University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Take On Furman In Season Opener Saturday
February 6, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
Carolina Begins 2015 Season Against Furman Paladins
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 1
North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0, #6 USILA Coaches Poll/#5 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll) vs. Furman Paladins (0-0)
Saturday, February 7, 2015
12:00 p.m. EST
Fetzer Field
Chapel Hill, N.C.
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Live Webcast: GoHeelsTV
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CAROLINA OPENS 2015 CAMPAIGN SATURDAY: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, a veteran team under the direction of head coach Joe Breschi, will hit the field for the first time in a regular season game Saturday when the Tar Heels play host to the Furman Paladins at Fetzer Field at 12 noon.
The game marks the season opener for both teams. All tickets are $5 general admission and are available now online at the GoHeels.com Ticket Center.
Saturday's game between the Tar Heels and the Paladins will be webcast live on GoHeelsTV.
North Carolina is coming off a 10-5 season in 2015 when the Tar Heels earned their eighth successive NCAA Tournament bid and sixth straight under Coach Joe Breschi. Furman is entering its second season as a varsity program. The Paladins were 1-12 last year.
Carolina is ranked sixth in the preseason by the U.S. Intercollegiate Athletic Association's coaches poll. UNC is fifth in the preseason Casade/Maverik media poll sponsored by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.
Saturday's game versus the Paladins will mark Joe Breschi's 100th game as UNC head coach.
THE HEAD COACHES: Saturday's match features a matchup between two of the best coaches in the college game, both veteran head mentors and both UNC graduates. Joe Breschi, UNC Class of 1990, leads the Tar Heels in his seventh season at Carolina. Breschi is 69-30 in his first six years at Carolina. He also coaches 11 years at Ohio State and is 161-93 overall. Richie Meade, head coach of the Paladins, is a 1976 UNC graduate. Meade is 163-132 in 22 seasons as a head coach at the University of Baltimore, the U.S. Naval Academy and Furman. In 2014, he served as head coach of Team USA at the World Lacrosse Games.
CAROLINA VERSUS FURMAN: Saturday will mark the second meeting between North Carolina and Furman. North Carolina leads the all-time series 1-0. A year ago, the Tar Heels and the Paladins met in Furman's first-ever varsity lacrosse game on Sunday, February 9, 2014 at Paladin Stadium. Fourteen different Tar Heel players scored goals in the game as the Tar Heels motored to a 19-3 victory.
Coach Joe Breschi's team excelled defensively, limiting the Paladins to three goals. That total was the fewest by a UNC opponent since March 18, 2008 when the Tar Heels defeated Marist 12-3 at Fetzer Field.
The Tar Heels outshot the Paladins 48-20 on the afternoon. Carolina won the ground ball battle 34-12 and took a 16-9 advantage at the face-off X. The Tar Heel defense harassed the Paladins into 16 turnovers while UNC committed only nine. Fourteen Tar Heels found the back of the goal led by junior Joey Sankey who recorded a hat trick. Sophomores Spencer Parks and Brent Armstrong and senior T.J. Kemp each notched a pair of goals while sophomore Patrick Kelly scored once and added three assists. Those were the first three assists of Kelly's career.
Sophomore Kieran Burke started his 18th straight game in goal for UNC and made seven saves while allowing two goals in 45 minutes. Redshirt freshman Duncan Saunders, in his Carolina debut, made one save and allowed one goal in 13:14 and Bradley Dunn finished out the duties for Carolina, playing the final 1:46 in goal. Furman starter Frazer Kinsley made 13 saves in goal in 51:15 before Jake Gavin came on to make three saves in the final 8:45.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR SATURDAY'S OPENER: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Furman 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; #22, Shane Simpson, Sophomore
2nd Midfield Unit- # 42, Peyton Klawinski, Sophomore; #14, William McBride, Freshman; #5, Joe Costigan, Redshirt Junior
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders - #28, Tate Jozokos, Sophomore; #6, Jake Matthai, Junior; #3, Brett Bedard, Sophomore
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders - #15, Ryan Kilpatrick, Senior; #99, Evan Connell, Junior; #34, Jack Lambert, Redshirt Freshman
Face-Off; #24, Stephen Kelly, Sophomore; #25, Riley Graham, 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; Goalkeeper Backup - #16, Duncan Saunders, Redshirt Sophomore
POINTS STREAKS FOR JOEY AND JIMMY: Carolina senior attackmen Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey enter the 2015 season with the second and third longest point scoring streaks in NCAA Division I.
Jimmy Bitter has recorded points in 41 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 46 successive games. During his 41 game skein, Bitter has recorded 80 goals and 39 assists for 119 points.
Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in a game in 36 consecutive contests. That is tied for the third longest streak in the nation with senior Jesse King of Ohio State. Sankey's scoring streak began on April 20, 2012. During that span, Sankey has recorded 73 goals and added 53 assists for 126 points.
SANKEY'S & BITTER'S GOAL SCORING STREAK: Joey Sankey has scored goals in 16 successive games for the Tar Heels dating back to March 19, 2013 and Jimmy Bitter has tallied goals in 14 consecutive games dating back to February 16, 2014. Both players scored goals in every game they played in during the 2014 season.
Sankey's goal scoring streak is currently tied for the fourth longest in NCAA Division I with Dan Lintner of Cornell. Bitter's 14-game goal scoring streak is the seventh longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
HEAD COACH JOE BRESCHI: Joe Breschi is now in his seventh season as the head coach at his alma mater. Breschi has 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:
• 69-30 in six seasons at UNC (69.6)
• 161-93 in 17 seasons overall (63.4)
• 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; 33-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 56-10 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 42-8 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 33-3 against unranked opponents in his six seasons. Breschi is 69-30 overall at Carolina in his six 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.
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. 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 77 of their past 90 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's six seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 56-10 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 six 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 74 of 99 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 62-12 in those 74 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 42-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's six years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 84.0 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 finished the 2014 regular season with an all-time record of 267-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014. UNC has a 68.9 winning percentage all-time in history in home games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 454-278-2 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.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: The Tar Heels will be looking for another season opening win when it meets Furman Saturday in Chapel Hill. UNC has won every season opener since the 1999 season. 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)
