UNC Travels To Robert Morris Saturday

April 16, 2010 | Men's Lacrosse

By: UNC Athletic Communications

April 15, 2010

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
No. 3 North Carolina (10-1) at Robert Morris (8-3)
Saturday, April 17, 2010, 1 p.m.
Joe Walton Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.

CAROLINA HITS THE ROAD TO PLAY ROBERT MORRIS

The third-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team will be on the road for the third successive game in April when the Tar Heels travel to Moon Township, Pa. to meet Robert Morris University this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Joe Walton Stadium. It will be Senior Day at RMU and live stats and live video of the game will be available on the Colonials' website at www.rmucolonials.com. The Tar Heels head into the match with a record of 10-1 after falling for the first time this season last Saturday to top-ranked Virginia 7-5 at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. Robert Morris is currently 8-3 after losing to Bryant University 15-14 in double overtime last Saturday at Moon Township, Pa.

TOP-RANKED OFFENSE VERSUS TOP-RANKED DEFENSE

Carolina's game against Robert Morris Saturday will match the nation's top-ranked NCAA Division I men's lacrosse offense versus the top-ranked scoring defense. The Colonials currently leads NCAA Division I in scoring offense by almost two goals per game. The Colonials have scored 173 goals in 11 games, an average of 15.73 goals per game. Stony Brook is the second-ranked offense at 13.80 goals per game while the Tar Heels are tied for 18th in scoring offense at 11.00 goals per game. The Tar Heels currently have the nation's No. 1-ranked scoring defense at 6.36 goals per game. Carolina has allowed 70 goals in 11 games this season. The Colonials have scored at least 12 goals in all 11 of their games this season with that total coming in a 12-7 win over Ohio State. Carolina has limited opponents to seven goals or less in 10 of their 11 games this season. The only team to score more than seven goals was Princeton in a 12-11 Tar Heel victory on March 16 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

TWO TAR HEELS NAMED TEWAARATON CANDIDATES

Junior attackman Billy Bitter of Stowe, Vt., and junior defenseman Ryan Flanagan were named Wednesday to the 26-candidate list for the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy. The Tewaaraton Trophy is now considered the most prestigious award in collegiate lacrosse, now in its 10th season. Five finalists for the award will be named at a later date. Carolina has had one Tewaaraton Award finalist -- Jed Prossner in 2004.

CAROLINA POSTS MOST ACC WINS IN SIX YEARS

North Carolina finished the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season schedule with a record 2-1 after beating Duke 13-7 and Maryland 9-7 before losing to Virginia 7-5. The last time the Tar Heels had won two ACC regular-season games was 2004 when Carolina finished 2-1 and placed second in the league standings.

THE SERIES WITH THE COLONIALS

Carolina and Robert Morris will be meeting for the second time in history on Saturday with the Tar Heels leading the overall series 1-0. The only previous meeting between the two teams came on February 7, 2009 when the Tar Heels defeated the Colonials 16-4 at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE COLONIALS

Eighth-ranked North Carolina defeated Robert Morris 16-4 at Fetzer Field on February 7, 2009 in the only previous meeting between the Tar Heels and the Colonials. The game was historic for the fact it was Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi's first game in charge of the North Carolina program. Billy Bitter led the Tar Heels with five goals and an assist while Gavin Petracca had four goals and an assist to lead the Tar Heel offense. Ben Hunt had two goals and an assist while Kevin Federico had a goal and two assists. The Tar Heels outshot the Colonials 63-27 and won the ground ball battle 56-38. Grant Zimmerman made 12 saves and allowed only four goals for North Carolina while Sal Barcia had 19 saves while allowing 15 goals for the Colonials. UNC opened the game on a 6-0 scoring run in the first 21:58 of the game. Bitter scored four of Carolina's five goals in a span from 8:02 left in the second quarter to 1:10 left in the third quarter, giving the Tar Heels a 10-2 lead. Robert Morris opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals before the Heels ran off the last six tallies of the game, all in a span from the 5:25 to 1:55 mark of the fourth quarter to pull away at the end.

ONE OF THE LAST TWO REMAINING UNBEATENS THIS SEASON

efore falling to Virginia 7-5 last Saturday, North Carolina was one of the last two remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I with a 10-0 mark. The last time Carolina had started a season with 10 successive wins was 1991 when UNC went 16-0 en route to winning its fourth NCAA title in 11 years.

PLAYING BEFORE A RECORD CROWD

The Tar Heels played before a crowd of 25,710 on April 10 when they fell to Virginia 7-5 in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. That was both the largest regular-season crowd for any NCAA Division I men's lacrosse game in history and the largest crowd to ever see the Tar Heels play in any game, regular-season or post-season.

MADALON'S CAREER HIGH IN SAVES

Junior goalkeeper Chris Madalon stood tall in the goal for the Tar Heels in their 7-5 loss to No. 1 Virginia on April 10. Madalon made a career high 14 saves in the match while allowing the Cavaliers to score only seven goals. Madalon's 14 saves exceeded the 13 he had previously this year against both Navy and UMBC.

EARNING A WIN AGAINST A TOP FOUR TEAM

Carolina has played seven games this year against teams ranked in the USILA Top 20 (at the time the game was played). The Tar Heels beat a No. 5-ranked Princeton team 12-11 on March 16 but a 9-7 win over No. 4 Maryland on March 27 was a milestone win for the Tar Heels. The victory over the Terps broke a 23-game losing streak for the Tar Heels against teams ranked in the USILA Top 4 dating back seven years to 2003. Ironically, prior to March 27, Carolina's last win over a team ranked in the Top 4 of the USILA poll was also against Maryland. That came on March 22, 2003 when the Heels knocked off a Maryland team ranked No. 2 in the nation 10-6 at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md.

RESCHI LED THE TAR HEELS TO BEST START IN SINCE 1991

In just his second year at the helm of the Tar Heels, head coach Joe Breschi (UNC '90) led his team to victories in its first 10 games of the season. The last time a Carolina team had won its first 10 games of the season was 1991 when the Tar Heels finished the season 16-0 and won the NCAA championship under first-year head coach Dave Klarmann. Ironically, Joe Breschi was an assistant coach on that 1991 Carolina team. In his two years at Carolina, Breschi has gotten both of his teams off to incredibly fast starts. In addition to this year's 10-0 start, the Tar Heels began the 2009 season with six straight victories before falling at Notre Dame 9-7 in the seventh game of the season.

CAROLINA IN THE POLLS

Carolina is currently ranked third in both the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll and the Inside Lacrosse/Nike media poll. Face-Off Magazine, Inside Lacrosse and the USILA all ranked UNC No. 4 in the preseason.

THE ALL-TIME HOME RECORD

With a 5-0 home record in 2010, UNC now has an all-time home mark of 238-113-2 (.677). That record includes games played at Fetzer Field, Kenan Stadium, Henry Stadium, Finley Field and Navy Field. Carolina's nine home wins in 2009 were the most in a season in school history.

UNC PASSES ALL-TIME 400 VICTORY MARK AGAINST NAVY

Since the Tar Heels played their first varsity game in 1949, North Carolina has compiled a 406-255-2 record, a winning percentage of .614. Carolina's 400th win came at Navy on February 25 by an 11-4 score.

THE BRESCHI LEDGER

Now in his 13th year as a head coach, including the first 11 campaigns at Ohio State where he was 92-63, and two seasons at Carolina where he is 22-7 (.759), head coach Joe Breschi is 114-70 overall (.620).

THE LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HEELS

Second-ranked North Carolina fell to top-ranked Virginia 7-5 before a crowd of 25,710 fans at the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on April 10 in the 2010 Konica Minolta Big City Classic. Steele Stanwick led the Cavaliers with three goals and an assist while Billy Bitter scored two goals for the Tar Heels. UNC outshot the Cavaliers 47-35 in the game but only 17 of UNC's 47 shots were on goal. Chris Madalon made a career high 14 saves for UNC in the game while Adam Ghitelman made 12 saves for Virginia. Virginia jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening 18:35 of the game before Billy Bitter broke through for the Tar Heels with their opening goal at 11:02 of the second quarter. Carolina would eventually pull within 5-4 on a goal by Cryder DiPietro with 7:59 left in the third quarter but Virginia answered with goals by Matt White and Chris Bocklet to pull away for the victory.

CAROLINA CONTNUES TO THRIVE IN NON-LEAGUE GAMES

UNC's record in non-conference games continues to be one of the best in the nation over the past four seasons. After an 11-7 win over Johns Hopkins on April 3, the Tar Heels have now won 39 of their past 43 games against non-conference teams dating back to late in the 2006 season. UNC's only losses over that span came at Navy in 2007, against Ohio State and Navy (NCAA Tournament quarterfinals) in 2008 and at Notre Dame in 2009. In Joe Breschi's two seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 19-1 against non-conference teams.

CAROLINA'S DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING GAMES

UNC has scored at least 10 goals in a game in 16 of its last 19 contests dating back to a 10-9 overtime win against Johns Hopkins on March 28, 2009. UNC was in double digits in the final eight games of the 2009 campaign and it has scored 10 or more goals in eight of the first 11 games of this season.

DeLANEY JOINS PETRACCA AND BITTER WITH 100 CAREER POINTS

After a five-point performance against Dartmouth on March 19, senior midfielder Sean DeLaney joined teammates Gavin Petracca and Billy Bitter as Tar Heels with at least 100 career points. Redshirt senior attackman Gavin Petracca tops the current career point total list for all Tar Heels with 136 points on 83 goals and 53 assists. Billy Bitter has 125 points on 69 goals and 56 assists. Sean DeLaney currently has 103 points on 77 goals and 26 assists.

SCORING STREAKS BY BITTER AND DELANEY

Junior attackman Billy Bitter and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney have two of the longest current scoring streaks in the country. Bitter has the fourth longest scoring streak in the nation at 28 games in a row. Bitter's streak began on February 7, 2009. He has 63 goals and 41 assists in those 28 games for 104 points. DeLaney's scoring streak is the 17th longest in the nation at 21 games, a streak that began on March 8, 2009. DeLaney has 43 goals and 15 assists during that streak for 58 points.

CAROLINA'S DEFENSE HOLDING OPPONENTS TO SINGLE DIGITS IN SCORING

After giving up double digits in goals in six of the last seven games of the 2009 season, UNC's defense has buckled down in a big way this year, allowing opponents to score in double digits in only one of the first 11 games. Princeton's offense broke through against the Tar Heels for 11 goals on March 16, the only time UNC has surrendered double digits since the final game of the 2009 campaign. UNC's defense limited Navy to only four goals February 25, marking the fourth straight opponent the Tar Heels had held to five goals or less to start the 2010 campaign. Holding four straight opponents to five goals or less had never happened before in UNC history dating back to 1949. Carolina did hold three successive opponents to five goals or less to open the season in 1991. In the first four games of 2010, UNC held Jacksonville to five, Bryant to four, Lehigh to five and Navy to four goals, respectively. Overall, Carolina has held 22 of its past 30 opponents to single digits in goals.

MADALON LEADS NATION IN GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE

UNC redshirt junior goalkeeper Chris Madalon is ranked first in the nation this week in goals against average. Madalon has played 637 minutes and 25 seconds in 11 games, allowing 6.31 goals per game. He has allowed only 67 goals in those 637 plus minutes. Madalon also has the sixth best save percentage in NCAA Division I at .591. Madalon has 97 saves while allowing 67 goals so far this season.

CAROLINA EXCELS IN NATIONAL TEAM STATS ON DEFENSIVE END

UNC heads into the Robert Morris game with the top-ranked scoring defense in the country. UNC has allowed 6.36 goals per game so far this season. The Tar Heels are sixth in the nation in caused turnovers per game at 10.36. Carolina's defensive prowess has helped UNC post the fourth best scoring margin in the nation at 4.64 goals per game.

TAR HEEL EMO IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE NATION

UNC's extra-man offense unit is currently one of the nation's most productive. Carolina has scored 19 goals on 34 extra-man opportunities for a percentage of .559. That ranks third nationally behind Robert Morris at .571 and Maryland at .567.

ITTER WINS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR SECOND TIME

North Carolina junior Billy Bitter and Virginia sophomore Chris Bocklet were named ACC Lacrosse Co-Players of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 4. Bitter returned to the Tar Heel starting lineup after missing the previous week's game with a leg injury and led third-ranked North Carolina to an 11-7 win at No. 14 Johns Hopkins. itter scored four goals on only seven shots and had two ground balls in the win. The Stowe, Vt., native scored all three of UNC's goals in the first quarter to stake the team to an early 3-2 lead and then he scored the goal that essentially iced the win with 6:46 left in the game to give Carolina a 10-6 lead. Thanks to Bitter's leadership, as the Tar Heels had to play the Blue Jays minus their No. 1 and No. 2 scorers, Thomas Wood and Sean DeLaney, who both had to sit out the Hopkins game after sustaining injuries against Maryland, the Tar Heels improved to 10-0 for the first time since 1991, when the team went 16-0 en route to winning the national championship.

HOLMAN EARNS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK VERSUS MARYLAND

North Carolina freshman Marcus Holman was named ACC Lacrosse Player of the Week for the period ending March 28. Holman took advantage of his last-minute chance to start his first-ever ACC game as he scored four goals and added an assist in UNC's 9-7 victory over fourth-ranked and previously undefeated Maryland. With first-team All-America Billy Bitter a last minute scratch from the lineup, Holman stepped in and led the Tar Heels to only their second regular-season win over the Terps in the last 14 meetings. Unable to play due to a leg injury, Bitter was held out by team medical personnel in a game-time decision, allowing Holman to start for the first time since the Tar Heels played Lehigh on Feb. 20. Holman responded with Carolina's last three goals of the game as UNC shut down any chance the Terrapins had for a second-half rally. Holman's four goals tied the career-high he had against Navy earlier this year and his five points against the Terps were also a career-best.

DUNSTER IS SECOND TAR HEEL NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Dunster was named ACC Lacrosse Player of the Week for the period ending March 21. Dunster combined for nine points on four goals and five assists as the Tar Heels claimed two wins, including a one-goal decision over fifth-ranked Princeton. Against the Tigers, Dunster scored twice and registered career highs of three assists and five points in leading the No. 3 Tar Heels to a 12-11 win over Princeton in a battle of Top 5 teams on March 16. Dunster's second assist of the night led to Cryder DiPietro's game-winning goal with just 2:10 remaining. The Cos Cob, Conn., native then added two scores and a pair of assists in North Carolina's 15-6 rout of Dartmouth on March 19.

ITTER NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior attackman Billy Bitter was named the ACC Player of the Week for the period ending on March 14. Bitter posted a season-high four goals as fourth-ranked UNC defeated 10th-ranked Duke, 13. Bitter also matched his season-high for points with six in the win, which broke a 15-game ACC regular-season losing streak for Carolina and an 11-game losing streak to Duke. Bitter scored two first half goals to give the Tar Heels to a 5-3 lead. Then, after Duke had tied the game at 6-6 with four minutes left in the third quarter, UNC scored four-straight goals in a span of 3:27 to take a 10-6 lead with one second left in the third period. Bitter assisted on the first and third goals of the scoring streak while scoring the second and fourth goals. Bitter's four goals were the most he has had since scoring eight against UMBC in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

HOLMAN NAMED NIKE PLAYER OF THE WEEK MARCH 29

Freshman attackman Marcus Holman was named the Nike Lacrosse Player of the Week March 29 by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The honor came two days after Holman scored four goals and added an assist in UNC's 9-7 win over Maryland, Carolina's first regular-season home victory over the Terrapins in 14 years.

FOUR TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAS

Four players on the 2010 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were named preseason All-Americas by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse. Junior attackman Billy Bitter (Stowe, Vt.) was named a first-team All-America while junior defenseman Ryan Flanagan and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney were both tapped as second-team All-Americas. Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) earned honorable mention All-America honors.

QUARTET OF TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC

Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse tapped four UNC players as preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference choices. This quartet includes attackman Billy Bitter, midfielder Sean DeLaney, defenseman Ryan Flanagan and short-stick defensive midfielder Chris Hunt.

NO. 1 VS. NO. 2

When No. 2 North Carolina played No. 1 Virginia on April 10, UNC played in its first game matching the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation for the first time in 19 years and 4 days. The last time Carolina played in a 1-2 confrontation was April 6, 1991 when top-ranked North Carolina defeated second-ranked Johns Hopkins 11-6 before a crowd of 5,700 fans at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels went on to win the NCAA championship that year with a 16-0 record. Current Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi was an assistant coach for that 1991 team. He had graduated from UNC the previous year, 1990.

LARGEST HOME CROWD IN 19 YEARS

UNC defeated Maryland 9-7 on March 27 before a crowd of 4,817 fans at Fetzer Field. That was UNC's largest home crowd at Fetzer Field since April 6, 1991 when the Tar Heels defeat Johns Hopkins 11-6 before a crowd of 5,700 fans.