University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Crimson Tuesday For ESPN3 Matchup
March 16, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 9: North Carolina Tar Heels (8-0, #2 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#2 Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, #2 Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll) vs. Harvard Crimson (4-2, #15 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#16 Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, #16 Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll)
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
7:00 p.m. EST
Fetzer Field
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Live Stats: GoHeels.com Gametracker
Webcast: ESPN3
2015 UNC Lacrosse Media Guide: View 2015 Media Guide
Watch Carolina Lacrosse Highlights: UNC vs. Bryant Highlights On YouTube
2015 UNC Lacrosse Statistics: Cumulative Statistics
2015 Carolina Lacrosse Game Promotions: Promotional Flyer
UNC Lacrosse Player & Coach Biographies: Meet The 2015 Tar Heels
Purchase Tickets To Home Games: GoHeels.com Ticket Center
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 PREPARES FOR TUESDAY NIGHT HOME GAME VERSUS CRIMSON: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Breschi, returns home Tuesday night to play the Harvard Crimson at Fetzer Field. Game time is 7 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN3.
Carolina is coming off a 16-11 win at Richmond Saturday in the Tar Heels' first road game of the season. Harvard continues a four-game road trip with its third successive game away from home. The Crimson fell 14-9 at undefeated Brown last Saturday in Providence, R.I.
Tuesday's game will mark the fourth ever meeting between the two teams. In the most recent meeting the Tar Heels defeated the Crimson 13-10 on March 18, 2014 at Navy Field in Chapel Hill before an ESPN3 national TV audience.
Carolina began it season with seven successive home games, going 7-0 in that span including victories over Johns Hopkins, top-ranked Denver and 2014 NCAA quarterfinalist Bryant. In its most recent game, the Tar Heels played on the road for the first time and came away with a 16-11 victory at Richmond.
Harvard has started the season 4-2. The Crimson started the season with a 14-13 win over UMass before falling at Duke 21-14. Harvard then won three games in a row before its loss at Brown last Saturday.
VIDEO FOR TUESDAY: North Carolina's match versus Harvard Tuesday will be broadcast ntionally live on ESPN3. Dean Linke will be the play-by-play announcer for Tuesday's game while former Tar Heel All-America, U.S. National Team Player an MLL standout Marcus Holman will be the analyst.
TUESDAY'S BASICS: The Tar Heels are ranked second in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coaches poll, in the Cascade/Maverik media poll run in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse Magazine and in the Nike Lacrosse Magazine poll. The Tar Heels are ranked behind Syracuse in both polls while Notre Dame is third and Duke fourth in both polls. Harvard is ranked 15th in the USILA poll, 16th in the Cascade/Maverik Poll and 16th in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine poll.
In the media poll, Syracuse received 20 of 24 first-place votes while the Tar Heels earned four first place votes. In the coaches' poll, Syracuse received all 16 first place votes.
North Carolina is 8-0 after opening its season with a 19-4 victory over Furman on February 7 at Fetzer Field, a 15-9 triumph over High Point on February 10 at Navy Field, a 20-8 win over Massachusetts February 14 at Fetzer Field, a 13-11 victory over #9-ranked Johns Hopkins February 21 at Navy Field, a 12-10 victory over #1 Denver on February 27 at Navy Field, a 26-6 triumph over Manhattan College on March 7 at Navy Field, a 10-9 victory over Bryant at Fetzer Field on March 10 and a 16-11 victory at Richmond on March 14.
The Harvard Crimson enter Tuesday's game with a record of 4-2. The Crimson opened the season with a 14-13 win over UMass. After falling at Duke 21-14, the Crimson rallied to win three straight, beating Quinnipiac 17-12, Penn State 12-9 and Holy Cross 20-9. Last Saturday, the Crimson fell in its Ivy League opener at Brown by a 14-9 count.
THE HEAD COACHES: Joe Breschi, UNC Class of 1990, leads the Tar Heels in his seventh season at Carolina. He coached his 100th game at UNC in Carolina's 2015 season opener versus Furman. Breschi is 77-30 in his seven years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 72.0 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 169-93 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC is 64.5 percent.
Chris Wojcik is in his fifth season as the Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse. Wojcik is a 1996 alumnus of Harvard. The Crimson is 36-31 in his five seasons as the head coach in Cambridge.
CAROLINA VERSUS HARVARD: Tuesday's game will mark the fourth meeting between North Carolina and Harvard on the men's lacrosse field. UNC leads the series 2-1. Harvard won the initial game in 1953, beating the Tar Heels 17-6 in Cambridge. The two teams did not play again until 1990 when the Tar Heels beat Harvard 18-3 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Chapel Hill. A year ago, the teams meet on March 18 at Navy Field in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels prevailing by a 13-10 score.
Last year's game was a nip-and-tuck battle throughout the first half before the Tar Heels scored four unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the third quarter to take their biggest lead of the game at 10-5. Harvard answered with three consecutive goals in a span of 1:36 early in the fourth quarter to cut UNC's lead to 10-8. But Steve Pontrello scored twice in the fourth quarter for the Tar Heels to restore three-goal leads for the Heels and Ryan Creighton scored an empty-net goal with 25 seconds left to finish off a 13-10 win. Pontrello scored a career high three goals in the game while Chad Tutton and Walker Chafee each scored a pair of goals.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR TUESDAY'S CONTEST: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Harvard 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
#0, Steve Pontrello, Junior; #22, Shane Simpson, Sophomore; #32, Duncan Hutchins, Redshirt Senior;
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders
#3, Brett Bedard, Sophomore; #6, Jake Matthai, Junior; #21, Michael Tagliaferri, Redshirt Sophomore; #28, Tate Jozokos, Sophomore; #44, Drew Hays, Senior
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders
#15, Ryan Kilpatrick, Senior; #99, Evan Connell, Junior
Face-Off
#24, Stephen Kelly, Sophomore
Close Defense
#17, Austin Pifani, Sophomore; #40, Jake Bailey, Senior; #77, Zach Powers, Junior
Goalkeeper
#26, Kieran Burke, Junior
LAST TIME OUT FOR CAROLINA: Second-ranked North Carolina broke open a close game with a 6-1 third-quarter run to power the Tar Heels past Richmond 16-11 at Robins Stadium March 14 in men's lacrosse action.
The Tar Heels' powerful attack unit combined for nine goals, nine assists and 12 ground balls in the game while the first midfield unit totaled six goals and four assists in a game that was nip and tuck for the entire first half before Carolina pulled away in the third quarter of action.
North Carolina sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock had six goals in the game to lead the Tar Heels. He also added an assist. The six goals matched his career high, which was set last March 10 against Bryant in a 10-9 Tar Heel victory. In the past three games against Manhattan, Bryant and Richmond, Goldstock has combined to score 17 goals and he now has 29 goals on the season. Goldstock's 17 goals equal the most in a three-game stretch by any Tar Heel in UNC history. Goldstock has recorded hat tricks in six of Carolina's eight games this season.
Senior attackman Jimmy Bitter's five assists were a career high. He had four assists against both Denver and Manhattan earlier this year. Bitter ran his consecutive game streak with a point to 49, one short of the school record shared by Dennis Goldstein and Ryan Wade, a streak that is the second longest active one in the nation. Bitter did not score a goal in the game and saw his 21-game goal scoring streak end. He had scored a goal in every game he had played in since February 16, 2014. Nevertheless, he matched his career high for ground balls in a game with seven, which he had against Denver on February 27. He also caused two turnovers (matching his career high) and ran his season assist total to 22, the most he has ever had in a single season in his Tar Heel career.
Joey Sankey had three goals and three assists for the Tar Heels, running his successive game streak with a point to 44 in a row. That equals the third longest streak active in NCAA Division I and it matches the fifth longest streak in UNC history. Sankey recorded his fourth hat trick of the campaign and he has had six or more points in four games this season. He has 15 goals and 20 assists this season.
Peyton Klawinski had three goals and an assist for the Tar Heels and Chad Tutton had two goals and two assists. Klawinski matched his career high for goals in a game. He also had hat tricks against High Point and UMass earlier this year. Klawinski tied his career high for points in a game with four and Tutton had a season high for points with four. Midfielder Michael Tagliaferri had a career high four ground balls in the game.
GOLDSTOCK'S AMAZING RUN: Sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock has scored 17 goals and passed for six assists in the past three games. In the process, he tied the school record for goals in a three-game span and fell one point short of tying the school record for points in a three-game span.
Goldstock had five goals and four assists against Manhattan on March 7, six goals against Bryant on March 10 and six goals and one assist against Richmond on March 14.
With the 17 goals, Goldstock tied the school record for goals in a three-game span held by Bert Fett who had six versus William & Mary, seven versus Washington College and four versus Duke in successive games during the 1974 season. In those same three games, Fett had nine points versus William & Mary, eight points versus Washington College and six points versus Duke, giving him 23 points in three games, one more than the 22 Goldstock totaled in the last three contests.
BACK-TO-BACK SIX GOAL GAMES FOR GOLDSTOCK: For three successive games, sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock has set or tied his career high for goals scored in a game. The Niskayuna, N.Y. native came into the season with a career-high three goals versus Bucknell on March 11, 2014. He matched that total this season versus Furman on February 7, versus UMass on February 14 and versus Johns Hopkins on February 21. Goldstock set a new career high with five goals against Manhattan on March 7 and then bettered that mark by scoring six times versus Bryant on March 10 and six times again against Richmond on March 14.
Goldstock's four assists against Manhattan stand as a career high and his nine points versus the Jaspers are a career best. The nine points were the most by a Tar Heel player since Marcus Holman had 10 points versus Michigan on May 5, 2012.
SHARING THE BALL: Against Richmond on March 14, the Tar Heels recorded assists on 14 of their 16 goals, an amazing clip of 87.5 percent. That's the highest percentage of assisted goals the Tar Heels have had in a game since April 22, 2012 when UNC had assists on eight of its nine goals against Duke, a percentage of 88.9 percent.
The Tar Heels currently lead the country in assists per game with 10.5. UNC has 84 assists on 131 goals this season. That's a percentage of assisted goals of 64.1. A year ago, UNC recorded assists on only 47.0 percent of its goals.
THE TAR HEELS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL STANDINGS: North Carolina currently ranks in the Top 10 of nine of the 15 national team statistical standings. The Tar Heels lead the nation in assists per game at 10.5 and they are one of four remaining undefeated teams in the country with a 1.000 winning percentage. The others are Syracuse, Brown and Marquette.
UNC ranks second in scoring offense (16.38 goals per game), second in scoring margin (7.88 goals per game), second in ground balls per game (40.38) and second in points per game (26.8). The Tar Heels are third in shooting percentage (.362), seventh in caused turnovers per game (8.25) and 10th in fewest turnovers per game (12.00) although the Tar Heels did commit a season-high 19 turnovers at Richmond.
INDIVIDUALLY IN THE NATIONAL STATS: Luke Goldstock currently ranks fifth in the nation and second in the ACC in goals per game at 3.63. He is 11th nationally in points per game at 4.75 and he has the ninth highest shooting percentage, scoring on 51.8 percent of his shots.
Jimmy Bitter ranks eighth in the nation in assists per game at 2.75, which is the second best figure in the ACC. He is also sixth in the nation and second in the ACC in points per game at 5.0. Joey Sankey is 12th in the nation in assists per game with 2.5 per contest and he is 16th in points per game at 4.38.
SOME POINTS OF COMPARISON: Through eight games this season, UNC's starting attack unit of Jimmy Bitter, Luke Goldstock and Joey Sankey have combined for 62 goals, 51 assists and 103 points. During the entirety of the 2014 season, Bitter, Sankey and Pat Foster, the starting attack a year ago, had 81 goals, 50 assists and 131 points in 18 games.
Last year, the starting first midfield unit of Chad Tutton, Steve Pontrello and Shane Simpson combined to score 48 goals, record 14 assists and notch 62 points. This year's starting first midfield unit of Tutton, Peyton Klawinski and Patrick Kelly has 33 goals, 13 assists and 46 points in just eight games.
SOME TAR HEEL NUGGETS: Facts and figures about the 2015 Tar Heels.
• Jimmy Bitter's 22 assists are the most he has ever had in a season at Carolina, beating the 20 he had in 2013. His 28 ground balls are just four shy of his season high of 32 in 2013.
• Luke Goldstock has 29 goals, 22 more than he scored as a freshman. He has nine assists, six more than he had as a freshman. His 38 points are 28 more than he had as a freshman.
• For the fourth straight year Joey Sankey has hit the 20-assist mark for the season. He has 20 assists so far this year. He had 22 in 2012, 20 in 2013 and 24 in 2014.
• As a scout team player in 2014, Peyton Klawinski played in four games, scoring three goals. The sophomore midfielder from Memphis, Tenn., was elevated to the first midfield in 2015 and has responded with 13 goals and three assists in eight games.
• Junior midfielder Patrick Kelly has 10 points this season, equaling his total from a year ago. His six assists and six ground balls are both season highs.
• The following Tar Heels have all recorded season highs for ground balls – Tate Jozokos with 24, Luke Goldstock with 16, Zach Powers with 16 and Michael Tagliaferri with 10.
• Ryan Kilpatrick has three goals this season after scoring twice in his first three years as a Tar Heel.
• Austin Pifani leads the Tar Heels with 11 caused turnovers. He has 10 during the entire 2014 season.
POINTS STREAKS FOR JIMMY AND JOEY CONTINUE: 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 49 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 53 successive games. During his 49-game skein, Bitter has recorded 98 goals and 61 assists for 159 points.
Bitter needs to record one point in Carolina's game against Harvard Tuesday to tie the school record for most consecutive games with a point. The school record is 50 successive games with at least one point. Attackman Dennis Goldstein (February 28, 1989 to May 27, 1991) and midfielder Ryan Wade (May 11, 1991 to May 21, 1994) currently share the record.
Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in a game in 44 consecutive contests. That is tied for the third longest active streak in the nation with Ohio State's Jesse King. Sankey's scoring streak began on April 20, 2012. During that span, Sankey has recorded 88 goals and added 73 assists for 161 points those 44 games. Sankey's 44-game point streak is tied for the fifth longest scoring streak in the Tar Heel record book. Merrill Turnbull recorded points in 44 successive games from May 8, 1994 to May 3, 1997.
TAR HEEL GOAL SCORING STREAKS: Three UNC seniors have combined for seven of the 20 longest goal scoring streaks in UNC history.
Jimmy Bitter saw his 21-game goal scoring streak come to an end against Richmond last Saturday in a game in which he contributed with a career high five assists, career high seven ground balls and career high two caused turnovers. Bitter's streak from February 16, 2014 through March 10, 2015 ranks as the sixth longest streak in UNC history.
Joey Sankey had a 20-game goal-scoring streak for the Tar Heels from May 19, 2013 through February 21, 2015. That equals the seventh longest streak in UNC history.
Senior midfielder Chad Tutton's 19-game streak from March 3, 2013 through March 11, 2014 is the ninth-longest streak.
Those are the longest streak for each of those three players. In addition, Sankey scored in 14 straight games from February 8, 2013 through April 26, 2013 (tied for 13th in UNC history); Jimmy Bitter scored in 12 straight games from April 1, 2012 through March 9, 2013 (tied for 16th in UNC history); Chad Tutton scored in 12 straight games from March 21, 2012 through February 23, 2013 (tied for 16th in UNC history); and Jimmy Bitter scored in 10 straight games from March 18, 2013 through May 11, 2013 (tied for 19th in UNC history).
TAR HEELS ON THE CAREER SCORING CHARTS: A trio of Tar Heel seniors continue to move up UNC's career scoring charts in points, goals and assists.
Senior attackman Joey Sankey has moved into a tie for third place in career points with 192 with Bert Fett (1972-75). The only two Tar Heels with more career points than Sankey are Marcus Holman with 213 from 2010-13 and Bruce Ledwith with 204 from 1970-73. Jimmy Bitter is in 12th place with 170 career points. Chad Tutton is in 33rd place with 109 career points.
On the career goal-scoring list, Jimmy Bitter is currently in seventh place with 107 career goals. Joey Sankey ranks eighth in career goals with 106. The school record for goals scored in a career is 128 by Bert Fett (1972-75). Chad Tutton has 87 goals in his career, which puts him in 21st place.
Joey Sankey's 86 career assists have moved him into fourth place all-time at UNC behind Bruce Ledwith with 119 (1970-73), Michael Burnett with 106 (1980-83) and Marcus Holman with 92 (2010-13). Jimmy Bitter has 63 career assists, including 22 this season. He has moved into a tie for 14th place in that statistic in UNC history.
JOZOKOS NAMED NCAA.COM & ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore short stick defensive midfielder Tate Jozokos (6-0, 200, Wolfeboro, N.H.) was named both the NCAA.com and the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week following Carolina's win over Denver. Jozokos played the best game of his career in a 12-10 upset of the Pioneers. He scooped up a career-high five ground balls and limited the Pioneers' first-string midfielders to two goals on only four shots. Two ground balls that Jozokos earned off face-offs proved especially important for North Carolina. In those possessions, Jozokos assisted a second-quarter goal by Ryan Kilpatrick that cut into a three-goal deficit and he then scored his second career goal of the season early in the third quarter to put the Tar Heels in the lead for good in the game. Jozokos was the first Tar Heel short stick defensive midfielder to ever win ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Previous winners from UNC included face-off men, close defensemen and goalkeepers but this was the first time a SSDM has won the award.
SANKEY NAMED A SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE: Twenty of the top NCAA® men's lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates March 4 for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate lacrosse. Amongst the final 20 candidates for the 2015 award is Joey Sankey, a senior attackman from the University of North Carolina and native of Warminster, Pa. You can view Sankey's complete bio here. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates appears below. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced in conjunction with the 2015 NCAA Men's Lacrosse National Championship in May.
TAR HEEL SENIOR TRIO NAMED TO TEWAARATON LIST: The Tewaaraton Foundation announced the 2015 Tewaaraton Award men's watch list February 26. The list includes the top players across in NCAA Division I lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour. Three outstanding senior members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, currently ranked #2 in the nation, are on the Watch List. The group includes senior attackman Jimmy Bitter of Stowe, Vermont, senior attackman Joey Sankey of Warminster, Pa., and senior midfielder Chad Tutton of Courtice, Ontario. All three are off to magnificent starts in 2015 as they move up the UNC career scoring charts.
BITTER NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: North Carolina's Jimmy Bitter was named the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on February 24, 2015. Bitter had a five-point game to lead the No. 4 Tar Heels to a 13-11 victory over No. 9 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, Feb. 22. Bitter scored four goals, one shy of his career high, and added an assist in UNC's victory. Bitter scored his four goals on just six shots, five of which were on goal. When he scored late in the first period it was his 100th career goal, putting the Tar Heels up 4-1 in the game. He had three goals in a scoring run, which lifted UNC from a 3-1 lead to a 7-2 advantage, a lead Carolina would never surrender.
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 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. After not having accomplished that feat for five years, the Carolina starting attack has gone on to pull off a trio of hat tricks twice more this season as Bitter, Sankey and Goldstock all recorded three plus goal games versus both UMass and Johns Hopkins.
On three other occasions, UNC attackmen and midfielders have combined for three hat tricks in a game. In UNC's win over High Point, Carolina got a trio of hat tricks with Jimmy Bitter scoring four goals and Peyton Klawinski and Chad Tutton each scoring three times as the first midfield got into the act. Against Manhattan on March 7, the Tar Heels again had a trio of players with hat tricks. Attackman Luke Goldstock led the way with five goals while midfielders Michael Tagliaferri and Chad Tutton scored three times each. Last Saturday against Richmond, attackman Luke Goldstock had six goals while attackman Joey Sankey had three and midfielder Peyton Klawinski added three.
Here are the total number of career hat tricks for active Tar Heel players: Joey Sankey 18, Jimmy Bitter 18, Chad Tutton 15, Luke Goldstock 7, Peyton Klawinski 3, Michael Tagliaferri 2, Shane Simpson 1, Patrick Kelly 1, Steve Pontrello 1
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:
• 77-30 in seven seasons at UNC (72.0)
• 169-93 in 18 seasons overall (64.5)
• 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
• 16-13 in one-goal games at UNC
• 38-27 versus ranked teams at UNC; 39-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 64-10 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 49-8 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 65 times in Joe Breschi's six-year coaching tenure. UNC is 38-27 in those games, a winning percentage of 58.5 percent. Conversely, the Tar Heels are 39-3 against unranked opponents in his seven seasons (92.9 percent). Breschi is 77-30 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 16-13 in games decided by one goal over the past seven years.
THREE TAR HEELS CHOSEN IN 2015 MLL DRAFT: Three members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were chosen 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 85 of their past 99 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's seven seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 64-10 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 82 of 107 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 70-12 in those 82 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 49-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's seven years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 86.0 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 and 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 274-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014 and a 7-0 record so far in 2015. UNC has a 69.4 winning percentage all-time in history in home games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 463-278-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .624.
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 included senior attackman Joey Sankey, senior midfielder Chad Tutton, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatrick, 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 were named to the honorable mention preseason All-America unit - senior attackman Jimmy Bitter, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatrick and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke.
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, 1998 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 are being televised on the ESPN family of networks in 2015. 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 if the Tar Heels advance to the ACC Tournament.
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)
Saturday, April 25, ACC-Penn Classic, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sunday, April 26, ACC Championship, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
TAR HEELS FINISH FEBRUARY UNBEATEN: North Carolina played five games in the month of February, going 5-0 and finishing the month off with a 12-10 over top-ranked Denver at Navy Field on February 27. The five games in the month were the most games UNC has played in the opening month of the season since the 2009 squad started off with five February contests. UNC also went 5-0 in the month of February in 2009.
CAROLINA VERSUS NUMBER ONE: The 2015 season marks the fourth straight year UNC has defeated a team ranked #1 in the nation. Those wins came against Johns Hopkins 13-9 on April 1, 2012, against Maryland 10-8 on March 23, 2013, against Maryland 11-8 on March 22, 2014 and against Denver 12-10 on February 27, 2015. Prior to the win against Johns Hopkins in 2012, Carolina had not beaten a #1-ranked team since April 6, 1996 when UNC beat Virginia 19-18 at Fetzer Field. UNC has won each of its last three games against #1-ranked teams. Carolina's last defeat against a No. 1 team came on April 7, 2012 when UNC lost to Virginia 15-10 at Fetzer Field.
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.
