University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Open 2012 Season In Atlanta
February 9, 2012 | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 9, 2012
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The fourth edition of head coach Joe Breschi's University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team will open its campaign this weekend with a pair of games in Atlanta, Ga. as the Tar Heels meet Penn State and Mercer at different sites in the Atlanta area. These will mark the first ever games played by the University of North Carolina in the state of Georgia.
GAME DETAILS
Saturday, February 11, 2012
North Carolina vs. Penn State
Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium (1000 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, Ga.)
1 p.m.
Gametracker
Purchase Tickets For UNC's Games Next Weekend In Atlanta
Sunday, February 12, 2012
North Carolina vs. Mercer
The Lovett School (4075 Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta, Ga.)
1 p.m.
Gametracker
Purchase Tickets For UNC's Games Next Weekend In Atlanta
UNC RANKED SIXTH IN BOTH PRESEASON POLLS: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team heads into the 2012 campaign ranked sixth in both major preseason national polls. Carolina was ranked sixth in the January 30, 2012 coaches poll conducted by the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. UNC received 204 points from the polls 14 voters. UNC was also ranked sixth in the Nike Division I media poll of January 30, 2012, receiving 342 points from 22 voters. Penn State was also ranked in both national polls. The Nittany Lions are currently ranked 17th by the USILA and 18th by the Nike poll which is organized by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.
CAROLINA STANDS TALL OVER THE PAST FOUR SEASONS: Over the past four seasons (2008-11), the North Carolina men's lacrosse team has ranked as one of the nation's most winningest NCAA Division I teams both in teams of percentage and total wins. Carolina has a winning percentage of .672 since 2008, ranking ninth in the nation. Syracuse has the best mark with an .882 winning percentage. UNC also has the eighth most win in that time span as it is 43-21. Hofstra also has 43 wins over the past four seasons. Duke leads the list with 62 wins over the past four years.
TWO TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC: Sophomore attackman Nicky Galasso and senior defenseman Charlie McComas have been named preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine. IL made the announcement on their website December 12. Galasso, a native of West Islip, N.Y., started all 16 games for the Tar Heels in 2011 and led the team in scoring with 56 points. He scored 24 goals, one behind team leader Billy Bitter, and his 32 assists led the Heels, 18 more than Bitter's second place total. McComas is a three-year starter in the defense for Carolina, starting 15 games as a junior. He had 30 ground balls and nine caused turnovers last season.
SIX UNC PLAYERS NAMED FACE-OFF YEARBOOK PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAS: Six members of the 2012 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team have been named to the preseason All-America announced by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine on December 6. The preseason All-Americas were chosen by a vote of Division I head coaches and Yearbook and IL staff. Sophomore attackman Nicky Galasso has been named a preseason first-team All-America, the only sophomore attackman on the first team. Galasso, coming off foot surgery, is expected back for the Tar Heels in February. He led the Tar Heels in scoring as a freshman last year and was named the team's top freshman in 2011. Junior midfielder Marcus Holman, one of Carolina's tri-captains, has been named a preseason third-team selection. Four more Tar Heels were named to the honorable mention team, including senior midfielder Jimmy Dunster, sophomore face-off man/midfielder R.G. Keenan, long stick midfielder Mark Staines and defenseman Charlie McComas.
FRESHMAN TUTTON EARNS TEAM CANADA ROSTER SPOT: University of North Carolina freshman midfielder Chad Tutton, an Ontario native, has been named to represent Canada at the 2012 FIL Under-19 Men's Field World Championships being held in Turku, Finland, the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) announced December 8. Tutton joined the Tar Heels this past fall and will play his freshman year at Carolina in the spring 2012 season. Tutton was a key addition to Coach Joe Breschi's highly touted recruiting class in 2012. Tutton is a native of Courtice, Ontario, Tutton attended The Hill Academy. He is the first Canadian to play at UNC since Dave Werry graduated in 2006.
TAR HEELS CHOSEN TO COMPETE IN 2012 ESPNU WARRIOR CLASSIC IN CHARLOTTE: The ESPNU Warrior Classic, a men's college lacrosse doubleheader, has a new home at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., home of Major League Lacrosse's Charlotte Hounds. The third annual event will be played Saturday, April 14, and will feature Rutgers vs. No. 7 Syracuse in the first game at 11 a.m. ET, followed by No. 11 Hofstra vs. No. 6 North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPNU. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children, senior citizens and students with school ID. Group discounts will also be available at $12 per ticket (minimum 50 people).
McBRIDE RANKED EIGHTH NATIONALLY IN CAREER GOALS: While Carolina graduated one of the nation's top career goal scorers off the 2011 team when Billy Bitter left with 99 goals, it fortunately picked up another in the off season when graduate student Jack McBride enrolled in the Master's of Business Administration program in the Kenan-Flagler School of Business. McBride earned his degree from Princeton in 2011. He will play his final season of eligibility at Carolina in 2012. Heading into the 2012 season, McBride has the eighth most career goals of any active player, having scored 90 goals in his time at Princeton. The national leader is Bryan Neufeld of Siena who has scored 119 goals in his first three years with the Saints.
TWO TAR HEELS EARN UNIVERSITY AWARDS: A pair of veteran Tar Heel leaders were recently awarded top honors from the University's academic and leadership divisions. Redshirt junior defenseman Logan Corey of Chapel Hill, N.C. was named the winner of the Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award for 2011-12 for the UNC men's lacrosse team. Junior midfielder Marcus Holman of Baltimore, Md. was named one of 16 Tar Heel Leaders of Distinction presented by the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy.
TAR HEELS TO APPEAR ON ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS SIX TIMES IN 2012: Six regular-season University of North Carolina men's lacrosse games will be televised in 2012 in the television schedule released LAST MONTH by the ESPN Family of Networks and the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina's three regular-season conference games will be on the network, including an April 7 game against defending NCAA champion Virginia on ESPN at 1 p.m.. The Tar Heels will also face Duke on Friday, March 16 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU and Maryland on Saturday, March 24 at 12 noon on ESPNU. In addition, UNC non-conference games against Princeton on Saturday, March 10 at 11 a.m., against Johns Hopkins on Sunday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. and against Hofstra on Saturday, April 14 at 1:30 p.m. will also be televised on ESPNU. All three of those games are being played at neutral sites in Baltimore, Md., East Rutherford, N.J., and Charlotte, N.C., respectively.
FIVE UNC PLAYERS CHOSEN IN 2012 MLL DRAFT: Four seniors and one graduate student from the 2012 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were selected Janaury 15 in the 2012 Major Lacrosse League Collegiate Draft held in Philadelphia, Pa. Senior midfielder Jimmy Dunster of Cos Cob, Conn. was the first Tar Heel chosen in the draft being picked up by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the third round with the 22nd overall pick. Graduate student Jack McBride, an attackman from Madison, N.J., was chosen in the third round with the 23rd pick by the Hamilton Nationals. Senior defenseman Mark Staines of Gambrills, Md. was the 32nd pick, going in the fourth round to the Boston Cannons. The last two Tar Heel picks both went to the Rochester Rattlers. Senior defenseman Charlie McComas of Parkton, Md. went in the seventh round with the 51st pick and senior forward Thomas Wood went to the Rattlers in the eighth round with the 59th pick.
CAROLINA ALUMNUS MEADE NAMED NATIONAL TEAM COACH: United States Lacrosse named Richie Meade, a 1976 University of North Carolina alumnus and former assistant coach at UNC, as the head coach of the 2014 U.S. men's national senior team. Meade will lead Team USA in its title defense at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship, hosted by US Lacrosse and held in Denver, Colo., July 10-19, 2014. He becomes the 12th head coach in the history of the U.S. men's senior team program.
THREE TAR HEELS ELECTED TEAM CAPTAINS: Two seniors and one junior have been named as tri-captains of the 2011-12 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team. The three captains were chosen by a vote of their teammates. Senior defenseman Mark Staines of Gambrills, Md. and senior defenseman Charlie McComas of Parkton, Md. have been chosen as two of the captains. The third captain is junior attackman Marcus Holman of Baltimore, Md. This marks the first time in Coach Joe Breschi's tenure that the Tar Heels have elected tri-captains. The 2009 team had four captains and each of the past two teams had co-captains. The last Tar Heel to serve as a captain in his junior year prior to Holman's election was Fletcher Gregory, who captained the 2007 team a junior and 2008 team as a senior.
TAR HEELS TO APPEAR THIS SPRING IN TWO INSIDE LACROSSE EVENTS: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team will compete in a pair of events THIS spring sponsored by Inside Lacrosse Magazine and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. Coach Joe Breschi's UNC Tar Heels will play Princeton in the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. Just three weeks later, the Tar Heels will face off against Johns Hopkins at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic which will be played on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. This will mark UNC's first ever appearance in the Face-Off Classic in Baltimore and it will be the first of three games that day. North Carolina and Princeton will meet at 11 a.m. followed by games between Virginia and Cornell at 1:30 p.m. and Johns Hopkins and UMBC at 4 p.m. Carolina's appearance in the Big City Classic will be its fourth in a row and the second straight year the Tar Heels have faced off against the Blue Jays in the event. UNC and Hopkins will be the end game of the day-long lacrosse festival at the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. Notre Dame and St. John's start the day at 1 p.m. followed by Duke versus Syracuse at 4 p.m. UNC and Johns Hopkins will share the limelight of the primetime spot as they do battle at 6:30 p.m.
