University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina & Duke Renew Lacrosse Rivalry Sunday
March 27, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
Carolina Will Host Duke Sunday In ACC Opener
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 11: North Carolina Tar Heels (9-1 overall, 0-0 ACC, #4 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#4 Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll) vs. Duke Blue Devils (7-2 overall, 0-1 ACC, #6 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#5 Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll)
Sunday, March 29, 2015
1 p.m. EDT
Fetzer Field
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Live Stats: GoHeels.com Gamewatcher
Television Information: ESPNU; Anish Shroff, Play-by-Play Announcer; Ryan Flanagan, Analyst
Webcast Information: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Purchase Tickets To Sunday's Game: GoHeels.com Ticket Center
2015 UNC Lacrosse Media Guide: View 2015 Media Guide
Watch Carolina Lacrosse Highlights: UNCTarHeelsAthletics 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
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 RETURNS HOME FOR ACC OPENER SUNDAY: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Breschi, is back in Chapel Hill Sunday, March 29 when the Tar Heels play host to arch-rival Duke at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU and simulcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Tickets are on sale now at the UNC Ticket Center on GoHeels.com. All tickets are $5 general admission. UNC students, faculty and staff are admitted free of charge by showing their UNC One Cards at the Fetzer Field gates.
Both Carolina (9-1 overall and 0-0 in the ACC) and Duke (7-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC) will be looking to bounce back from losses last weekend. The Tar Heels fell to Maryland of the Big Ten Conference 10-8 in the Pacific Coast Lacrosse Shootout in Santa Ana, Calif., on March 21. The win by the Terps moved them up to third in the national polls from sixth while UNC dropped from second to fourth this week. It marked Maryland's first regular season win over the Tar Heels since 2009.
Duke fell last Sunday at the Carrier Dome to Syracuse in its ACC opener 19-7. The Blue Devils had won five matches in a row before falling to the Orange and they are now 7-2 on the season.
Saturday's game will mark the 71st meeting between the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels have a 39-31 lead in the series but Duke has gone 17-2 against the Tar Heels since 2005. In the last 33 meetings between the two teams dating back to 1995, Duke holds a 26-7 advantage against the Tar Heels.
SUNDAY'S BASICS: The Tar Heels are ranked fourth in 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 Tar Heels are ranked behind Syracuse, Notre Dame and Maryland in both polls while North Carolina is fourth, Denver fifth, Duke sixth, Cornell seventh and Virginia eighth in each of the rankings.
Carolina (9-1) began its 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. The Tar Heels played on the road for the first time on March 14 and came away with a 16-11 victory at Richmond. On March 17, the Tar Heels built a 10-goal second half lead against #16 Harvard and eventually defeated the Crimson 15-10 at Fetzer Field Tuesday night before a national TV audience on ESPN3. UNC then made the cross-country trip to play Maryland in California, falling behind 7-2 before staging a furious rally that fell short in a 10-8 loss.
Duke has started the season 7-2. The Blue Devils won their opening two games against High Point and Air Force before falling to preseason #1 Denver 17-13 in Kennesaw, Ga. Duke then rattled off five wins in a row before traveling to Syracuse last Sunday where it fell to the Orange in Duke's ACC opener.
TICKETS & PARKINGS: Tickets are now on sale for Sunday's game at the GoHeels.com Ticket Center. They are $5 general admission. All UNC students, faculty and staff are admitted with their UNC One Cards. The Carmichael Arena Ticket Office will open at noon on Sunday for game day ticket sales.
Because of multiple events on the UNC campus on Sunday, lacrosse fans are encouraged to park in the Raleigh Road Visitors Lot, the School of Government Deck and the Bell Tower Deck.
PROMOTIONS FOR SUNDAY: Sunday's game versus Duke will be highlighted by multiple promotions opportunities.
• Vs. Cancer Game (500 yellow pom poms to the first 500 fans)
• Carolina Kids Club Day
• Team Day - $3 tickets for all youth teams
• Camper Reunion - $3 tickets for all 2014-15 UNC men's lacrosse campers
• UNC Student Promotions (all student related events will begin when the gates open at Noon)
- Carolina Fever Event
- Yellow lacrosse socks for the first 100 students
- Bojangles picnic – Bojangles biscuits for the first 100 UNC students
- ON FIELD SEATING (behind the goal closest to the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse – bleacher seating for the first 200 students
- Post game autographs on the track
SUNDAY'S TV COVERAGE: Sunday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Anish Shroff will be the play-by-play announcer for the game while former UNC All-America defenseman Ryan Flanagan will serve as the analyst. The game will be simulcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
HEAD COACH JOE BRESCHI: 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 78-31 in his seven years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 71.6 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 170-94 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC is 64.4 percent.
CAROLINA VERSUS DUKE: Sunday's game will mark the 71st meeting between Duke and North Carolina since the Tar Heels became a varsity program in 1949. UNC leads the all-time series against the Blue Devils 39-31.
Recently, the series has been dominated by the Blue Devils. After Carolina won all but one game between the two teams between 1968 and 1995, Duke took over the rivalry and has won 26 of the past 33 games and 17 of the past 19 meetings. The only run of success in that span for Carolina came when UNC won three straight regular season meetings between 2002-04.
Since that time, Duke has won 17 of 19 meetings and it has done it with defense, limiting UNC to single digits in goals 11 times in those 19 games. The only wins by the Tar Heels in the series since 2005 came in 2010 when UNC beat Duke 13-7 in the regular season meeting at Koskinen Stadium. Carolina also beat Duke 18-17 in the 2013 ACC Tournament semifinals at Kenan Stadium.
On Sunday, Carolina will be looking for its first win over Duke at Fetzer Field since a 14-9 win on March 19, 2003. To put that in historical perspective, that victory for the Tar Heels came on the same night that the second U.S.-Iraq war began. Duke has won the last four meetings between the two teams at Fetzer Field.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR SUNDAY'S CONTEST: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Duke looks at follows. This is a tentative depth chart and subject to change.
Starting Attack Unit
#1, Luke Goldstock, Sophomore; #4, Jimmy Bitter, Senior; #11, Joey Sankey, Senior
Attack Reserve
#18, Walker Chafee, Senior
1st Midfield Unit
#2, Patrick Kelly, Junior; #12, Chad Tutton, Senior; # 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; #47, Brent Armstrong, Junior
Close Defense
#17, Austin Pifani, Sophomore; #40, Jake Bailey, Senior; #77, Zach Powers, Junior
Man Down Defense
#7, Mark Rizzo, Redshirt Sophomore
Goalkeeper
#26, Kieran Burke, Junior
LAST TIME OUT FOR CAROLINA: Led by five goals by midfielder Joe LoCascio, the fifth-ranked Maryland Terrapins built a 7-2 lead and held off a late rally to defeat second-ranked North Carolina 10-8 in men's lacrosse action March 21 in the 2015 Pacific Coast Lacrosse Shootout at Santa Ana Stadium before a crowd of 6,785 fans. The Terps have won five games in a row and improved to 6-1 with the victory. The Tar Heels fell to 9-1 on the campaign heading into next Sunday's ACC opener against two-time defending NCAA champion Duke at Fetzer Field (1 p.m.). The win by the Terps broke a five-game losing streak to the Tar Heels in regular-season action with Maryland's last win coming in 2009 in College Park, Md.
LoCascio led the Terps' offense with five goals while Colin Heacock had three goals and Henry West had a goal and three assists. Both Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey had a goal and four assists for the Tar Heels. Chad Tutton, Luke Goldstock and Tate Jozokos had two goals each for Coach Joe Breschi's team.
Maryland led in virtually every statistical category. The Terps outshot the Tar Heels 42-31, led in the ground ball battle 38-29 and had a 15-7 edge at the face-off circle. In the goal, both UNC's Kieran Burke and Maryland's Kyle Bernlohr made 11 saves. Both teams were 2 for 3 in man-up situations. Carolina committed 10 turnovers while the Terps had 14 miscues.
The game was tied 2-2 at the end of the first quarter before the Terps went on a 5-0 scoring spree to lead 7-2 with 3:55 left in the third quarter. LoCascio scored four of the Terps' first seven goals with his fourth goal, off an assist by Henry West, putting Maryland up 7-2 with a little less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Carolina rallied by scoring four of the next five goals with Jimmy Bitter, Joey Sankey, Tate Jozokos and Luke Goldstock all tallying in a span of a little over nine minutes to pull Carolina within 8-6 with 6:16 to play in the game. When Bitter scored with 44 seconds left in the third quarter it broke a scoreless streak of 33:25 in the game for Carolina. The Terps held UNC without a goal from 4:09 of the first period to the 44-second mark of the third quarter.
After the Tar Heels cut their deficit to two goals, LoCascio scored his fifth goal of the game 1:03 later and then Heacock tallied his sixth goal of the season and third of the game with 1:48 to play to extend the Terps' lead to 10-6. Goals by Goldstock at 1:30 and Tutton at 47 seconds, both assisted by Bitter, pulled UNC within 10-8 but the clock ran out on the Tar Heels.
Jimmy Bitter's goal with 44 seconds left in the third quarter marked the 51st successive game in which the senior attackman has registered a point. That is a new school record. Dennis Goldstein (1989-91) and Ryan Wade (1991-94) both had recorded points in 50 successive games to share the previous school record. Joey Sankey's assist on the opening goal of the game extended his consecutive game streak with at least one point to 46 games in a row. Jimmy Bitter's 51-game point streak is the second longest active streak in NCAA Division I while Joey Sankey's 46-game point streak is the third longest.
Joey Sankey now has 201 career points, trailing only Marcus Holman (213) and Bruce Ledwith (204) in that category. Jimmy Bitter now has 182 career points, which ranks seventh in UNC history. Joey Sankey had four assists in the game, giving him 93 for his career, the third most in UNC history behind Bruce Ledwith (119) and Michael Burnett (106).
TAR HEEL ODDS AND ENDS:
• In the last three games (Richmond, Harvard, Maryland), UNC had its passing game working at top notch pace. Thirty-three of Carolina's last 39 goals have been assisted, including all eight goals in the loss to the Terps. Eleven of UNC's 15 goals were of the assisted variety against Harvard and in the game at Richmond, UNC recorded 14 assists on 16 goals.
• Of Carolina's 154 goals in the first 10 games of the season, a total of 103 of them have been assisted. Sixty-seven percent of Carolina's goals this season have been assisted as compared to just 47 percent during the 2014 season.
• Jimmy Bitter's 51-game point scoring streak is the second longest active streak in NCAA Division I while Joey Sankey's 46-game point streak is tied for the third longest.
• Jimmy Bitter leads all active Tar Heels with 19 career hat tricks, one more than Joey Sankey.
• UNC's attack unit has combined for 73 goals, 66 assists and 139 points in 10 games this season. A year ago, the starting attack (Jimmy Bitter, Joey Sankey, Pat Foster) had 81 goals, 50 assists and 131 points in 15 games.
• Patrick Kelly has 11 points this season, one more point than he had a year ago.
• Jimmy Bitter has 52 points this season in 10 games. He had 37 points all of last season in the 14 games he played in. Bitter's 52 points equal the most he has had in a season in his career (52 in 2013) and his 28 assists are the most he has ever had in a single season (20 in 2013).
• Luke Goldstock has 43 points this season after having just 10 as a freshman. He leads UNC with 32 goals and also has 11 assists. As the chief backup at attack as a freshman he has seven goals and three assists.
• Joey Sankey's 27 assists this year are the most he has had in a single season in his career and the fourth time in four years he has exceeded 20 assists. He has 22 as a freshman, 20 as a sophomore and 24 as a junior. His season high for points is 57 last season. He currently has 44 points this season.
• Joey Sankey now has 201 career points. He earned the 200th point of his career when he scored against Maryland on March 21 with 23 seconds left in the third quarter. Sankey trails only Marcus Holman (213) and Bruce Ledwith (204) in on the UNC all-time point-scoring list heading into the Duke game. Holman played at Carolina from 2010-13 and Ledwith was a standout with the Tar Heels from 1970-73.
• Jimmy Bitter now has 182 career points, which ranks eighth in UNC history. On Tuesday, March 17, he moved past his brother Billy (2008-11) Bitter on the UNC scoring chart. Billy Bitter had 175 points in his career. Bitter trails Marcus Holman, Bruce Ledwith, Joey Sankey, Bert Fett, Michael Burnett, Dennis Goldstein and John Webster on the all-time point-scoring chart.
• Jimmy Bitter has scored 113 goals in his career. He is tied for the third most prolific goal scorer in UNC history, trailing just Bert Fett (128) and Marcus Holman (121) while being tied with Jed Prossner (113). Joey Sankey now has 108 career goals, which is tied for seventh in UNC history with Dennis Goldstein and Chad Tutton has 91 career goals which places him in a tie for 18th place with Ryan Wade (1991-94).
• Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter both had four assists in the game against Maryland. The four assists give Sankey 89 for his career, the fourth most in UNC history behind Bruce Ledwith (119), Michael Burnett (106) and Marcus Holman (92). Jimmy Bitter now has 69 career assists, the 11th most in Tar Heel history.
• Chad Tutton has scored 20 goals this season. This is the fourth successive season in which the Canadian midfielder has reached the 20-goal plateau. He had 20 goals as a freshman, 28 goals as a sophomore and 23 goals as a junior.
• 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 14 goals and three assists in 10 games.
• The following Tar Heels have all recorded season highs for ground balls in their careers – Stephen Kelly with 51, Jimmy Bitter with 33, Tate Jozokos with 27, Zach Powers with 21, Luke Goldstock with 18, Jake Matthai with 15 and Michael Tagliaferri with 14.
• UNC defenders have gotten in the scoring act this season. Ryan Kilpatrick has three goals this season after scoring twice in his first three years as a Tar Heel. Jake Bailey has two goals and one assist after scoring just twice in his first three years. Tate Jozokos and Michael Tagliaferri, who both have played primarily at short stick defensive midfield, have nine and eight points, respectively. They rank seventh and eighth on the team in scoring.
• Austin Pifani leads the Tar Heels with 13 caused turnovers. He has 10 during the entire 2014 season. Zach Powers has 12 caused turnovers after having just eight in his first two years combined.
CREDIT TO MARYLAND'S DEFENSE: North Carolina faced the nation's top-ranked defense when it played Maryland on March 21 in Santa Ana, Calif. The Terps came into the game allowing less than five goals per contest. They limited UNC's powerful offense, which had been averaging 15 goals a game, to just eight in a 10-8 win over Carolina.
The eight goals against the Terps marked only the third time in the last 36 games that the Tar Heels have been limited to single digits in the goal scoring column. The only other occasions in those 36 games came in a 9-8 overtime loss at Duke on March 15, 2015 and a 9-5 loss at Denver on May 10, 2015.
GOLDSTOCK'S AMAZING RUN: Sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock scored 17 goals and passed for six assists in a three game span against Manhattan, Bryant and Richmond. 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 (within a single season).
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.
The actual school record for most points in a three-game span belongs to Marcus Holman. He had 26 points in three successive games spanning two seasons. He had 10 points and eight points in games against Michigan and Denver to close the 2012 season and then had eight points in the 2013 season opener versus Air Force.
BACK-TO-BACK SIX GOAL GAMES FOR GOLDSTOCK: For three successive games, sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock 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 against Manhattan 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 was the highest percentage of assisted goals the Tar Heels recorded 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. UNC topped that percentage when all eight of its goals against Maryland on March 21 were of the assisted variety, albeit in a loss.
The Tar Heels currently lead the country in assists per game with 10.3, behind Albany's 11.57 assists per contest. UNC has 103 assists on 154 goals this season. That's a percentage of assisted goals of 66.8. 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 eight of the 15 national team statistical standings. The Tar Heels are second in the nation in assists per game with 10.30, second in winning percentage at .900, third in ground balls per game at 39.20, third in points per game at 25.70, third in scoring margin at 6.6 goals per game, fourth in scoring offense at 15.4 goals per game, sixth in caused turnovers per game at 8.30 and seventh in shooting percentage at .352.
INDIVIDUALLY IN THE NATIONAL STATS: Luke Goldstock currently ranks seventh in the nation and second in the ACC in goals per game at 3.20. He ranks fifth nationally and leads the ACC in shooting percentage at .500.
Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the nation in assists per game at 2.8 and 2.7. Bitter, Sankey and Goldstock all ranks in the Top 20 in points per game nationally with Bitter sixth at 5.2, Sankey 16th at 4.4 and Goldstock 20th at 4.3.
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 51 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 54 successive games. During his 51-game skein, Bitter has recorded 104 goals and 67 assists for 171 points.
Bitter broke the school record for consecutive games with a point against Maryland. The previous school record was 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) shared the previous record.
Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in a game in 46 consecutive contests. That is the third longest active streak in the nation behind Adams and Bitter. Sankey's scoring streak began on April 20, 2012. During that span, Sankey has recorded 90 goals and added 80 assists for 170 points those 46 games. Sankey's 46-game point streak is tied for the fourth longest point scoring streak in the Tar Heel record book behind Bitter, Goldstein and Wade.
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 March 14 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 now has 201 career points. He earned the 200th point of his career when he scored against Maryland on March 21 with 23 seconds left in the third quarter. Sankey trails only Marcus Holman (213) and Bruce Ledwith (204) in on the UNC all-time point-scoring list heading into the Duke game. Holman played at Carolina from 2010-13 and Ledwith was a standout with the Tar Heels from 1970-73. Jimmy Bitter now has 182 career points, which ranks eighth in UNC history. On Tuesday, March 17, he moved past his brother Billy (2008-11) Bitter on the UNC scoring chart. Billy Bitter had 175 points in his career. Bitter trails Marcus Holman, Bruce Ledwith, Joey Sankey, Bert Fett, Michael Burnett, Dennis Goldstein and John Webster on the all-time point-scoring chart. Chad Tutton now has 113 career points which ranks 31st in UNC history.
Jimmy Bitter has scored 113 goals in his career. He is tied for the third most prolific goal scorer in UNC history, trailing just Bert Fett (128) and Marcus Holman (121) while being tied with Jed Prossner (113). Joey Sankey now has 108 career goals, which is tied for seventh in UNC history with Dennis Goldstein and Chad Tutton has 91 career goals which places him in a tie for 18th place with Ryan Wade (1991-94).
Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter both had four assists in the game against Maryland. The four assists give Sankey 89 for his career, the fourth most in UNC history behind Bruce Ledwith (119), Michael Burnett (106) and Marcus Holman (92). Jimmy Bitter now has 69 career assists, the 11th most in Tar Heel 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, were initially named to 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. Sophomore Luke Goldstock of Niskayuna, N.Y. was added to the Watch List on March 20.
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: Jimmy Bitter 19, Joey Sankey 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:
• 78-31 in seven seasons at UNC (71.6)
• 170-94 in 18 seasons overall (64.4)
• 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
• 16-13 in one-goal games at UNC
• 39-28 versus ranked teams at UNC; 39-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 64-11 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 50-8 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 67 times in Joe Breschi's six-year coaching tenure. UNC is 39-28 in those games, a winning percentage of 58.2 percent. Conversely, the Tar Heels are 39-3 against unranked opponents in his seven seasons (92.9 percent). Breschi is 78-31 noverall 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 86 of their past 101 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's seven seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 65-11 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, to Denver in 2014 and to Maryland in 2015.
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 83 of 109 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 71-12 in those 83 games. In the 26 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 26 games is just 7-19.
NEAR DOMINANCE AT HOME UNDER BRESCHI: UNC is 50-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's seven years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 86.2 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 275-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014 and an 8-0 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 464-279-2 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.
