University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC & Johns Hopkins Renew Rivalry Saturday
February 19, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
Next Up For Carolina Is Long-Standing Rivalry With Blue Jays
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 4
North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0, #4 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#4 Cascade/Maverik Media Poll) vs. Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (2-1, #9 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#9 Cascade/Maverik Media Poll)
Saturday, February 21, 2015
2:00 p.m. EST
Navy Field
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Live Stats: GoHeels.com GameWatcher
Live Webcast: GoHeelsTV (Both Standard and HD Versions Available); Play-by-Play Announcer: Caleb Waters
Tickets For Saturday's Game: There will be no admission charge for Saturday's game. Fans should know in advance there is no seating available at Navy Field however a webcast is available for the game online.
2015 UNC Lacrosse Media Guide: View 2015 Media Guide
Watch Highlights vs. UMass: Highlight Package
2015 UNC Lacrosse Statistics: Cumulative Statistics
2015 Carolina Lacrosse Game Promotions (No Promotions For UNC-Hopkins Game Because of Free Admission): Promotional Flyer
UNC Lacrosse Player & Coach Biographies: Meet The 2015 Tar Heels
Follow UNC Men's Lacrosse On Facebook: Facebook Page
Follow The Tar Heels On Twitter: @UNCMensLacrosse
Follow The Tar Heels On Instagram: Follow The Heels
CAROLINA TAKES ON JOHNS HOPKINS SATURDAY AT NAVY FIELD: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Breschi, will hit the field for the fourth time in the opening two weeks of the season on Saturday when the Tar Heels play host to the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays at Fetzer Field at 2 p.m.
Saturday's traditional rivalry will feature a pair of teams currently ranked in the Top 10 in the nation. The Tar Heels are ranked fourth in both the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coaches poll and in the Cascade/Maverik media poll run in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The Blue Jays are ranked #9 in both national polls.
North Carolina is 3-0 after opening its season with a 19-4 victory over Furman on Febaruary 7 at Fetzer Field and a 15-9 triumph over High Point on February 10 at Navy Field. Carolina improved to 3-0 with a 20-8 win over Massachusetts last Saturday at Fetzer Field. The Blue Jays are 2-1 on the season. They opened with a 16-4 home win over UMBC before hitting the road where they lost to Towson 7-5 before defeating Villanova 13-10.
There will be no admission charge for Saturday's game versus Johns Hopkins. There is NO permanent seating available at the facility, however, Saturday's matchup will be webcast live on GoHeelsTV. There will be both standard definition and high definition versions of the webcast available. Caleb Waters will serve as the play by play announcers. For those fans hoping to attend the game in person you must enter through the gate at Ridge Road.
HEAD TO HEAD EVENTS: In addition to the lacrosse game there are multiple other events going on head-to-head that will affect parking and drive time issues. UNC is hosting the ACC Fencing Championships at Carmichael Arena and an indoor track meet at Eddie Smith Fieldhouse. Both are within walking distance of Navy Field and will mean almost all lots adjacent to Navy Field will be reserved for permit parking only.
UNC also plays Georgia Tech at 12 noon in men's basketball less than a mile down Ridge Road in the other direction. TRAFFIC WILL BE HEAVY.
Options for lacrosse parking are as follows:
Boshamer Lot – first come, first serve, free
Raleigh Road Visitors Lot – first come, first serve
Rams Head Deck – only after 1 p.m. if spots are available; this is a pay by hour facility
You can download a campus parking map with parking lots listed here.
UNC VS. HOPKINS GAME PROMOTIONS: All previous promotions plans for UNC-Johns Hopkins game have been cancelled since there is no admission charge. View complete list of promotions for future games here.
THE HEAD COACHES: Saturday's game features a matchup between two of the best coaches in the college game. Joe Breschi, UNC Class of 1990, leads the Tar Heels in his seventh season at Carolina. He coached his 100th game at UNC on Februrary 7 as the Tar Heels defeated Furman 19-4. Breschi is 72-30 in his seven years at Carolina. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 164-93 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach.
The Blue Jays are coached by 1990 Johns Hopkins graduate Dave Pietramala, who is now in his 15th season as the head mentor of the Blue Jays. He has gone 160-56 in his tenure in Homewood and won NCAA championships in 2005 and 2007. The Blue Jays have reached the Final Four six times in his tenure.
CAROLINA VERSUS JOHNS HOPKINS: The UNC versus Johns Hopkins rivalry began in 1977 when the Blue Jays defeated the Tar Heels 16-9 in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game at Homewood Field.
Saturday's game will mark the 44th meeting between the two teams. Johns Hopkins has a 24-19 advantage in the rivalry. In last year's game at Homewood Field in Baltimore, the Tar Heels prevailed in the rain 13-9 over the Blue Jays as Joey Sankey led the way for Carolina with a seven-point game.
Read a complete recap of last year's UNC-Johns Hopkins game.
View Box Score from 2014 matchup between UNC and Johns Hopkins.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR SATURDAY'S CONTEST: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Johns Hopkins looks at follows. This is a tentative depth chart and subject to change.
Starting Attack Unit: #1, Luke Goldstock, Sophomore; #11, Joey Sankey, Senior; #4, Jimmy Bitter, Senior; Attack Reserve: #18, Walker Chafee, Senior
1st Midfield Unit- #12, Chad Tutton, Senior; #2, Patrick Kelly, Junior; # 42, Peyton Klawinski, Sophomore
2nd Midfield Unit- #14, William McBride, Freshman; #5, Joe Costigan, Redshirt Junior; #32, Duncan Hutchins, Redshirt Senior
3rd Midfield Unit- #21, Michael Tagliaferri, Redshirt Sophomore; #22, Shane Simpson, Sophomore; #47, Brent Armstrong, Junior
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders - #28, Tate Jozokos, Sophomore; #6, Jake Matthai, Junior; #3, Brett Bedard, Sophomore; #44, Drew Hays, Senior
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders - #15, Ryan Kilpatrick, Senior; #99, Evan Connell, Junior; #34, Jack Lambert, Redshirt Freshman
Face-Off; #24, Stephen Kelly, Sophomore; #47, Brent Armstrong, Junior; #25, Riley Graham, Freshman; #34, Jack Lambert, Redshirt Freshman
Close Defense - #40, Jake Bailey, Senior; #17, Austin Pifani, Sophomore; #77, Zach Powers, Junior; Close Defense Reserves: #20, Ryan Macri, Redshirt Freshman; #48, Bug Carper, Freshman
Goalkeeper Starter - #30, Brian Balkam, Redshirt Freshman, or #26, Kieran Burke, Junior; Goalkeeper Backup - #16, Duncan Saunders, Redshirt Sophomore
LAST TIME OUT FOR CAROLINA: Sixth-ranked North Carolina continued its early-season offensive assault as four players recorded hat tricks in the Tar Heels' 20-8 win over Massachusetts February 14 at Fetzer Field. Coach Joe Breschi's men's lacrosse team improved to 3-0 on the season while UMass has lost its first two games.
Carolina has scored 15 or more goals in all three games this season and limited each of its opponents to single digits in goal. Joey Sankey, Jimmy Bitter, Luke Goldstock and Peyton Klawinski each scored three goals for the Tar Heels while Chad Tutton and Duncan Hutchins added two goals each.
The last time UNC had four players with hat tricks in the same game was April 24, 2009 when Billy Bitter, Ben Hunt, Bart Wagner and Gavin Petracca all scored three goals in a 16-10 win over Maryland in the ACC Tournament semifinals. All three Tar Heel starting attackmen – Goldstock, Sankey and Bitter – recorded hat tricks for the second time in three games this year. That had not happened since the aforementioned Maryland game in 2009 until the Tar Heels did it a week ago in the season opener versus Furman.
Bitter has recorded hat tricks in all three games this year and for the second straight game he had six points, just one shy of his career high of seven points in a game. His three assists matched his career high, the sixth time in his career he has achieved that total. Sankey had his second hat trick of the year. His four assists and seven points both matched his career highs. This is the third time he has had four assists in a game and the fourth time he has had seven points.
Both Bitter and Sankey now have 99 career goals. That total ties them with Harper Peterson (1968-70) and Billy Bitter (2008-11) for 10th place in Tar Heel history. After their three-goal performances on Saturday, Bitter now has 17 career hat tricks and Sankey has totaled 16.
North Carolina only outshot the Minutemen 40-35 in the game but the Tar Heels scored on 50 percent of their shots. UNC dominated in ground balls 43-31 and led in the face-off circle 19-13. Stephen Kelly won a career high 17 face-offs, prevailing on 17 of 28 draws. Kelly led the Tar Heels with nine ground balls. Kelly's previous high for face-off wins was 15 against Princeton on March 7, 2014. Kelly has now also scored goals in back-to-back games.
ODDS AND ENDS AFTER WIN OVER UMASS: Noting the Tar Heels after the win over the Minutemen.
• Jimmy Bitter has now recorded hat tricks in six of the past seven games he has played in dating back to April 12, 2014 versus Syracuse.
• UNC now leads the all-time series against the Minutemen 4-1. Saturday's meeting was the first ever in Chapel Hill.
• The 20 goals scored were the most in a game by the Tar Heels since they defeated Bucknell 20-4 on March 11, 2014.
• Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey finished the afternoon each having scored his 99th career goal, tied for 10th in Tar Heel history with Harper Peterson (1968-70) and Billy Bitter (2008-11). Chad Tutton's two goals give him 78, which is tied for 27th in UNC history.
• Jimmy Bitter has now recorded point in 44 successive games dating back to March 16, 2012. That's the second longest current streak in the nation in Division I. The 44-game streak is also tied for the fourth longest in Carolina history.
• Joey Sankey has had at least one point in 39 successive games since April 20, 2012. That is the third longest active streak in the nation in NCAA Division I and the eighth longest streak in Carolina history.
• Austin Pifani scored the second goal of his career. His previous goal came against Dartmouth on February 22, 2014.
• Peyton Klawinski has now recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games. Coming into 2015, his previous high goal total was two versus Manhattan on February 16, 2014. Klawinski has seven goals so far this season after scoring thee in all of 2014.
• Joey Sankey has scored a goal in 19 successive games dating back to May 19, 2013. That is tied for the fourth longest current streak in the nation and tied for the seventh longest streak in UNC history.
• Jimmy Bitter has scored a goal in 17 straight games, dating back to February 16, 2014. That is tied for the sixth longest active streak in the nation and it is the ninth longest streak in UNC history.
• Stephen Kelly won a career high 17 face-offs. It is the 29th time in UNC history that a player has won as many as 17 face-offs in a game. His previous career high was 15 versus Princeton on March 7, 2014.
• Stephen Kelly has scored goals in back-to-back games. That equals his goal total from the 2014 season.
• Stephen Kelly's nine ground balls were the third most he has had in a game in his career. He has 13 against Princeton and 10 against Bucknell in his freshman year.
• Joey Sankey's seven points equaled his career high for points in a game. He also had seven versus Dartmouth on March 18, 2013, seven against Dartmouth on February 22, 2014 and seven versus Johns Hopkins on March 29, 2014.
• Joey Sankey matched his career high for assists in a game with four. He also had four assists versus Princeton on March 9, 2014 and against Dartmouth on February 22, 2014.
• Jimmy Bitter's three assists matched his career high. He also had three assists versus Hofstra on April 14, 2012, against Notre Dame on March 2, 2013, against Princeton on March 9, 2013, against Maryland on March 23, 2013 and against Brown on March 27, 2013.
• Evan Connell's five ground balls matched his career high set previously against Manhattan on February 16, 2014.
• Joey Sankey now has 172 career points, tied for ninth in UNC history with Mac Ford (1982-85) and Jed Prossner (2002-05).
• Jimmy Bitter now has 147 career points at UNC and is in 19th place, on point behind Matt Crofton (1997-2000).
• Chad Tutton has 96 career points, tied with Ben Hunt for 39th place.
• Joey Sankey has 73 career assists, ranking 10th in UNC history.
• Luke Goldstock now has three career hat tricks – vs. Bucknell as a freshman and against Furman and Massachusetts as a sophomore.
• Duncan Hutchins matched his career high for goals in a game with two. He has scored twice against Penn on March 8, 2011, against Princeton on March 10, 2012, against Furman on February 7, 2015 and against Massachusetts on February 14, 2015.
HAT TRICKS FOR THE HEELS: Carolina's three starting attackmen all recorded hat tricks in the Tar Heels' 19-4 season-opening victory against Furman. Joey Sankey had four goals and Jimmy Bitter and Luke Goldstock each had three tallies. The Tar Heel attack unit duplicated that feat in Carolina's 20-8 win over UMass on Febriary 14 as Sankey, Bitter and Goldstock all scored three times.
Prior to the Furman game, the last time all three Tar Heel starting attackmen had hat tricks in the same game came on April 24, 2009. Billy Bitter, Gavin Petracca and Bart Wagner each totaled three goals in a 16-10 ACC Tournament semifinal victory over Maryland that day.
In UNC's win over High Point on February 10, Carolina again got a trio of hat tricks with Jimmy Bitter scoring four goals and Peyton Klawinski and Chad Tutton each scoring three times.
POINTS STREAKS FOR JOEY AND JIMMY: Carolina senior attackmen Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey possess the second and third longest point scoring streaks currently active in NCAA Division I.
Jimmy Bitter has recorded points in 44 successive games dating back to March 16, 2012. That is the second longest streak in the nation behind only Shayne Adams of Detroit, who has recorded points in 48 successive games. During his 44-game skein, Bitter has recorded 90 goals and 46 assists for 136 points.
Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in a game in 39 consecutive contests. That is tied for the third longest streak in the nation with senior midfielder Jesse King of Ohio State. Sankey's scoring streak began on April 20, 2012. During that span, Sankey has recorded 81 goals and added 60 assists for 141 points.
Bitter's 44 games with at least one point is tied for the fourth longest streak in UNC history. The record is 50 successive games with at least one point. Sankey's 39-game point streak is the eighth longest streak in the Tar Heel record book.
SANKEY'S & BITTER'S GOAL SCORING STREAK: Joey Sankey has scored goals in 19 successive games for the Tar Heels dating back to March 19, 2013 and Jimmy Bitter has tallied goals in 17 consecutive games dating back to February 16, 2014. Both players scored goals in every game they played in during the 2014 season and they have continued their streaks in the first three games of the 2015 campaign.
Sankey's goal scoring streak is currently tied for the fourth longest in NCAA Division I with Ryan Brown of Johns Hopkins. Bitter's 17-game goal scoring streak equals the sixth longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
In Carolina history, three current Tar Heels have goal-scoring streaks which ranks among the top nine in Tar Heel lore. Chad Tutton's 19-game streak from March 3, 2013 through March 11, 2014 is the seventh-longest streak. Sankey's 19-game streak is now tied with Tutton for the eighth longest in the history books and Bitter's 17-game streak is the ninth longest.
TAR HEELS ON THE CAREER SCORING CHARTS: A trio of Tar Heel seniors continue to move up UNC's career scoring charts. Senior attackman Joey Sankey has moved into a tie for ninth place in career points with 172 while Jimmy Bitter is in 29th place with 147 career points and Chad Tutton is tied for 39th place with 96 career points.
On the career goal scoring list, Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey each enter the Johns Hopkins match with 99 career goals scored. They are tied for 10th place in career UNC goal scoring with Harper Peterson (1968-70) and Billy Bitter (2008-11). The school record for goals scored in a career is 128 by Bert Fett (1972-75). Chad Tutton has 78 goals in his career, which puts him in a tie for 27th place.
Joey Sankey's 73 career assists have moved him into 10th place all-time at Carolina.
BALKAM'S FIRST CAREER START: Tar Heel redshirt freshman Brian Balkam made the first start of his career in goal for UNC against Furman. Balkam played the first half for the Heels, making six saves and allowing three goals while facing 22 shots. He also started against High Point and made seven saves while allowing only four goals while playing the first half in the 15-9 win over the Panthers.
Balkam started his third straight game against UMass, playing 30 minutes and making six saves and allowing four goals. Junior Kieran Burke, who started all 32 games for the Tar Heels in 2013 & 2014, missed the first two games of this season with an injury. He played the fourth quarter against UMass, making three saves.
HEAD COACH JOE BRESCHI: Joe Breschi is now in his seventh season as the head coach at his alma mater. Breschi led the Tar Heels to double-digit win totals and NCAA Tournament bids in each of his first six seasons in Chapel Hill.
Breschi Coaching Facts:
• 72-30 in six seasons at UNC (70.6)
• 164-93 in 17 seasons overall (63.8)
• 8-12 in ACC regular-season games
• 4-4 in ACC Tournament games
• 3-6 in NCAA Tournament games at UNC; 4-9 in NCAA Tournament games overall
• 15-13 in one-goal games at UNC
• 36-27 versus ranked teams at UNC; 36-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 59-10 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 45-8 in home games at UNC
ANOTHER DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASON UNDER COACH BRESCHI: Despite playing against one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2014, the Tar Heels reached a double digit win total for the sixth successive year under the tutelage of head coach Joe Breschi, who was hired in June 2008. The Tar Heels were 10-5 in the 2014 campaign. Breschi is the first head coach in UNC history to post double digit win totals in each of his first six years mentoring the Tar Heels. Other than Breschi, Dave Klarmann (1991-94) is the only other coach to win 10 or more games in each of his first four seasons. Under Breschi's leadership, UNC went 12-6 in 2009, 13-3 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011, 11-6 in 2012, 13-4 in 2013 and 10-5 in 2014. The last time Carolina patched together six successive seasons with 10 or more wins was 1989-94 when the Tar Heels had at least double digits in wins for each of those six seasons.
UNC VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS UNDER COACH BRESCHI: North Carolina has played nationally-ranked opponents 63 times in Joe Breschi's six-year coaching tenure. UNC is 36-27 in those games, a winning percentage of 57.1 percent. Conversely, the Tar Heels are 36-3 against unranked opponents in his six seasons. Breschi is 72-30 overall at Carolina in his seven seasons as head coach. During Breschi's tenure, UNC's only losses to unranked teams came at Ohio State in 2011, at home to Lehigh in 2012 and at Pennsylvania in 2012.
CAROLINA'S IMPROVEMENT 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 15-13 in games decided by one goal over the past six years.
THREE TAR HEELS CHOSEN IN 2015 MLL DRAFT: Three members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were chosen Friday, January 24 in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Draft. The trio will start their respective MLL careers this summer at the conclusion of their senior years in college.
UNC senior attackman Joey Sankey of Warminster, Pa. was the first Tar Heel chosen as he went in the second round to the Charlotte Hounds. Sankey was the ninth player picked overall. Tar Heel senior midfielder Chad Tutton of Courtice, Ontario was chosen in the second round by the Florida Launch. Tutton was the 13th pick overall. Senior attackman Jimmy Bitter was selected in the third round with the 22nd pick by the Ohio Machine. The Stowe, Vt. native will reunite with former Tar Heel Marcus Holman, UNC Class of 2013, when he joins the Machine. Holman has played for the Machine the past two years. Holman and Bitter started on the UNC attack together with Joey Sankey in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
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 nine seasons. The Tar Heels have won 80 of their past 94 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's seven seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 59-10 against non-conference teams. The only losses were to Notre Dame in 2009, to Ohio State and Johns Hopkins in 2011, to Lehigh, Pennsylvania and Denver in 2012, to Massachusetts, Notre Dame and Denver in 2013 and to Denver in 2014.
CAROLINA'S DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING GAMES: In Coach Joe Breschi's seven years as head lacrosse coach at UNC, Carolina's success has clearly been tied to hitting the 10-goal plateau in a game. In fact UNC's 13-11 loss to Virginia on April 26, 2014, marked only the 12th 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 77 of 103 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 65-12 in those 77 games. In the 25 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 it scores in double figures. In fact, the Tar Heels' record in those 25 games is just 7-18.
NEAR DOMINANCE AT HOME UNDER BRESCHI: UNC is 45-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's seven years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 84.9 percent. 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 in 2011, an NCAA Tournament loss to Maryland in 2011, regular-season losses to Lehigh and Virginia in 2012, an NCAA Tournament loss to Denver in 2012, a regular-season loss to Duke in 2013 and a regular-season loss to Notre Dame in 2014.
CAROLINA IN HOME GAMES: North Carolina has an all-time record of 270-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014 and a 4-0 record so far in 2015. UNC has a 69.1 winning percentage all-time in history in home games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 457-278-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .621.
SIX TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC: Six Tar Heels were chosen for the preseason All-ACC Team for 2015. The team was selected in a vote by the ACC's five head coaches. Tar Heels on the preseason team include senior attackman Joey Sankey, senior midfielder Chad Tutton, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatick, sophomore face-off man Stephen Kelly, sophomore defenseman Austin Pifani and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke.
INSIDE LACROSSE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAS: Six members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were named to the preseason All-America Teams chosen by Inside Lacrosse magazine.
A trio of Tar Heels were named to the second-team preseason All-America Team – senior attackman Joey Sankey, senior midfielder Chad Tutton and sophomore defenseman Austin Pifani.
Another three Carolina players have been named to the honorable mention preseason All-America unit - senior attackman Jimmy Bitter, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatrick and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke.
Sankey led the Tar Heels in scoring in 2014 with 57 points on a team-leading total of 33 goals and squad-pacing 24 assists. He shot .355 on the season and started all 15 games for the Heels.
Pifani started 15 games on close defense for the Tar Heels as a fresman in 2015. He scooped up 32 ground balls, the second highest total on the team, and caused 10 turnovers. He spearheaded a much improved UNC defense that surrendered only 8.34 goals per game.
Tutton was Carolina's leading scorer in the midfield, starting all 15 games in the first unit. His 23 goals ranked third on the team and he added five assists for 28 points. He led Carolina in game-winning goals with three.
Jimmy Bitter was second on last year's team in goals scored with 30, playing in 14 games. He was tied for second on the team in points with 37. He shot .370 on the campaign and had 31 ground balls (tied for first in the attack and offensive midfield units) while committing only 16 turnovers.
Kilpatrick, who will captain this year's team with Sankey, Bitter and defenseman Jake Bailey, has been the top player at the LSM position for the Tar Heels for the past three years. Last year he had 23 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers (second highest on team behind Ryan Creighton).
Kieran Burke showed great improvement last year as he started all 15 games. He allowed only 8.47 goals per contest and had a save percentage of .558. He was second on the team in ground balls with 35. He has started 32 games in a row for UNC over the past two campaigns.
UNC CLAIMS ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: The Tar Heels beat Furman 19-4 in their 2015 season opener on February 7. UNC has won every season opener since the 1999 season, running its streak to 17 seasons in a row with the win over the Paladins. Carolina's last loss in a season opener came on February 22, 1988 when the Tar Heels fell to Butler 13-12 at Fetzer Field.
CAROLINA THIS YEAR ON ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS: A total of eight University of North Carolina men's lacrosse games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks. The Tar Heels could also have additional exposure during the 2015 ACC Lacrosse Tournament. Five of UNC's games will be televised on ESPNU - Denver on February 27, Duke on March 29, Virginia on April 3, Syracuse on April 11 and Notre Dame on April 18. Three additional UNC games will be shown on ESPN3 - all games to be played at Fetzer Field. Carolina's non-conference games against High Point, Bryant and Harvard will all be aired on ESPN3. Those three games are midweek contests scheduled on Tuesdays. All three games of the 2015 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship at PPL Park will air on ESPNU for a total of 34 broadcasts throughout the 2015 season. All five ACC teams will make at least five appearances on an ESPN platform this season.
UNC Men's Lacrosse Television Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 10, High Point at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, Feb. 27, Denver at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tuesday, March 10, Bryant at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Tuesday, March 17, Harvard at North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sunday, March 29, Duke at North Carolina, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday, April 3, North Carolina at Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, April 11, Syracuse at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, April 18, North Carolina at Notre Dame, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday, April 24, ACC Championship Semifinal 1, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
ACC Championship Semifinal 2, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday, April 26, ACC Championship, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
TAR HEELS OPEN WITH WIN OVER FURMAN: All three starting attackmen registered hat tricks as sixth-ranked North Carolina opened its 2015 men's lacrosse season with a 19-4 victory over Furman at Fetzer Field before a crowd of 1,353 on a beautiful February afternoon on February 7, 2015.
Senior attackman Joey Sankey had four goals and two assists, senior attackman Jimmy Bitter had three goals and two assists and sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock had three goals and an assist to lead the way for Coach Joe Breschi's team. Bitter had now scored in 15 successive games and has recorded a point in 42 straight contests. Sankey ran his successive games with a goal skein to 17 while earning a point in his 37th straight game.
Senior midfielders Duncan Hutchins and Chad Tutton each had two goals for UNC and Hutchins also had an assist for a three-point day. Junior Patrick Kelly and sophomore Peyton Klawinski each had a goal and an assist for the Tar Heels who will host High Point Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Fetzer Field in a game set to be telecast on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT FOR CAROLINA: For the second straight game, the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team benefitted from a trio of players with hat tricks as the sixth-ranked Tar Heels downed High Point 15-9 on a bitter cold night at Navy Field on Tuesday, February 7.
Jimmy Bitter had four goals and two assists and Peyton Klawinski and Chad Tutton each had three goals as the Tar Heels, now 2-0, shot 38.5 percent for the game. High Point, which lost to two-time defending NCAA champion Duke last Saturday 16-13 the previous Saturday, fell to 1-2 on the campaign. The game was originally scheduled for Fetzer Field at 4 p.m. but wet field conditions forced the game to be played at Navy Field under the lights. A loyal crowd of 612 fans braved the elements to watch an excellent offensive effort by Coach Joe Breschi's team.
Bitter's four goals were one short of his career high in a game and his six points also fell one short of his career high. Klawinski, a sophomore from Memphis, registered his first career hat trick and Tutton's three goals were the most since he tallied four against the Panthers in a 12-8 Tar Heel victory at High Point last April.
The Tar Heels took control of the game by storming to a 7-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. High Point would twice pull within four goals in the third quarter by a five-goal scoring spurt by UNC put the Heels up by nine goals early in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.
LOCAL YOUTH PLAYERS INVITED TO BE BALL BOYS AT FETZER FIELD: if you are interested in being a ball boy or having your local club team play at halftime, please contact Alexis Barlow at alexisb@unc.edu (youth 8th grade and below). Come enjoy a fun afternoon/evening at Fetzer Field and be a part of the action.
