the lacrosse field Saturday, dating back to an 11-7 win by the Blue Devils in Durham on May 15, 1952. Duke has won eight games in a row over the Tar Heels and 17 of the past 22 meetings with North Carolina. Despite that, UNC still leads the all-time series 37-22, thanks in part to a 19-game winning streak by the Tar Heels from 1968-86.
Carolina On Cover Of Inside Lacrosse Magazine: Senior midfielder Ben Hunt is featured on the front cover of the March 2009 issue of Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The magazine includes an eight-page feature on the Tar Heels with photography by Triangle area native Peyton Williams.
Bart Wagner Has Scored In All But Three Career Games: North Carolina senior attackman Bart Wagner had the third-longest scoring streak in NCAA Division I lacrosse before it was snapped against Ohio State on April 12, 2009. Wagner had scored at least one point in 38 successive games, a streak which started on February 26, 2006 against the University of Denver in an 11-8 loss to the Pioneers at Denver. At the time his streak ended, Wagner was tied for third on the list with Ohio State's Kevin Buchanan. Only Matt Danowski of Duke and Mike Leveille of Syracuse had longer scoring streaks in their careers at that time. During the 38-game scoring streak, Wagner had scored 49 goals and added 47 assists for 96 points. In fact, Wagner has scored at least one point in 49 of 52 career games at UNC. His only scoreless games came against Air Force on February 25, 2006 during the second game of his Tar Heel career, against Ohio State on April 12, 2008 and against Notre Dame on March 8, 2009. Wagner led the Tar Heels in scoring in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He has 75 career goals and 59 career assists for a total of 134 career points heading into the Duke game. Wagner needs four assists to move into a tie for 10th place in career assists at UNC. Wagner has scored three or more goals in a game in five of UNC's eight games this season.
Walterhoefer Wins 15 Or More Again: When Shane Walterhoefer won 20 face-offs in UNC's 14-7 win over Providence on March 11, it marked the 15th time in his career he has won at least 15 face-offs in a game. Walterhoefer has won 15 or more face-offs in a game four times this year. The senior won 15 in the season opener against Robert Morris in 22 attempts then followed that with stunning back-to-back performances against Navy and Colgate on February 20 and 22. Walterhoefer won 16 of 20 against the Midshipmen in a 9-8 win and 16 of 24 against the Red Raiders in an 11-9 win. Walterhoefer won 20 of 23 face-offs against Providence March 11. He has also won 14 in a game twice this season, going 14 for 26 against Denver and 14 for 23 against Lehigh.
Bitter and Petracca Start Out Hot Against RMU and UD; Other Tar Heels Compiling Career Highs This Season: Attackmen Billy Bitter, a sophomore, and Gavin Petracca, a junior, started out the season on fire for the Tar Heels in their season opener. Bitter scorched Robert Morris for five goals and one assist and Petracca added four goals and one assist. Bitter set career highs for points and goals in a game against Robert Morris. He had scored three goals as a freshman against Cornell on March 2, 2008 and had three points as a freshman in both that Cornell game and against Duke on March 15, 2008. Against Denver a week later, Bitter rang up three goals and four assists and Petracca had four goals and four assists. Bart Wagner and Ben Hunt also had three goals in the game and Sean Delaney and Cryder DiPietro had two each. Against the Pioneers, Petracca set career highs for assists in a game with four -- he previously had three each against Bellarmine on March 7, 2007, Notre Dame on March 10, 2007 and Johns Hopkins on March 31, 2007. His eight points were also a career high, eclipsing the six he had against Vermont on March 13, 2007. Cryder DiPietro equaled his career high for goals in a game with two against the Pioneers. He also had two against Bellarmine on February 16, 2008 and against Duke on April 25, 2008. DiPietro also had two goals against Detroit Mercy on March 3. Bitter's seven points versus Denver were one better than his previous career high of six against Robert Morris a week before. His four assists were also a career high, bettering the three he had at Duke on March 15, 2008.
Petracca Named ACC Player Of The Week: North Carolina's Gavin Petracca was named the first 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, February 15, 2009. Petracca helped the fifth-ranked Tar Heels reach their highest goal tally in a single game since 2001 in a 20-7 victory over 14th-ranked Denver before a crowd of 1,243 at Fetzer Field. The junior from Manhasset, N.Y., tallied eight shots, six shots on goal, four goals and a career-high four assists in the Tar Heels' second victory on the young season. Petracca's eight points broke his previous career-high of six points versus Vermont in 2007. The attacker registered three of his goals and three of his assists in a 12-0 scoring run that broke open the game from an 8-6 halftime lead to a 20-6 advantage. The redshirt junior attackman was the featured men's lacrosse podcast on February 16 on NCAA.com.
Wagner Named ACC Player Of The Week: North Carolina's Bart Wagner was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, February 22. Wagner's six goals during the week propelled the fifth-ranked Tar Heels to wins over No. 9 Navy and No. 17 Colgate. The senior from Glen Arm, Md., registered six goals on only 12 shots in two games on the week. The attackman scored three goals on four shots and tallied five ground balls in a tough 9-8 victory over 2008 NCAA quarterfinalist Navy. On the following Sunday, Wagner scored three goals on eight shots, added an assist and recorded four ground balls in an 11-9 victory over 2008 NCA
