UNC Begins Title Quest Saturday Versus Denver

May 10, 2012 | Men's Lacrosse

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 10, 2012

CAROLINA SET TO HOST DENVER IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND: North Carolina's 2012 men's lacrosse team, seeded eighth in the NCAA Tournament and ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in national polls this week, begins NCAA Tournament action on Saturday in the 2012 Championship. Coach Joe Breschi's team carries an 11-5 overall record into this year's tournament. North Carolina will play host to 2011 NCAA Tournament semifinalist Denver at Fetzer Field Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the tournament. Coach Bill Tierney's Pioneers head to Chapel Hill Saturday with a record of 8-6. Both Carolina and Denver earned at-large bids to the NCAA Championship. UNC will be seeking its first NCAA Tournament championship since 1991. The winner of Saturday's UNC-Denver game will advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals the following Saturday in Annapolis, Md., to take on the winner of Saturday's first round game between top-seed Loyola and Canisius.

SOME BASIC ABOUT THE GAME: The North Carolina Tar Heels continue their successful 2012 season Saturday night when they play host to Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Fetzer Field. Official opening face-off is at 7:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by ESPNU. Eamon McAnaney will handle the play-by-play while Matt Ward will be the analyst for the telecast. Tickets to the game are $10 for adults and $5 for children and senior citizens. All seats are general admission. Tickets are currently on sale at the Ticket Center on TarHeelBlue.com. Tickets can also be purchased on game day at the Carmichael Arena ticket office. The ticket office and gates to Fetzer Field will open at 6:30 p.m. In addition to the national telecast on ESPNU, the game will also be simulcast on ESPN3. Live stats will be provided via Gametracker on TarHeelBlue.com.

RECORDS & RANKINGS: Coach Joe Breschi's North Carolina squad is ranked sixth this week in the USILA coaches poll and fifth the Nike Inside Lacrosse media poll. UNC is 11-5 overall at the end of the regular season. The Tar Heels are coming off a season-ending 19-5 victory over Michigan last Saturday in Chapel Hill. The Denver Pioneers, coached by Bill Tierney, are 8-6 overall. The Pioneers are ranked 13th this week in the USILA coaches poll and 13th in the Nike Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The Pioneers will be looking to bounce back from a 14-13 overtime loss to ECAC Tournament champion Loyola nine days ago in Denver, Colo. The two teams have three common opponents so far this season. UNC defeated Michigan 19-5 while the Pioneers downed the Wolverines 17-5. Both teams also beat Penn State with Carolina beating the Nittany Lions 14-10 and the Pioneers routing PSU 14-6. Carolina played Duke twice, losing 13-11 and 12-9. The Pioneers had one of their signature wins of the season against the Blue Devils, triumphing 15-9.

CAROLINA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: North Carolina is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time. The Tar Heels have made the fifth most appearances in NCAA Tournament history. Carolina is 27-22 all-time in NCAA Tournament history. UNC is 2-3 in NCAA games under current head coach Joe Breschi. Breschi's overall tournament record, including his time at Ohio State is 3-6. This will be UNC's 11th NCAA Tournament first round game since the tournament expanding beyond eight teams in 1986. The Tar Heels are 6-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament first round contests, including a 2-1 mark under Coach Joe Breschi. This will be the sixth successive year and the seventh time in the last nine years that UNC has been chosen to host an NCAA first round contest.

A DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASON: North Carolina enters the NCAA Tournament with 11 victories on the season as it reached double digits in wins again in 2012. Coach Joe Breschi is only the second coach in UNC history to win 10 games in each of his first four seasons as head coach. Dave Klarmann also accomplished the feat from 1991-94. Over the past four seasons, UNC, under Breschi's leadership, has gone 12-6 in 2009, 13-3 in 2010,10-6 in 2011 and 11-5 in 2012. The last time Carolina patched together four successive seasons with 10 or more wins was 1989-94 when the Tar Heels had at least double digits in win six years in a row. Contrast the current success with the fact over a 12-year span from 1997-2008, Carolina got to the 10-win plateau only twice, going 10-5 in 2004 and 10-6 in 2007.

HOLMAN NAMED TO ALL-ACC TEAM: North Carolina junior attackman Marcus Holman, highlighted this year's All-ACC Men's Lacrosse Team as announced April 18 by the league office. The All-ACC team is determined by a vote of the league's four head coaches. Holman, who ranks second in the conference with 4.12 points per game, 2.06 goals per game and 2.06 assists per game, was named to the All-ACC Team for the first time this year. The 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year has tallied 33 goals and recorded 33 assists in 16 games played this season.

FIVE TAR HEELS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: North Carolina had five players named to the All-Tournament team at the 2012 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship. That is the most Tar Heels named to the All-Tournament Team since six players were named to it in 1996. All-ACC Tournament honorees included junior attackman Marcus Holman, sophomore midfielder R.G. Keenan, freshman attackman Jimmy Bitter, freshman attackman Joey Sankey and freshman midfielder Chad Tutton. This marked the first time in ACC Tournament history that three freshmen from one team were named to the honor squad. Sankey was the tournament's leading scorer with nine points. Tutton matched his career high with three goals in the championship game against Duke. Keenan was brilliant in the title game against the Blue Devils, winning 17 face-offs and claiming 11 ground balls. The fae-off wins were two short of his career high and the 11 ground balls were one short of a personal best.

HOLMAN'S HUGE GAME VERSUS MICHIGAN: UNC junior attackman Marcus Holman recorded 10 points in Carolina's 19-5 victory over Michigan on May 5. It was only the sixth time in history a Carolina player has recorded double digits point in a single game. Holman fell one point short of matching the school record of 11 points in a game. His 10 points were the most by a Tar Heel player in over 15 years (Spencer Deering had 11 points versus Delaware on April 12, 1997). Holman's six goals were the most by a Tar Heel player since Gavin Petracca scored six goals against Robert Morris on April 17, 2010.

MARCUS' RECORD SETTING SEASON: With 66 points and 33 assists, Marcus Holman has moved into fourth place in a single season on both statistical charts in UNC lacrosse history. Holman's 66 points this season trail only the 81 points recorded by Bruce Ledwith in 1973, the 75 points rung up by Dennis Goldstein in 1991 and the 71 points notched by Billy Bitter in 2009. This is only the 11th time in UNC history that a player has recorded 60 or more points in a single season. Holman's 33 assists are also the fourth most in a single season in UNC history. The only players with more in a season were Ledwith with 47 in 1973 and 45 in 1972. Brendan Carey had 40 assists for the 1996 UNC team. This marks the second straight year UNC has had a player with at least 30 assists. Nicky Galasso had a UNC freshman record 32 assists in 2011. Holman's 33 goals equal the 18th most in a single season in UNC history.

BITTER'S FRESHMAN GOAL TOTAL: Jimmy Bitter has scored 26 goals in his freshman season, one of the top totals for a first-year player in UNC history. itter has scored more goals as a true freshman than any player in Tar Heel history since it went to NCAA Division I in 1974. The only players to score more goals as freshmen include Robin Beran in 1973 with 32, Bert Fett in 1972 with 28 and John Webster in 1990 with 27. Beran and Fett played their freshman years when the Tar Heels were not yet a full scholarship program in NCAA Division I. That transition happened in 1973-74 when Paul Doty became the head coach. Webster's 27 goals in 1990 were during his redshirt freshman season.

CAROLINA PLAYS BACK-TO-BACK GAMES AGAINST #1 TEAMS: Games on April 1 and 7 this seaon had the Tar Heels matched up against No. 1-ranked teams in back-to-back games. That was a lacrosse rarity that was truly hard to quantify. After defeating a #1-ranked Johns Hopkins team 13-9 on April 1 in East Rutherford, N.J., North Carolina met a different #1 team, Virginia, on April 7. The Tar Heels fell to the Cavaliers 15-10 at Fetzer Field. This was the first time in UNC lacrosse history that the Tar Heels had played back-to-back games against top-ranked teams in the same season. The Tar Heels had played successive games against No. 1 teams previously, but not in the same season. UNC ended its 1983 season with a 12-9 loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on May 21, 1983 in Baltimore, Md. North Carolina then opened the following season by losing to a #1-ranked Syracuse team 10-9 on March 10, 1984 in a game played at a neutral site in Baltimore, Md. The 1984 season also marked the last time that Carolina had played two games against No. 1-ranked teams in the same season prior to 2012. In addition to playing a No. 1-ranked Syracuse team to open that season, UNC also played Johns Hopkins when it was ranked No. 1, losing to the Blue Jays 14-9 in NCAA Tournament semifinals in Baltimore on May 20, 1984.

CAROLINA VERSUS THE NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD: North Carolina's game against Denver Saturday will be its ninth game this season against teams which qualified for the 2012 NCAA Tournament field. Carolina is 4-4 in the previous eight games including wins over Princeton, Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Virginia. The Tar Heels have lost to Lehigh, Duke (twice) and Virginia.

11 PLAYERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN POINTS: The 2012 Tar Heels feature one of their most balanced offensive corps in many years. Eleven players have already reached the 10-point plateau this season. The last time Carolina had 11 players reach double figures in points was 1994. Double figure scorers this year include Marcus Holman with 66, Joey Sankey with 41, Jimmy Bitter with 39, Chad Tutton with 24, Davey Emala with 22, Thomas Wood with 19, Jack McBride with 16, Pat Foster with 13, Jimmy Dunster with 12, Duncan Hutchins with 12 and Ryan Creighton with 11.

KEENAN CONTINUES STELLAR PLAY: Sophomore midfielder R.G. Keenan was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Konica Minolta Big City Classic April 1. Keenan won 18 of 25 faceoffs in UNC's win over #1 Johns Hopkins. That game marked the 10th time in his career that Keenan has won 15 or more face-offs in a game. He accomplished it for the 11th time in his career when he won 17 draws against Duke in the ACC Tournament championship match. Keenan has won 15 or more face-offs five times this season and has won 18 or more face-offs three times this season. He had a career high 19 face-off wins against Penn State on February 11.

TAR HEELS AND PIONEERS MEET FOR THE 10TH TIME SATURDAY: North Carolina and Denver will be meeting for the 10th time on the lacrosse field when they meet up Saturday night at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 8-1. This will be the first NCAA Tournament meeting between the two teams. UNC has won three in a row in the series and is 1-0 against Denver under head coach Joe Breschi. The Tar Heels have scrimmaged in Chapel Hill each of the past two seasons. The last regular season meeting came in 2009 when the Tar Heels won 20-7 in Coach Joe Brechi's first season at the helm. The series dates back to the 1999 when they first played in Denver. UNC won the first five games in the series before Denver defeated the Tar Heels 11-8 in 2006.

CAROLINA VERSUS THE NATION'S BEST: Prior to beating top-ranked Johns Hopkins 13-9 on April 1, North Carolina had lost its previous 11 meetings against teams ranked No. 1 in the nation. Prior to April 1, UNC's last win over a team ranked No. 1 came on April 6, 1996 when the Tar Heels defeated Virginia 19-18 in the second highest-scoring game in the school's history. That win came at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. After a 15-10 loss against Virginia on April 7, Carolina is 6-23 all-time in games against teams ranked #1 in the nation.

UNC VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS UNDER COACH BRESCHI: North Carolina has played ranked opponents 40 times in Joe Breschi's four-year coaching tenure. UNC is 23-17 in those games. Conversely, the Tar Heels are 23-3 against unranked opponents in his four seasons. Breschi is 46-20 overall at Carolina in his four seasons as head coach. During Breschi's tenure, UNC's only losses to unranked teams came to Ohio State in 2011 and to Lehigh and Pennsylvania in 2012.

KEENAN STANDS TALL ON NCAA CAREER CHARTS IN GBS: In 32 career games, R.G. Keenan has scooped up 207 ground balls. That is an average of 6.47 ground balls per game, which ranks him third in the category amongst all NCAA Division I players. Only Kevin Massa of Bryant and Stephen Robarge of VMI rank higher at 7.61 and 7.41 ground balls per game, respectively. Keenan's 207 career ground balls are 10th amongst all active NCAA Division I players. He is the only non-senior or junior to rank in the Top 30 nationally in career ground balls.

KEENAN'S NCAA CAREER NUMBERS AT THE X: Sophomore R.G. Keenan currently ranks fourth amongst all NCAA Division I players in career face-off winning percentage at .609. Just a sophomore, Keenan ranks 12th amongst all active players in career face-offs won with 390. Keenan is one of only three non-juniors or seniors on the career face-offs won chart and he has won 135 more face-offs than the next closest sophomore on the list. His 640 face-off attempts are the 14th most among active DI players.

CAROLINA IN ONE-GOAL DECISIONS: Prior to Joe Breschi taking over as head coach in 2009, UNC went 1-7 in games decided by one goal from midway through the 2004 season through the end of the 2008 campaign. Carolina has improved tremendously in one-goal games since Breschi arrived for the 2009 season. UNC is 10-7 in games decided by one goal over the past four years, including a 3-1 record in 2012. The Tar Heels have won their past two games decided by a single goal, beating Princeton 9-8 and Maryland 11-10 on March 10 and March 24, respectively.

UNC IN TIGHT GAMES IN 2012: North Carolina has played an extraordinarily high number of close games during the 2012 season. Twelve of UNC's 16 regular-season games have been decided by four goals or less with UNC going 8-4 in those 12 games. Four UNC games have been decided by four goals, two by two goals, three by three goals and three by four goals. UNC's only lopsided games this year were a 20-7 win over Mercer, an 18-8 win over Detroit, a 14-10 loss to Virginia and a 19-5 win over Michigan.

CAROLINA GETS A BIG WIN AGAINST AN ACC FOE: Carolina's 11-9 win over Virginia on April 20 was a key victory for both the 2012 edition of the Tar Heels and for Carolina's recent efforts against their fellow teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since suffering an 11-9 loss to Virginia on April 23, 2004, UNC is 6-32 against ACC opponents. The Tar Heels lost 21 straight games against ACC teams from 2004-09. UNC had back-to-back 2-1 ACC regular-seasons in 2003 and 2004 but the 21-match ACC losing streak began in the 2004 camapign in ACC Tournament semifinal play against Virginia. Under current head coach Joe Breschi, the Tar Heels have begun to enjoy success against ACC opponents as UNC has won six times against league foes since April 24, 2009, including four wins over Maryland, one victory over Duke and one victory over Virginia.

THE OFFENSE PICKS IT UP: Statistics have proven over recent years that when Carolina scores 10 or more goals in a game the Tar Heels have had great success. The old adage that first team to 10 goals win often holds true when it comes Tar Heel squads. In the opening three games of this season, UNC scored 14, 20 and 18 goals respectively and scored easy victories. Carolina then went on a four-match streak in which it was held to single digits in goals by their opponents. During that streak UNC was still able to win two low-scoring games, beating Navy 9-8 on February 25 and Princeton 9-8 on March 10. The Tar Heels' offense has gotten back into gear in the past nine games, scoring in double figures against Duke (11), Dartmouth (13), Maryland (11), Johns Hopkins (13), Virginia (10), Hofstra (12), Virginia (11) and Michigan (19). UNC has only failed to reach double figures in goals since March 10 on one occasion, a 12-9 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament championship game on April 22. The Tar Heels have gone 6-3 since the win over Princeton on March 10. The only three losses came against Top 5-ranked ACC teams Duke and Virginia and in two of those three games, UNC scored in double digits.

VERSUS THE NATION'S TOP 25 DEFENSES: Carolina's recent offensive success will be put to the test Friday night when it faces a Denver team that is ranked 14th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 8.86 goals per game. For the most part this season, Carolina has done well offensively against team's who are currently ranked in the Top 25 nationally in scoring defense. Here are some examples of UNC's offensive success this year against the nation's top ranked defenses, even in what turned out to be losing efforts.
Rank #2. Lehigh (6.63); UNC scored 8
Rank #4. Johns Hopkins (7.00); UNC scored 13
Rank #6. Princeton (7.33); UNC scored 9
Rank #9. Maryland (7.86); UNC scored 11
Rank #10. Penn State (8.13); UNC scored 14
Rank #11. Virginia (8.64); UNC scored 10 and 11 (two games)
Rank #13. Hofstra (8.79); UNC scored 12
Rank #15. Navy (8.92); UNC scored 9
Rank #18. Duke (9.06); UNC scored 11 and 9 (two games)
UNC has played 11 games against scoring defenses ranked in the Top 18 in the nation and scored higher than that team's season average goals allowed on 10 occasions.

THE LAST TIME OUT FOR THE TAR HEELS: The fifth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team had its final tune-up of the 2012 regular season May 5, defeating Michigan 19-5 at Fetzer Field before 1,850 fans on Senior Night. Junior attackman Marcus Holman recorded a career-high 10 points, the most by a Tar Heel in a game since 1997, as 13 UNC players scored goals and 16 players recorded points in the match. Coach Joe Breschi's team improved to 11-5 on the season while the Wolverines ended their first varsity season as an NCAA Division I program with a 1-13 mark. Holman finished the game with career highs for points (10) and goals (6). Holman's previous career high for goals in a game was five against Hofstra on April 14. His previous career high for points was seven in that same game against the Pride. His 10-point performance marked the most in the game by a Tar Heel since Spencer Deering had 11 points against Delaware on April 12, 1997. Deering shares the school record for points in a game with Bruce Ledwith (11 versus East Carolina on April 1, 1973). Holman became the fourth UNC player to record 10 points in a game joining Harper Peterson (May 13, 1970 versus Duke), Ray Seipp (May 13, 1970 versus Duke) and Mac Ford (April 21, 1984 versus Adelphi).

BIGGEST HOME CROWD IN 21 YEARS: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team drew its largest home crowd at Fetzer Field in 21 years and one day when the Tar Heels hosted Virginia on April 7. The game drew a near sellout crowd of 5,138 fans to Fetzer Field, which has a listed capacity of 5,700. It was the largest home crowd for the Heels at Fetzer Field since April 6, 1991 when a No. 1-ranked North Carolina team defeated Johns Hopkins 11-6 before a crowd of 5,700 fans.

TAKING BETTER CARE OF THE BALL: One of the keys to UNC's improved record since the first Duke game over is the simple fact the Tar Heels took better care of the ball. UNC committed a season-low seven turnovers against Dartmouth on March 21, had just 13 against Maryland 13 against Johns Hopkins, 14 against Virginia, 11 against Hofstra, 12 against Virginia, 13 against Duke and 10 versus Michigan. In each of those eight games, UNC had turnover totals below its season average of 14.68 turnovers per game. Carolina averaged 17.75 turnovers per game in the first eight games of the season when it went 5-3. In the last eight games UNC has averaged 11.63 turnovers per game with its only losses to NCAA Top 5 seeds Virginia and Duke. Prior to the Dartmouth game on March 21, the previous low for turnovers was 13 against Mercer on February 12. With only seven turnovers against Darmouth, the Tar Heels took a season-high 58 shots against the Big Green, topping the 56 shots they had against Mercer on February 12. Against the Big Green, UNC had 28 shots on goal compared to 7 turnovers. That broke a streak of four straight matches in which UNC had committed more turnovers than it had shots on goal (Lehigh 19 turnovers/16 shots on goal), Pennsylvania (17 turnovers/10 shots on goal), Princeton (19 turnovers/11 shots on goal) and Duke (20 turnovers/18 shots on goal). Unsurprisingly UNC went 1-3 during that stretch. Against Marylad on March 24, UNC had 21 shots on goal and only 13 turnovers. On April 1, Carolina had 25 shots on goal against Johns Hopkins and committed only 13 turnovers. Despite the fact the Tar Heels fell to Virginia on April 7, Carolina continued to take better care of the ball, recording 22 shots on goal as opposed to only 14 turnovers. Against Hofstra, the trend of valuing the ball continued as UNC had 26 shots on goal and a mere 11 turnovers. In the three most recent games, UNC had 22 shots on goal against Virginia versus 12 turnovers, had 14 shots on goal against Duke versus 13 turnovers and had 34 shots on goal against Michigan versus 10 turnovers. Not surprisingly, in that span, the only loss came to Duke when UNC's shot on goal total was virtually the same as it turnover total.

THE NEWCOMERS STEP UP: Newcomers to the Tar Heel team in 2012 have played a big role in UNC's success so far this season. Of Carolina's top seven scorers, three are freshmen and two are transfers. Freshmen Joey Sankey, Jimmy Bitter and Chad Tutton rank second, third and fourth on the team, respectively, in points with 41, 39 and 24. Junior transfer Davey Emala (Georgetown) is fifth on the team in points with 22. Graduate student Jack McBride, another newcomer to the Tar Heel team after graduating from Princeton in 2011, is seventh on the team in points with 16.

A YOUTHFUL STARTING LINEUP: After coming out of the gates slow in an eventual 13-11 loss at Duke, UNC head coach Joe Breschi shook up the starting lineup and went young against Dartmouth five days later. UNC started three freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and one senior against the Big Green. That lineup has now started seven of the past eight games. Currently Carolina starts junior Marcus Holman and freshmen Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter on attack, sophomores Ryan Creighton and Duncan Hutchins and freshman Chad Tutton in the first midfield unit, senior Charlie McComas, junior Kieran McDonald and sophomore Jordan Smith on close defense and junior Steven Rastivo in the goal. The second midfield is a more veteran unit with graduate student Jack McBride, junior transfer Davey Emala and sophomore Pat Foster. The third midfield unit includes senior Jimmy Dunster along with sophomores Will Campbell and Mark McNeill. UNC's top long-stick midfielders are senior Mark Staines and freshman Ryan Kilpatrick. Two sophomores hold down the top spots on in the face-off circle (R.G. Keenan and Frankie Kelly). Senior Tyler Morton, sophomore Greg McBride and junior William Scroggs lead the short stick defensive midfield.

HOLMAN'S ASSIST NUMBERS: Marcus Holman has 66 points already through just 16 games this season. That is already seven more points than he had in the entirety of his first two seasons combined as a Tar Heel. During the 2011 season, Holman had 28 points in 14 games after recording 31 points in 16 games as a freshman in 2010. That's 59 points in his first two seasons combined. Holman has 33 assists this season, which is easily more than double the total he had in his first two seasons combined (14) when he had nine assists in 2010 and five assists in 2011. Holman's 33 assists this season are the fourth most in a season in Carolina history. It also marked only the 36th time a Carolina player has recorded 20 or more assists in a season in Tar Heel lore.

WOODY JOINS THE CENTURY CLUB: Thomas Wood continues to move up UNC's all-time charts for goals scored and total points in a career. In fact against Johns Hopkins on April 1, the senior attackman from Dallas, Texas became only the 35th Tar Heel in history to reach 100 career points. Heading into the Denver game, Wood has 104 career points and he now ranks 33rd in career points. Wood is now chasing 32nd place on the list which is held by Kevin Griswold (1979-82) who had 107 career points. Wood has scored 65 goals in his career and is now in a tie for 32nd place in that category with Ben Hunt (2006-09).

HOLMAN JOINS T. WOOD IN CENTURY CLUB: Junior attackman Marcus Holman recorded three points against Virginia on April 7 to join attack teammate Thomas Wood and become the 36th Carolina player to join the Century Club with 100 or more career points. After recording 10 points in the win over Michigan on May 5, Holman has jetted into 23rd place place on the career points list with 125 points. Pat Welsh (1985-88) ranks 22nd with 126 career points. Holman has scored 78 goals in his Tar Heel career. That is tied for the 23rd highest goal total in Tar Heel history. Brendan Carey also had 78 career goals from 1993-96. Gary Seivold (1984-87) ranks 22nd with 80 career goals.

UNC's CURRENT CAREER ASSIST LEADERS: Four current members of the UNC lacrosse team have recorded at least 30 career assists. Junior Marcus Holman has 47 career assists, senior Thomas Wood has 39 career assists, sophomore Nicky Galasso had 34 career assists, and senior Jimmy Dunster has 32 career assists.

KEENAN'S UPDATED FACEOFF NUMBERS: R.G. Keenan has now won 390 face-offs in his career heading into the game against Denver. That is the fourth most face-off wins in UNC history. Jude Collins (1993-96) ranks third in all-time face-off wins with 429. Since the start of this season, Keenan has passed eight Tar Heels (Craig Hasslinger, Michael J. Burns, Mac Hammer, Steve Stenersen, Ted Brown, Steve Gilhuley, Jason Sanders and Ryan Damon) on UNC's career list. His 19 face-off wins against Penn State were a career high and equaled the sixth most in a game in UNC history. Against Navy he won 18 face-offs, marking the ninth time in his career he has won at least 15 and the fifth time he has won 18 or more face-offs in a game. His 11 ground balls against the Midshipmen on February 25 were one short of his career high set against both Navy and UMBC in 2011. Keenan again won 18 face-offs when the Tar Heels defeated Johns Hopkins April 1. He now has six career games with 18 or more face-off wins. He won 17 face-offs in the ACC Tournament championship game and matched his season high for ground balls in a game with 11.

BITTER, SANKEY & TUTTON AMONGST NATION'S TOP FRESHMAN SCORERS: North Carolina freshmen attackmen Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey and freshman midfielder Chad Tutton are amongst the top freshman scorers in the nation in 2012. In fact all three ranks among the Top 11 players in the nation among freshman scorers. itter is the third highest goal scorer in NCAA Division I amongst freshmen with his 26 goals. Joey Sankey's 22 goals are tied for sixth in the nation amongst freshmen and Chad Tutton's 18 goals are tied for 11th on the national list among first-year players.

IRON MEN McCOMAS & DUNSTER: North Carolina senior close defenseman Charlie McComas has made 59 career starts in his time at UNC. That's the most starts of any current Tar Heel. McComas has played in 63 games in his career. Midfielder Jimmy Dunster has played in 62 games, just one behind McComas' total for games played, and he has 51 career starts.

McBRIDE ON THE CAREER NCAA CHARTS: Graduate student Jack McBride is amongst the Top 25 NCAA career leaders in goals. The Madison, N.J. attackman is ranked 13th in career goals amongst all NCAA Division I players with 101. With two goals against Virginia on April 20 in the ACC Tournament semifinals, McBride reached the 100-goal plateau for his career.

RASTIVO ON THE CAREER NCAA CHART: Junior goalkeeper Steven Rastivo currently ranks 24th amongst all NCAA Division I goalkeepers in career goals against average. The South Setauket, N.Y. native has allowed 9.11 goals per game in his career.

STAINES ON LONG POLE SCORING LIST: North Carolina senior Mark Staines is one of only 10 players currently in NCAA Division I who have compiled at least 10 career points while playing a close defense or long stick midfield position. Staines has 12 points in his career on 11 goals and one assist. That is the seventh most points by any current long stick player in NCAA Division I.

HAT TRICKS BY WOOD AND HOLMAN: North Carolina attackmen Thomas Wood and Marcus Holman are among just 46 players in NCAA Division I who have recorded at least seven hat tricks in their careers. Holman has 11 career hat tricks and is tied for 29th on the current list. Wood has eight career hat tricks and is tied for 40th on the current list of Division I players.

A RARE HOME LOSS TO AN UNRANKED TEAM: Carolina's 9-8 loss to Lehigh on March 6, 2012, was UNC's first loss at Fetzer Field to an unranked opponent since March 5, 2004 when Navy defeated North Carolina 9-8 in overtime. Three days later, UNC lost to an unranked Penn team 10-6 in Philadelphia. That marked the first time since 1976 that the Tar Heels had dropped back-to-back matches to unranked foes.

UNC AMONG NATIONAL ATTENDANCE LEADERS: North Carolina ranks fourth nationally in average attendance per game in 2012 at 4,904 fans per contest. More fans have watched the Tar Heels play this year (78,467) than every other NCAA Division I team with the exception of Johns Hopkins (92,262) and Syracuse (89,821). Of the top 20 crowds in NCAA Division I in 2012, Carolina has been involved in five of those games. The Tar Heels and Johns Hopkins played before 25,934 fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on April 1, the largest crowd in NCAA Division I this season. The Tar Heels met Princeton at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. on March 15 before 17,138, which is tied for the third largest crowd this season. Carolina also drew the ninth largest crowd of the season against Penn State on February 11, 2012 as 6,913 fans saw the two teams play in Kennesaw, Ga. The 12th largest crowd of the 2012 season, a total of 6,230 watched UNC play Hofstra on April 14 in Charlotte, N.C. The game between UNC and Virginia on April 7 drew a crowd of 5,138 fans to Fetzer Field, the 20th largest crowd in NCAA Division I in 2012.

CAROLINA'S STELLAR MARK IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES: UNC's record in non-conference games continues to be one of the best in the nation over the past seven seasons. The Tar Heels have won 60 of their past 68 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's four seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 40-5 against non-conference teams. The only losses were to Notre Dame in 2009, to Ohio State and Johns Hopkins in 2011 and to Lehigh and Pennsylvania in 2012.

CAROLINA'S DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING GAMES: In Coach Joe Breschi's four years as head lacrosse coach at UNC, Carolina's success has often been tied to hitting the 10-goal plateau in a game. In fact UNC's 15-10 loss to Virginia on April 7, marked only the sixth time in Breschi's coaching tenure that the Tar Heels have lost when they have reached the 10-goal plateau. UNC has scored at least 10 goals in a game in 45 of 66 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 39-6 in those 43 games, losing only 11-10 to Virginia on April 4, 2009, 15-13 to Duke on April 26, 2009, 12-11 to Duke on May 17, 2009, to 11-10 to Virginia on April 9, 2011, to Duke 13-11 on March 16, 2012 and to Virginia 15-10 on April 7, 2012. Ironically, Carolina has never lost to a non-conference team during Breschi's coaching tenure when the Heels have scored 10 or more goals. The 15 goals surrendered by the Tar Heels against Virginia on April 7 were the most they have given up in a 29-game span dating back to a 17-9 loss to Duke on May 22, 2010 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Princeton, N.J. In the 21 games under Coach Breschi's tutelage in which the Tar Heels have not reached the 10-goal mark, UNC has not fared nearly as well as when scoring in double figures. In fact their record in those 21 games is just 7-14. Carolina has won two games this season (Navy and Princeton) in which it has failed to score 10 goals or more.

NEAR DOMINANCE AT FETZER FIELD UNDER BRESCHI: After a 19-5 win over Michigan on May 5, UNC is 26-6 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's four years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 81.2 percent. The Tar Heels had a 17-game Fetzer Field winning streak from 2009-11 under Breschi's tenure. UNC's only home losses during Breschi's four-year tenure include regular-season and ACC Tournament games to Duke in 2009, a regular-season loss to Duke and an NCAA Tournament loss to Maryland in 2011 and regular-season losses to Lehigh and Virginia in 2012. Carolina has only one non-conference home loss during Breschi's tenure. The Tar Heels' next home game is against Denver on May 12.

UNC HAS FOURTH HIGHEST ASSIST DUO IN THE COUNTRY: Marcus Holman and Joey Sankey have combined for 52 assists this season, the fourth highest duo in the helper column in the country. The only teams with higher assists duos are Siena with 68, Virginia with 59 and Bucknell with 58.

TAR HEELS GO 2-0 IN CURRENT NFL STADIUMS IN 2012: Carolina performed admirably on the big stage this season, going 2-0 in current NFL stadiums with wins over Princeton and Johns Hopkins, respectively, at the Konica Minolta Face-Off and Big City Classics, respetively. With the 13-9 victory over Johns Hopkins on April 1 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Carolina improved to 2-5 in NFL stadiums since the 2005 season. On March 10, the North Carolina lacrosse team earned its first-ever win in a current NFL stadium when it defeated Princeton 9-8 at the Konica Minolta Face-off Classic in Baltimore, Md., on March 10. The Tar Heels are now 5-7 all-time in NFL stadiums both past and present, including a 1-2 mark at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, an 0-1 record in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., a 1-2 record in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and a 3-2 record in Franklin Field, the home of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958-70.

UNC STAGES BIGGEST COMEBACK IN 16 YEARS IN WIN AT NAVY: North Carolina came back from its largest fourth quarter deficit in 16 years when it won 9-8 at Navy on February 25. The last time UNC trailed by as many as three goals in the fourth quarter of a game and came back to win was April 13, 1996. In that game, UNC trailed Notre Dame 10-7 before Carolina started its rally with a goal with 11:01 to play. Merrill Turnbull's goal with 33 seconds left in regulation eventually lifted UNC to victory in that game 11-10. Against Navy on February 25, 2012, UNC trailed the Midshipmen 8-5 in the fourth quarter before a goal by Davey Emala with 12:12 left began UNC's comeback. Goals by Thomas Wood and Marcus Holman would tie the game. The Tar Heels capped the rally with a game-winning goal by Thomas Wood with 1:16 to play in the fourth quarter.

UNC AND HALFTIME DEFICITS: The Tar Heels rallied from a halftime deficit for the first time in nearly three years to beat Navy 9-8 on February 25. Navy led the Tar Heels 6-3 at halftime. The last time UNC had trailed at halftime and come back to win was May 9, 2009 when UMBC led the Tar Heels 8-6 at halftime. Carolina rallied to win that game 15-13. Since that time UNC had lost eight games in a row in which it had trailed at halftime before rallying to beat the Midshipmen. Carolina also trailed 5-4 at halftime against Hofstra on April 14 before the Tar Heels rallied for a 12-9 win. So after going two full seasons without staging a second half rally, the tar Heels have now done twice in the matter of 49 days. UNC is 8-1 in games this year when leading at halftime, 2-3 when trailing at the half and 1-1 when tied at intermission.

THE GROUND BALLS TELL THE STORY: Winning the blue collar battle on the ground has been a key to Tar Heel success this year. Carolina is 9-2 this season when winning the ground battle and 2-3 when losing it.

OVERCOMING LARGEST DEFICIT IN TWO YEARS: North Carolina trailed Navy by as many as four goals on three separate occasions in the 9-8 Tar Heel victory over the Midshipmen on February 25. The last time UNC had trailed by as many as four goals and come back to win a game was May 8, 2010 when the Tar Heels were down 8-4 to Ohio State with 9:58 left in the second quarter before rallying to win 19-13 at Fetzer Field.

COLOR THE TAR HEELS YOUNG: North Carolina has one of the youngest rosters in the nation. Of the 46 players on the roster, 28 are sophomores and freshmen, including 15 in the sophomore class and 13 in the freshman class. Conversely, the Tar Heel are short on the graybeard side of the roster breakdown. The UNC roster includes one graduate student (Jack McBride) and six seniors in their final years of eligibility (Milton Lyles, Mark Staines, Thomas Wood, Jimmy Dunster, Charlie McComas, Matt Holman). The Tar Heel junior class includes 11 players (including redshirts). Tyler Morton, Logan Corey and Gray Smith are all seniors academically and juniors in athletic eligibility.

HEAD COACH Joe Breschi: Joe Breschi is now in his fourth season as the head coach at his alma mater. His Tar Heel teams have a cumulative record of 46-20 for a winning percentage of 69.7 percent. He is in his 15th year overall as a collegiate head coach, including 11 seasons at Ohio State prior to coming to Chapel Hill. His career coaching record is 138-83 and his career winning percentage is 62.4 percent.

THREE TAR HEELS NAMED TO TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: North Carolina attackmen Jack McBride, Nicky Galasso and Marcus Holman were named to the 2012 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Holman was named one of the 25 nominees for the award on April 25. Galasso and McBride were named to the initial Watch List on February 15. Holman was on March 20 to an updated Watch List. The list includes the top players across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse and highlights the top contenders for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award. McBride is a graduate student attackman from Madison, N.J., Galasso is a sophomore attackman from West Islip, N.Y., and Holman is a junior attackman from Baltimore, Md. The Tewaaraton Award was formally established in August of 2000 and is the preeminent lacrosse award honoring the nation's top collegiate lacrosse player for his extraordinary achievements on the field. In late April, the list will be narrowed to 25 and these men will earn the distinction of Tewaaraton Nominees. In mid-May, the five finalists will be announced. These finalists will be invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, which will take place on May 31st, at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

KEENAN WINS ACC POW FOR FOURTH TIME ON APRIL 1: North Carolina sophomore midfielder R.G. Keenan was named the ACC Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week on April 1. It was the fourth weekly award this season for Keenan during his banner sophomore campaign. Keenan was named the Most Valuable Player of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic game between North Carolina and No. 1 Johns Hopkins. The Perry Hall, Md., native won 18-of-25 faceoffs and scooped up a game-high nine ground balls in the match. He won 11-of-14 faceoffs in the first half as the Tar Heels built an 8-4 halftime advantage, and scored his second goal of the season in the second quarter. The nine ground balls were his second highest total this season, and his work on faceoffs helped the Tar Heels control possession en route to their first win over a top-ranked team since April 6, 1996.

HOLMAN & KEENAN SWEEP ACC AWARDS ON MARCH 27: North Carolina junior attackman Marcus Holman and sophomore midfielder R.G. Keenan were named the ACC Men's Lacrosse Players of the Week on March 27. It was the third weekly award this season for Keenan and the first for Holman. Holman led North Carolina to a pair of home wins with 10 points - two goals and eight assists - in victories over Dartmouth and No. 6 Maryland. Against Dartmouth, he had a goal and a career-high five assists while matching his career high of six points. The Baltimore, Md., native assisted on all four goals scored in the second half. Three days later, Holman led the Tar Heel offense with a goal and three assists for a team-high four points and assisted on the game-tying goal by Nicky Galasso with 10:37 to play. After having to leave the game in the first quarter against Dartmouth because of injury, Keenan came back and helped key an 11-10 conference win over Maryland. The Perry Hall, Md., native won 14-of-22 faceoffs in the game, including 6-of-8 in the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels outscored the Terrapins 5-3 to rally for the win. Keenan also had a game-high seven ground balls in the victory.

RASTIVO WINS ACC DEFENSIVE POW HONORS MARCH 13: North Carolina junior goaltender Steven Rastivo was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference on March 13. Rastivo was named the Most Valuable Player of North Carolina's game against No. 14 Princeton in the Konica Minolta Face-off Classic. The South Setauket, N.Y., native was the dominant player on the field against the Tigers as he made 16 saves and allowed only eight goals in the nationally-televised win. Rastivo's .667 save percentage in the game was the best of his career in any game in which he had at least 15 saves. Princeton outshot the Tar Heels 43-22 in the game, and Rastivo had seven saves in the fourth quarter alone to secure the victory. Rastivo was just two saves shy of his career high of 18 which came against Penn State on February 11.

KEENAN WINS ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR SECOND TIME: North Carolina junior R. G. Keenan was named the Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week by the ACC on Monday, Feb. 27. It was the second time this year that he had won the award. Keenan sparked a comeback win at Navy February 25 as the Tar Heels scored four unanswered goals to grab the victory, the largest fourth quarter rally since April 13, 1996 for a North Carolina squad. The midfielder scooped up 11 ground balls and won 18 of 20 faceoffs, including all five draws in the fourth quarter. The 18 wins were the second-most in his career, and the winning percentage was a single-game best at 90 percent. It was the second weekly award of the season for the native of Perry Hall, Md. He had won earlier in the season after Carolina's season-opening wins over Penn State and Mercer.

EMALA & KEENAN SWEEP FIRST ACC PLAYER OF WEEK AWARDS: North Carolina junior midfielder Davey Emala and sophomore midfielder R.G. Keenan were named Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week ending on Monday, Feb. 13. Emala, a transfer from Georgetown, started his Tar Heel career with six goals, including two game-winning goals, and added an assist while starting his first two games with the team. The Baltimore, Md., native also had six ground balls combined in the wins over No. 17 Penn State and Mercer. He had four goals and an assist in the win over the Nittany Lions and added two goals against Mercer in limited playing time. He scored his six goals on only 10 shots. Keenan won 74.4 percent of his faceoffs in the first two games of the season to help North Carolina dominate possession time in the two wins over the weekend. Keenan won a career-high 19 faceoffs in 27 attempts against the Nittany Lions and had seven ground balls. A day later, the Perry Hall, Md., native won 13 of 16 faceoffs against Mercer and scooped up six ground balls. Keenan's 19 wins versus Penn State exceeded his previous career high of 18, set in three games in 2011. At the time his 81.2 percentage against Mercer was the second highest of his career in a game, exceeded only by the 85.7 winning percentage he had as a freshman last season against Dartmouth. He improved on that percentage by winning 90 percent of his draws against Navy on February 25.

TAR HEELS OPEN WITH WIN IN SOUTHERN SHOWDOWN: Steven Rastivo made a career-high 18 saves and R.G. Keenan won a career-high 19 face-offs to power sixth-ranked North Carolina to a 14-10 victory over 17th-ranked Penn State Saturday before a crowd of 6,913 in the fourth annual Southern Showdown played at Kennesaw State University's Soccer Stadium on February 11. The game marked the 2012 men's lacrosse opener for both teams. Several newcomers were involved in UNC's 14-goal outburst as junior transfer Davey Emala (from Georgetown) led the Heels with four goals and an assist while freshman Jimmy Bitter and junior tri-captain Marcus Holman each had three goals with Holman also adding a helper. Graduate student transfer Jack McBride (from Princeton) also scored twice for the Tar Heels. Sophomores Pat Foster and Duncan Hutchins had three and two assists, respectively, as Carolina registered assists on 10 of 14 goals. It was a career high assist total for Foster, who started on attack with Holman and freshman Joey Sankey. Hutchins matched his career high for assists. He also had two against UMBC last year. Rastivo, who transferred to UNC from Penn State in January 2010, was brilliant in goal for the Tar Heels as he made a career high 18 saves and he had a career high eight ground balls as well. He had 12 of his saves in the second half as Carolina protected an 8-5 halftime lead against an onslaught of 22 second half shots by the Nittany Lions. Rastivo's previous career high for saves was 13, which he achieved twice last season, against Maryland on March 26, 2011 and against Notre Dame on May 6, 2011. His previous career high for ground balls was four set against Ohio State as a freshman and Maryland as a sophomore. R.G. Keenan was equally instrumental in the victory as he won 19 of his 27 face-off attempts in the match while snaring seven ground balls. Keenan's previous high for face-offs won was 18, which he accomplished three times last season -- against Navy, Duke and Dartmouth. Keenan was only four face-off wins shy of the school record of 23 established by Shane Walterhoefer against Ohio State on April 21, 2008.

TAR HEELS EXPLODE FOR 20-GOAL OUTPUT IN WIN OVER MERCER: North Carolina got goals from 12 different players and assists from nine different players and played virtually its entire roster as the sixth-ranked Tar Heels defeated the Mercer Bears 20-7 at the Lovett School in Atlanta February 12. UNC freshmen scored 12 goals and had seven assists in the match. The 12 goals were a school record total for freshmen in a game. Freshmen Joey Sankey and Chad Tutton each scored three goals to lead the way for the Tar Heels while freshmen Jimmy Bitter and Walker Chafee and juniors Davey Emala and Stephen Burns had two goals each. The two goals were a career high for Burns. Sankey, Tutton, Chafee, Drew Hays, T.J. Kemp and Derek Henson all had their first goals in UNC uniforms. Sankey finished with six points overall as he added three assists while Bitter finished with four points overall as he pitched in with two helpers. Burns, Chafee, Jimmy Dunster, Foster, Frankie Kelly, Kemp and Tutton also added assists. The assist was the first career point for Kelly. Sankey had nine ground balls for the Tar Heels, the most by a Tar Heel attackman since Billy Bitter had nine against Maryland on March 21, 2009.

KEENAN, BALANCED OFFENSE LEAD TAR HEELS PAST TITANS: R.G. Keenan won 16 of 18 face-offs, helping sixth-ranked North Carolina dominate possession en route to an 18-8 men's lacrosse victory over Detroit in the Tar Heels' home opener at Fetzer Field on February 18. Jimmy Dunster scored three goals for Coach Joe Breschi's team and Marcus Holman and Chad Tutton each had four-point games for Carolina, which got points from 13 different players. UNC broke open a close game by scoring four goals in a span of two minutes in the first half and then went on a 12-2 scoring run from 10:43 in the second quarter to 5:05 in the fourth quarter to gain its biggest lead at 18-5. Carolina outshot the Titans 44-26 and won the ground ball battle 51-32. UNC dominated the face-off X, thanks in large part to Keenan, 19-8. It was a sloppy game ball handling wise on both sides of the field as Detroit committed 25 turnovers and UNC had a season-high 24. Dunster led the way with three goals for UNC while Holman and Tutton each had two goals and two assists. Joey Sankey and Pat Foster each had two goals and an assist and Davey Emala had a goal and two assists for Carolina. Ryan Creighton and Jimmy Bitter each scored twice for UNC and sophomore middie Will Campbell had a career-high two assists. Other goals came from Jack McBride and T.J. Kemp while freshmen Walker Chafee and Matt Shannon each had their first career assists.

CAROLINA SURGES PAST MIDSHIPMEN IN CLASSIC MATCHUP: Fourth-ranked North Carolina scored four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, including the game winner by Thomas Wood with 1:16 to play, as it rallied past Navy 9-8 in men's lacrosse action before 1,801 fans at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on February 25. The game marked the biggest fourth quarter comeback for UNC in the sport in 16 years. Wood, a senior attackman from Dallas, Texas, saw his first action of the year after suffering a broken thumb in preseason practice, and scored three times. Team captain Marcus Holman, a junior attackman from Baltimore, had two goals and four assists. It was UNC's second successive win over Navy in Annapolis and its fourth in a row over Navy overall. UNC now leads the overall series 15-12. The last time UNC rallied from as much as a three-goal, fourth quarter deficit to win was April 13, 1996 when the Tar Heels won at Notre Dame 11-10. The Fighting Irish led 10-7 in that match before UNC ran off four goals in a row. The eventual game-winner in that contest was scored by Merrill Turnbull with 33 seconds to play. Carolina trailed by four goals on three occasions and rallied to overcome its biggest deficit in a game since May 8, 2010 when the Tar Heels were down to Ohio State by four goals in the first half of a game in Chapel Hill before eventually winning 19-13. The win was also the first time Carolina has trailed at halftime of a game and come back to prevail since May 9, 2009 when the Heels were down to UMBC 8-6 at halftime of an NCAA Tournament first round game. Carolina rallied in the second half of that game to triumph by a 15-13 count. Wood and Holman led the way for UNC with nine combined points and Davey Emala had a goal and an assist. R.G. Keenan was huge again for Carolina in the face-off circle as he won 18 of 20 draws. That was one win shy of his personal high of 19 in a game set against Penn State on February 11, 2012. Keenan's 90 percent tally at the X was the best percentage of his career in a game, besting the .889 percent performance he had the previous game against Detroit. Keenan also had 11 ground balls in the game, the third highest total of his career.

HEELS FALL VICTIM TO LEHIGH UPSET BID: Lehigh outscored North Carolina 5-0 over a span of 25:11 from the second through fourth quarters and went on to beat the fourth-ranked Tar Heels 9-8 at Fetzer Field on March 3. The loss was the first for the Tar Heels against an unranked team at Fetzer Field since March 5, 2004 when Navy downed Carolina 9-8 in overtime. The Mountain Hawks recorded their first win over Carolina since April 4, 1951 when Lehigh defeated the Tar Heels 6-3 in Chapel Hill. Lehigh won the game by capitalizing in three statistical areas, winning the ground balls 31-23, dominating the X 13-7 and scoring three extra-man goals on four opportunities while holding the Tar Heels scoreless on three extra-man chances. Lehigh man-down defense was so good that it did not allow the Tar Heels to take a shot on any of their three opportunities. The Mountain Hawks also harried the Tar Heels into committing 19 turnovers, including 11 in the second half.

CAROLINA FALLS AT PENN FOR FIRST TIME IN HISTORY: Eighth-ranked North Carolina's first visit to Franklin Field to play Pennsylvania since May 11, 1991 proved to be an unpleasant one as the unranked Quakers earned their first victory of the season, downing the Tar Heels 10-6 on March 6. Dan Savage led the Quakers with three goals and an assist while John Conneely had two goals and two assists and Ryan Parietti and Tim Schawlje each had a goal and an assist. Anthony Adler had a goal and two assists for the Quakers who got 17 of their 18 points from five players. It was the first ever win for the Quakers over Carolina at Franklin Field. Carolina is 8-5 all-time versus Penn but it had won its three previous visits for Franklin Field.

CAROLINA GRABS MUCH NEEDED WIN AGAINST PRINCETON: Steven Rastivo made 16 saves to earn Most Valuable Player honors of the 2012 Konica Minolta Face-off Classic as eighth-ranked North Carolina defeated 14th-ranked Princeton 9-8 at M&T Bank Stadium on March 10. Princeton outshot the Tar Heels 43-22 in the game but Rastivo proved to be a stone wall in the cage to keep the Tigers at bay, including a seven-save performance in the fourth quarter alone. The Tar Heels featured a balanced offensive attack with Duncan Hutchins scoring twice, including the game-winner with 6:09 to play after Princeton had rallied to tie the game at 8-8. Graduate student Jack McBride, who played at Princeton from 2008-11, had two goals for Carolina while Marcus Holman, Jimmy Dunster, Nicky Galasso, Davey Emala and Ryan Creighton each scored once. R.G. Keenan led UNC with two assists, while Pat Foster, Holman, Hutchins and Greg McBride each had a single assist.

CAROLINA'S RALLY FALL SHOTS AT DUKE: Fourteenth-ranked Duke bolted to a 10-3 lead and held on against a spirited second-half rally by 12th-ranked North Carolina to win 13-11 in men's lacrosse action before a crowd of 3,174 at Koskinen Stadium on March 16. Three different Blue Devils recorded hat tricks in the match while Joey Sankey matched his career high for points in a game with six for the Tar Heels. Sankey had three goals and three assists, matching his career highs for goals, assists and points in a game. Fellow freshman Billy Bitter came up big with a pair of scores while sophomore Ryan Creighton scored twice. Marcus Holman had a goal and an assist for the Tar Heels.

UNC GETS BOUNCE BACK WIN AGAINST DARTMOUTH: Marcus Holman and Thomas Wood combined for 11 points on March 21 to lead the 15th-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team to a 13-10 victory over Dartmouth before 1,116 fans at Fetzer Field. Holman had a career-high five assists and matched his career high with six points while Wood scored four goals, the most he has scored in a game in almost two years. Three Tar Heels had multiple goals in the game as Wood scored four times, to go along with an assist, and Joey Sankey and Davey Emala had two tallies each. Sankey also added an assist. Holman had a goal and five assists for UNC while Jimmy Bitter had a goal and two helpers. Chad Tutton had a goal and an assist as well. UNC outshot the Big Green 58-32 overall, including a 22-8 edge in the second quarter when the Tar Heels outscored Dartmouth 8-4. Steven Rastivo made 15 saves and allowed 10 goals for UNC. One of the keys to the victory for Carolina was the fact it committed a season-low seven turnovers Sophomore Frankie Kelly did most of the work at the X for UNC, winning 12 of 21 faceoffs and leading the Tar Heels with seven ground balls. Kelly's previous high for ground balls was four against Presbyterian on April 14, 2011. Kelly's 12 faceoff wins were the most in his career. His previous high was eight versus Presbyterian on April 14, 2011. The four goals by Wood were the most he had scored in a game since he had five goals against Ohio State on May 8, 2010. Wood had five ground balls in the game, matching his career high initially set against Lehigh on February 20, 2010. Holman's five assists were a career high, exceeding by one the total of four assists he had against Navy on February 25 of this season. Holman also had six points in that game against the Midshipmen and he matched that total against the Big Green on March 21.

CAROLINA GRABS ACC WIN VERSUS THE TERPS: It was Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse at its best as #15 North Carolina edged #6 Maryland 11-10 March 24 at Fetzer Field in a game that featured five ties and four lead changes. The Tar Heels trailed by two early in the fourth quarter before scoring five of the next six goals and then staving off a Maryland flurry in the final minute. The Tar Heels improved to 7-3 on the season and 1-1 in the ACC and they have now beaten the Terps in three straight regular-season meetings. Joey Sankey led the Tar Heels with his fourth hat trick of the season while sophomore midfielder Will Campbell scored two unassisted goals, including the score that put Carolina up for good with 6:42 to play. Thomas Wood added a pair of goals for Carolina, Marcus Holman had a goal and three assists and Jimmy Bitter had two assists as the attack unit came through for the Tar Heels in a big way.

CAROLINA TOPPLES TOP-RANKED BLUE JAYS: R.G. Keenan won 18 face-offs and Jimmy Bitter and Marcus Holman led a balanced offensive effort as 11th-ranked North Carolina upset top-ranked Johns Hopkins 13-9 April 1 before 25,934 fans in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium. Carolina, which improved to 8-3 on the season, had lost its last 11 games to No. 1-ranked teams, including two in the Big City Classic in the previous three years. But the Tar Heels persevered to score their first win over a top-ranked unit since beating Virginia on April 6, 1996 by a 19-18 score at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. Carolina improved to 6-22 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams and 3-7 against Blue Jay teams ranked No. 1 in the nation. R.G. Keenan was named the Konica Minolta Big City Classic MVP as he won 18 of 25 face-offs, the sixth time in his career and the third time this campaign he has won at least 18 draws in a game. He led both teams with nine ground balls. That was Keenan's second highest ground ball total of the season, exceeded only by the 11 he had at Navy on February 25.

TAR HEELS DROP TOUGH DECISION TO VIRGINIA: Steele Stanwick scored three goals and added four assists to power top-ranked Virginia to a 15-10 victory over ninth-ranked North Carolina April 7 at Fetzer Field before the largest crowd to watch a men's lacrosse game there in over 21 years. Stanwick, who had eight points in a 12-8 win for the Cavaliers last Saturday at Maryland, picked up right where he left off against the Terps. His goal into an empty net as he beat a double team with 5:51 left in the second quarter put the Wahoos up for good and sparked a 6-0 scoring run that had them up 10-4 with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Carolina outscored the Cavaliers 6-5 after that but it was too little, too late.

CAROLINA BOUNCES BACK WITH CLOSE WIN OVER HOFSTRA: Marcus Holman and Jimmy Bitter both tallied career highs for goals and points as they led eighth-ranked North Carolina to a 12-9 come-from-behind victory over Hofstra April 14 in the ESPNU Warrior Classic at American Legion Memorial Stadium. A crowd of 6,230 fans was on hand as the Tar Heels improved to 9-4 on the season while Hofstra fell to 6-6. Holman had career highs for both points and goals and Bitter recorded career highs for points, goals and assists in a game. Between the two of them, they accounted for nine of UNC's 12 goals and five of the Tar Heels' seven assists.

UNC EARNS FIRST WIN OVER VIRGINIA IN EIGHT YEARS: Ninth-ranked North Carolina got three goals from Marcus Holman and two goals and three assists from Joey Sankey to upset fourth-ranked Virginia 11-9 April 20 in the second semifinal game of the 2012 ACC Men's Lacrosse Tournament before 3,615 fans at Klockner Stadium. The third-seeded Tar Heels claimed their first ACC Tournament win outside of Chapel Hill since April 21, 1996 when they defeated Virginia 13-11 for the conference crown that year. When the Tar Heels meet seventh-ranked Duke on Sunday they will be playing in the tournament championship game for the 10th time (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2009, 2012). Carolina's most recent ACC Tournament championship came in 1996. UNC last played in the ACC Tournament final in 2009 when it lost to Duke 15-13 in Chapel Hill.

TAR HEELS FALL TO DUKE FOR ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team fell short in its first bid for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1996 as the ninth-ranked Tar Heels lost to seventh-ranked Duke 12-9 April 22 before a crowd of 1,956 fans at Klockner Stadium. Duke's Christian Walsh was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after he scored four goals and added two assists in the championship game. North Carolina lost for the first time all season when leading at halftime as Duke outscored the Tar Heels 5-0 in the first 10:40 of the second half to go ahead 7-4. The Tar Heels twice cut the Duke lead to a single goal after that but were unable to get the equalizer. Chad Tutton of UNC led the Tar Heels with three goals while Jimmy Bitter had a pair of goals and an assist. Joey Sankey was the tournament's leading scorer after he totaled four points on Sunday. He had nine points for the tournament and had one goal and three assists Sunday. Greg McBride had a goal and an assist for UNC while Marcus Holman had a goal and two assists.

UNC SCORES MOST GOALS IN THREE YEARS IN WIN OVER MERCER: North Carolina's 20-goal outburst against Mercer on February 12 was the most goals it has scored in a game since it beat Denver 20-7 on February 14, 2009 at Fetzer Field.

UNC IN THE POLLS: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team headed 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 States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. UNC received 204 points from the poll's 14 voters. UNC was also ranked sixth in the Nike Division I media poll of January 30, 2012, receiving 342 points from 22 voters. The most recent regular-season polls of the season were issued on May 7, 2012. The Tar Heels were ranked fifth in the Nike Division I media poll with 278 points. In the most recent USILA coaches poll, Carolina is ranked sixth with 137 points.

CAROLINA SNARES 250TH ALL-TIME WIN AT FETZER FIELD: Carolina's 11-10 win over Maryland on March 24 marked the 250th all-time win for the Tar Heels at Fetzer Field. North Carolina will head into its next home game against Denver on May 5 with an all-time record of 251-117-2 at Fetzer Field. UNC has a 68.1 winning percentage all-time in history at Fetzer Field.

ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: Carolina's 14-10 win over Penn State in the 2012 season opener was the 14th victory in a row in a season opener for the Tar Heels. The last time UNC lost a season opener was February 22, 1998 when the Tar Heels fell 13-12 to Butler at Fezter Field.

THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 431-268-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .616.

TWO TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC: Sophomore attackman Nicky Galasso and senior defenseman Charlie McComas were named preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine for the 2012 season. IL made the announcement on their website on December 12, 2011. 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 close defense for Carolina, starting 15 games as a junior in 2011. 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 were named to the preseason All-America Team announced by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine on December 6, 2011. The preseason All-Americas were chosen by a vote of Division I head coaches and Yearbook and IL staff. Sophomore attackman Nicky Galasso was named a preseason first-team All-America, the only sophomore attackman on the first team. He led the Tar Heels in scoring as a freshman last year and was named the team's top freshman and the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2011. Junior midfielder Marcus Holman, one of Carolina's tri-captains, was 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 defensive 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, was 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 on December 8, 2011. 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.

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 Carolina Leadership Academy.

TAR HEELS APPEAR ON ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS SIX TIMES IN 2012: Six regular-season University of North Carolina men's lacrosse games are being televised in 2012 in the television schedule released by the ESPN Family of Networks and the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina's three regular-season conference games are on the network, including an April 7 game against defending NCAA champion Virginia on ESPN at 1 p.m.. The Tar Heels also faced 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. are being 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 were named as tri-captains of the 2012 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. were 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 The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team competed 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 played Princeton in the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., as the Tar Heels defeated the Tigers 9-8. Last Sunday, the Tar Heels defeated Johns Hopkins 13-9 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 year's appearances marked UNC's first ever appearance in the Face-Off Classic in Baltimore while Carolina will compete in the Big City Classic for the fourth straight year.