Carolina Hosts No. 6 Blue Jays Saturday

March 27, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse

By: UNC Athletic Communications

March 27, 2009

Tar Heels Host Blue Jays In Regular Season Finale: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team will return to game action for the first time in seven days Saturday as the No. 12-ranked Tar Heels look to stop a two-match losing streak when playing host to the No. 6-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. The game will begin at 2 p.m. at Fetzer Field on the University of North Carolina campus and it will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Live stats will be available on www.TarHeelBlue.com via CBS College Sports' Gametracker. Carolina will be seeking to bounce back from an 8-7 loss at Maryland last Saturday while the Blue Jays, like the Tar Heels, are also on a two-game losing streak, having lost to Syracuse and Virginia the last two weeks. The Tar Heels enter the game with a record of 7-3 overall. Johns Hopkins heads to Chapel Hill with a record of 3-3. In this week's Inside Lacrosse/Nike media poll, the Tar Heels are ranked in 12th place while the Blue Jays come in as the No. 6 team.

The Tar Heels On ESPNU:

Saturday's match will be the third of four Tar Heel games in a row to be telecast nationally on ESPU. The March 14 game against Duke was UNC's ESPNU debut of the 2009 campaign and then the Tar Heels played Maryland on the network on March 21. The Tar Heels have ESPNU appearances scheduled 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 7-3. 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 campaigns at Ohio State where he was 92-63, Breschi is 99-66 overall as UNC prepares to meet the Blue Jays.

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 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalist:

Senior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman has been named as one of 10 players named as finalists 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. This is the second straight year the Tar Heels have had a finalist for the award. 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 8.8 points per game as a unit in the season's first 10 games. Bitter leads the way for the Tar Heels will 32 points while Wagner has 30 and Petracca has 26. Wagner leads the team in goals scored with 22 while junior midfielder Sean Delaney is second with 21 goals and Billy Bitter is third with 18 goals. Bitter shares the team's lead in assists with 14 along with junior midfielder Sean Burke who also has 14. Petracca is also in double figures in assists with 12.

The Passing Game In High Gear As Wagner and Delaney Scorch Mountain Hawks: Playing against a zone defense February 28 versus 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 total of six points in a game 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 21 goals so far in 2009. He has already surpassed his goal total of 12 he scored in 14 games in 2008. He is within one goal 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. Delaney also had another hat trick last Saturday against Maryland. In the win over Navy earlier this season, 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: Carolina's 19-4 win over Detroit Mercy on March 3 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 he finished the game with a personal best four points. Senior attackman Matthias McCall also had a career-high four points with a two-goal and 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 of his shot at playing time by turning in 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 599 face-offs in his career. He will earn his 600th face-off victory of his career with his first win against Johns Hopkins Saturday. He set the University record in the final game of the 2008 season versus Navy in the NCAA Tournament first round, passing Kevin Frew's previous career record of 446 face-off victories.

The Offensive Output:

Through the opening 10 games of the 2009 season, North Carolina is averaging 12.50 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 20-face-off win 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 599 face-offs in his career. Against Maryland on March 21 he passed Eric Wedin of Johns Hopkins (1998-2001) into 10th place in number of face-offs won in NCAA Division I history. Walterhoefer could move into ninth place in history against Johns Hopkins. Jack deVilliers of Virginia is currently in ninth place with 604 face-off wins from 2002-05. Walterhoefer is currently 13th in NCAA history and second in UNC history in face-off winning percentage at .620. The school record for face-off winning percentage is held by Jude Collins (1993-96) at .668. He has attempted the 13th most face-offs in NCAA history with 966. He has attempted 227 more face-offs than any other player in UNC history.

Walterhoefer Now Second On The Ground Ball Chart:

With his 10 ground balls against Maryland on March 21, Shane Walterhoefer moved past Ryan Wade (1991-94) and into second place in career ground balls at UNC with a total of 324. Walterhoefer is now ranked 15th in ground balls in NCAA history. He is second in Carolina history behind only Jude Collins (1993-96) who had 412. Collins ranks sixth in NCAA history in ground balls. Walterhoefer ranks ninth in NCAA history in ground balls per game at 6.61. He is currently ahead of Jude Collins' school record pace of 6.54 ground balls per game. Collins ranks 11th in NCAA history.

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 when compared with the past few seasons. This year's group is clearing successfully at an .836 clip compared to .728 in 2008. UNC has also limited opponents to success on only .695 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 10th best goals against average at 7.50. A year ago, Zimmerman had a 9.42 goals against average per contest.

Zim On The Career Saves Chart:

With 91 saves this season, Grant Zimmerman has improved his career save total to 490. That is the fourth most in school history.

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 marked 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 Johns Hopkins:

North Carolina and Johns Hopkins will meet for the 38th time on the lacrosse field Saturday, dating back to an 16-9 win by the Blue Jays in Baltimore, Md. on May 18, 1977 in the NCAA quarterfinals. North Carolina has won back-to-back games against the Blue Jays, winning 13-10 in 2007 in Chapel Hill and 13-8 in 2008 in Baltimore. Prior to those two victories, UNC had lost 13 games in a row to the Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins leads the overall series between the two schools 23-14.

Carolina On Cover Of Inside Lacrosse Magazine:

Senior midfielder Ben Hunt was featured on the front cover of the March 2009 issue of Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The magazine included an eight-page feature on the Tar Heels with photography by Triangle area native Peyton Williams. It marked the first time in the history of the magazine that a Tar Heel player had been featured on the cover.

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 51 of 54 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 78 career goals and 59 career assists for a total of 137 career points heading into the Johns Hopkins 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 10games this season.

Walterhoefer Wins 15 Or More Again:

When Shane Walterhoefer won 17 face-offs against Maryland on March 21, it marked the 16th 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 five times this year. Walterhoefer has won 15 or more face-offs in a game in 16 of 49 games he has played in his career, 32.7 percent of his career appearances. The senior from Ellicott City, Md., 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 then won 20 of 23 face-offs against Providence March 11. He has also won 14 in a game three this season, going 14 for 26 against Denver, 14 for 23 against Lehigh and 14 for 24 against Duke.

Walt's Face-Off Winning Percentage Against Maryland:

Shane Walterhoefer won 89.5 percent of his face-offs against Maryland on March 28. That was the second-best face-off winning percentage in a game for Walterhoefer in his career. His best performance came against Dartmouth on February 25, 2007 when he won 90.4 percent of his attempts, going 19 of 21.

Bitter and Petracca Start Out Hot Against Robert Morris and Denver:

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 just 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 that 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. Bitter's seven points versus Denver were one better than his previous career high of six against Robert Morris just a week before. His four assists were also a career high, bettering the three he had at Duke on March 15, 2008.

DiPietro Equals Career Goal Best:

Cryder DiPietro equaled his career high for goals in a game with two against Denver on February 14 and two against Detroit Mercy on March 3. He also had two goals in a game against Bellarmine on February 16, 2008 and against Duke on April 25, 2008.

Petracca Named ACC Player Of The Week February 15: 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, including six shots on goal, scored four goals and had 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 attackman 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 Tar Heel halftime lead to a 20-6 advantage in the fourth quarter. After his breakout effort, the redshirt junior attackman was the featured men's lacrosse podcast on February 16, 2009 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 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 weekend. The attackman scored three goals on four shots and scooped up 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 NCAA participant and 2008 Patriot League Tournament champion Colgate.

Five Tar Heels Named Preseason All-Americas:

Five members of the 2009 UNC men's lacrosse team were named to the Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook preseason All-America Teams. Senior face-off specialist Shane Walterhoefer was tapped for the first team with midfielder Ben Hunt on the second team and attackman Bart Wagner, close defenseman Ryan Flanagan and goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman on the honorable mention squad.

Preseason All-ACC Choices:

Three Tar Heel players were named to the preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team named by Inside Lacrosse and Face-Off Yearbook. Senior Shane Walterhoefer (face-off specialist), Ben Hunt (midfielder) and Grant Zimmerman (goalkeeper) were all named to the team.

Hall of Fame Finalists:

Two decorated Tar Heel alumni are currently on the ballot as finalists for selection to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009. Michael Burnett, `81, and Mac Ford, `85, both attackmen, were ACC Players of the Year and first-team All-Americas while playing for the Heels under US Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach Willie Scroggs. Burnett played at UNC from 1980-83 and Ford from 1982-85. Burnett played on NCAA championship teams in 1981 and 1982 and Ford played on the 1982 NCAA title-winning team.

Two Tar Heels On Tryout List For World Games:

Two Tar Heel alumni have been invited to the United States Team tryouts for the 2010 World Lacrosse Games. Attackman Jed Prossner, `05, and defenseman Stephen McElduff, `06, are both candidates to make the squad.