University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Hosts 2014 NCAA Quarterfinalist Bryant Tuesday
March 9, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 7
North Carolina Tar Heels (6-0, #2 USILA Division I Coaches Poll/#2 Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll) vs. Bryant Bulldogs (1-4)
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
4:00 p.m. EST
Fetzer Field
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Live Stats: GoHeels.com GameWatcher
Live Video: ESPN3 (Dean Linke, Play by Play; Marcus Holman, Analyst)
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Purchase Tickets: GoHeels.com Ticket Center
2015 UNC Lacrosse Statistics: Cumulative Statistics
2015 Carolina Lacrosse Game Promotions: Promotional Flyer
UNC Lacrosse Player & Coach Biographies: Meet The 2015 Tar Heels
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TAR HEELS SET TO HOST BRYANT TUESDAY: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Breschi, plays its seventh successive home game to start the 2015 season when the Tar Heels play host to Bryant University Tuesday. Carolina starts the season with seven straight home matches before heading to the University of Richmond Saturday to meet the Spiders.
Game time is 4 p.m. and the match is slated for Fetzer Field. It will be Carolina's first match at Fetzer Field since playing UMass on February 14. Because of inclement weather, four of Carolina's first six matches were played at Navy Field.
Tickets for Tuesday's game can be purchased in advance at the GoHeels.com Ticket Center.
TV FOR TUESDAY: North Carolina's match versus Bryant Tuesday will be televised nationally on ESPN3. Dean Linke will be the play-by-play announcer and Marcus Holman will serve as the color analyst.
TUESDAY'S BASICS: The Tar Heels are ranked second 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 in both polls while Denver is third, Notre Dame fourth and Duke fifth in both rankings.
In the media poll, Syracuse received 19 of 24 first-place votes while the Tar Heels earned five first place votes. In the coaches' poll, Syracuse received 11 first-place votes and the Tar Heels received one first-place vote.
North Carolina is 6-0 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 and a 12-10 victory over #1 Denver on February 27 at Navy Field. In Carolina's most recent game, the Tar Heels defeated Manhattan 26-6 last Saturday at Navy Field.
Bryant, which reached the quarterfinals of last year's NCAA Tournament, has played several close games so far this season and is 1-4 heading into Tuesday. In their most recent game, the Bulldogs fell to Drexel 11-8 last Saturday in Philadelphia, Pa.
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 75-30 in his seven years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 71.4 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 167-93 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC is 64.2 percent.
Mike Pressler serves as the head coach of the Bryant Bulldogs where he is in his ninth season. The Bulldogs are 94-51 in his nine seasons at the Smithtown, R.I. school. That is a winning percentage of 64.8. Pressler is in his 31st season as a collegiate head coach with coaching stints at VMI, Ohio Wesleyan, Duke and Bryant. He is 323-153 in his head coaching career (.679).
CAROLINA VERSUS BRYANT: Tuesday's game marks the second meeting between UNC and Bryant. The previous meeting came on February 13, 2010 as the Tar Heels eked out a 5-4 victory over the Bulldogs at Navy Field.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR TUESDAY'S CONTEST: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Bryant 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 (from amongst these five players)- #5, Joe Costigan, Redshirt Junior; #32, Duncan Hutchins, Redshirt Senior; #21, Michael Tagliaferri, Redshirt Sophomore; #47, Brent Armstrong, Junior; #0, Steve Pontrello, Junior
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders - #28, Tate Jozokos, Sophomore; #6, Jake Matthai, Junior; #3, Brett Bedard, Sophomore; #44, Drew Hays, Senior
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders - #15, Ryan Kilpatrick, Senior; #99, Evan Connell, Junior; Jack Lambert, Redshirt Freshman
Face-Off; #24, Stephen Kelly, Sophomore; #47, Brent Armstrong, Junior; #25, Riley Graham, Freshman
Close Defense - #40, Jake Bailey, Senior; #17, Austin Pifani, Sophomore; #77, Zach Powers, Junior; Close Defense Reserves: #7, Mark Rizzo, Red-Shirt Sophomore; #20, Ryan Macri, Redshirt Freshman
Goalkeeper Starter - #30, Brian Balkam, Redshirt Freshman; Goalkeeper Backup - #26, Kieran Burke, Junior; #16, Duncan Saunders, Redshirt Sophomore
NOTING THE TAR HEELS THIS WEEK
• Sophomore attackman Luke Goldstock had career highs for goals in a game with five, assists in a game with four and points in a game with nine. His previous career high for goals was three which he had achieved on four occasions. His previous career high for assists was two versus High Point on February 10 and his previous career high for points in a game was four which he had done on three occasions.
• Goldstock's five goals were the most by a Tar Heel in a game since Joey Sankey had five goals versus Johns Hopkins on March 29, 2014. He scored on all five shots he took in the game
• Luke Goldstock's nine points were the most by a Tar Heel in a game since Marcus Holman had 10 points versus Michigan on May 5, 2012.
• Luke Goldstock now has five career hat tricks, including four this season.
• Michael Tagliaferri has the second hat trick of his career. He also scored three times versus Duke on March 15, 2014.
• Five Tar Heels had their first career goals. This group included Brian Cannon, Luke Walsh, Chris Cloutier, Timmy Gehlbach and Brett Bedard.
• Patrick McCormick had his first career point, recording an assist.
• Stephen Kelly won 15 face-offs in the match, two short of his career high of 17 wins versus Massachusetts on February 14. Kelly's .789 face-off percentage was the highest of his career in a game in which he has taken 10 or more face-offs. Kelly matched his season high for ground balls with nine. He also had nine in the win over UMass.
• Luke Goldstock, Michael Tagliaferri, Brian Cannon and Joe Costigan all set career highs for goals in a game or matched their career high. Jimmy Bitter and Luke Goldstock both tied or matched their career high for assists in a game.
• Jimmy Bitter's goal versus Manhattan on March 7 give him 104 career tallies, the seventh most in UNC history. Chad Tutton scored three times in the game, giving him 85 career goals, which ranks him in a tie for 22nd place in UNC history with Bruce Ledwith (1970-73).
• Jimmy Bitter has now recorded at least one point in 47 successive games dating back to March 16, 2012. That's the second longest current streak in the nation in NCAA Division I, trailing only a 51-game streak by Shayne Adams, a red-shirt senior attackman at Detroit. During his 47-game scoring streak, Bitter has scored 96 goals and passed for 55 assists for 151 points. The 47-game streak is the third longest in Carolina history behind 50-game streaks by Dennis Goldstein (2-28-89 to 5-27-91) and Ryan Wade (5-11-91 to 5-21-94).
• Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in 43 successive games, a streak that began on April 20, 2012. That is the fourth longest active streak in NCAA Division I and it is equals the sixth longest streak in Carolina history. During that streak, Sankey has scored 84 goals and passed for 68 assists for 152 points.
• In Bitter's 47-game streak and Sankey's 43-game streak, they have totaled 151 and 152 points, respectively.
• Jimmy Bitter has scored a goal in 20 straight games, dating back to February 16, 2014. That is tied for the fifth longest active streak in the nation with Kevin Rice of Syracuse. Bitter's streak began on February 16, 2014 and he has scored 46 goals in that time. The 20-game goal scoring streak matches the sixth longest in UNC history. Mike McCall had a 20-game goal scoring streak from 2002-04 and Joey Sankey had a 20-game goal scoring streak as well from 2013-15 that ended just last week against Denver.
• Jimmy Bitter now has 162 career points at UNC. He has moved into 12th place in Carolina history in Carolina points. Mac Ford (1982-85) and Jed Prossner (2002-05) are tied for 10th with 172 career points.
• Joey Sankey has now totaled 183 career points, a total which ranks seventh in UNC history. John Webster (1990-93) ranks sixth in Tar Heel history with 188 points.
• Chad Tutton recorded three goals against Manhattan. He now has 105 career points. He is tied for 35th place in Carolina history with Thomas Wood who had 105 points from 2009-12.
• Joey Sankey recorded a three assists against Manhattan and has 81 career helpers, a total which moves him into sixth place in UNC history, one behind Dennis Goldstein (1987-91).
• Chad Tutton recorded his third hat trick of the 2015 season against Manhattan and the 15th hat trick of his career.
• Chad Tutton has recorded at least one point in 45 of the last 48 games, a streak dating back to his freshman season.
• Carolina scored on a season-high 52 percent of its shots in the game, going 26 for 50.
• Jimmy Bitter had a career high four assists in the game versus Manhattan. That matched the career high three assists he had against Denver on February 27.
• Jimmy Bitter has 16 assists this season after recording only seven in his junior year in 2014. His most in a single season was 20 in the 2013 campaign.
• Carolina's 26 goals were the most they have scored in a game since April 26, 2001 when it beat Pfeiffer 27-6. The goal total is the highest versus an NCAA Division I team since April 19, 1995 in a 26-8 win against VMI.
• UNC scored 13 goals in each half.
• The 26 goals were the most scored by UNC in the Joe Breschi coaching era, exceeding the 21 on February 16, 2014 versus Manhattan in a 21-5 victory.
LAST TIME OUT FOR CAROLINA: Fifteen different Tar Heel men's lacrosse players scored last Saturday as second-ranked UNC defeated Manhattan 26-6 at Navy Field on a sunny morning before 418 fans.
Sophomore Luke Goldstock had career highs for goals in a game with five, assists in a game with four and points in a game with nine. His five goals were the most by a Tar Heel since Joey Sankey scored five against Johns Hopkins on March 29, 2014. His nine points were the most by a UNC player since Marcus Holman had 10 points against Michigan on May 5, 2012. Goldstock scored on all five of his shots in the game.
Both Michael Tagliaferri and Chad Tutton added had tricks in the game for UNC. It was the second of Tagliaferri's career and the 15th career hat trick for the Canadian lefty midfielder Tutton. Patrick Kelly, Brian Cannon and Joe Costigan each tallied two goals for UNC with Cannon and Costigan both recording career highs for goals in a game.
Like Goldstock, Jimmy Bitter had four assists in the game and he also scored a goal. Bitter's four assists equal his career high set against Denver on February 27. Joey Sankey had three assists for the Tar Heels. Altogether, 10 different Tar Heels had assists in the match.
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 No. 1 Denver. He scooped up a career-high five ground balls and limited the Pioneers' first-string midfielders to two goals on only four shots. Denver midfielders combined for just eight shots in the game. 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 early in the third quarter to put the Tar Heels in the lead for good in the game.
Jozokos is the first Tar Heel short stick defensive midfielder to ever win ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Previous winners from UNC have included face-off men, close defensemen and goalkeepers but this is 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 has 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 #4 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.
In UNC's win over High Point, Carolina again 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.
In its most recent game against Manhattan, 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.
POINTS STREAKS FOR JOEY AND JIMMY: Carolina senior attackmen Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey possess the second and fourth longest point scoring streaks currently active in NCAA Division I.
Jimmy Bitter has recorded points in 47 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 52 successive games. During his 47-game skein, Bitter has recorded 96 goals and 55 assists for 151 points.
Joey Sankey has recorded at least one point in a game in 42 consecutive contests. That is the fourth longest streak in the nation. Sankey's scoring streak began on April 20, 2012. During that span, Sankey has recorded 84 goals and added 68 assists for 152 points.
Bitter's 47 games with at least one point is the third longest streak in UNC history. The school record is 50 successive games with at least one point and it is shared by attackman Dennis Goldstein (February 28, 1989 to May 27, 1991) and midfielder Ryan Wade (May 11, 1991 to May 21, 1994). Sankey's 42-game point streak is the eighth longest scoring streak in the Tar Heel record book.
BITTER'S GOAL SCORING STREAK: Jimmy Bitter has tallied goals in 20 consecutive games dating back to February 16, 2014. Joey Sankey had a 20-game goal scoring streak for the Tar Heels but it ended in Carolina's 12-10 over Denver on February 27.
Bitter's 20-game goal scoring streak equals the fifth longest active streak in NCAA Division I, tied with Kevin Rice of Syracuse.
In Carolina history, three current Tar Heels have goal-scoring streaks that rank among the top nine in Tar Heel lore. Sankey's 20-game scoring streak and Bitter's current 20-game streak are tied with Mike McCall (2002-04) for the seventh longest in UNC history. Chad Tutton's 19-game streak from March 3, 2013 through March 11, 2014 is the ninth-longest streak.
TAR HEELS ON THE CAREER SCORING CHARTS: A trio of Tar Heel seniors continue to move up UNC's career scoring charts. Senior attackman Joey Sankey has moved into seventh in career points with 183 while Jimmy Bitter is in 12th place with 162 career points. Chad Tutton is in at tie for 35th place with 105 career points. The Tar Heel record for career points is 213 by Marcus Holman (2010-13).
On the career goal-scoring list, Jimmy Bitter is currently in seventh place with 105 career goals. Joey Sankey ranks in a tie for eighth place in career goals with 102 along with Jeff Sonke (1998-2001) and Mike McCall (2002-05). The school record for goals scored in a career is 128 by Bert Fett (1972-75). Chad Tutton has 85 goals in his career, which puts him in a tie for 22nd place.
Joey Sankey's 81 career assists have moved him into a sixth place all-time at UNC.
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:
• 75-30 in six seasons at UNC (71.4)
• 167-93 in 17 seasons overall (64.2)
• 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
• 38-27 versus ranked teams at UNC; 37-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 62-10 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 48-8 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 37-3 against unranked opponents in his seven seasons. Breschi is 75-30 overall at Carolina in his seven seasons as head coach. During Breschi's tenure, UNC's only losses to unranked teams came at Ohio State in 2011, at home to Lehigh in 2012 and at Pennsylvania in 2012.
CAROLINA'S IMPROVEMENT IN ONE-GOAL DECISIONS: Prior to Joe Breschi taking over as head coach in 2009, UNC went 1-7 in games decided by one goal from midway through the 2004 season through the end of the 2008 campaign. Carolina has improved tremendously in one-goal games since Breschi arrived for the 2009 season. UNC is 15-13 in games decided by one goal over the past six years.
THREE TAR HEELS CHOSEN IN 2015 MLL DRAFT: Three members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were chosen Friday, January 24 in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Draft. The trio will start their respective MLL careers this summer at the conclusion of their senior years in college.
UNC senior attackman Joey Sankey of Warminster, Pa. was the first Tar Heel chosen as he went in the second round to the Charlotte Hounds. Sankey was the ninth player picked overall. Tar Heel senior midfielder Chad Tutton of Courtice, Ontario was chosen in the second round by the Florida Launch. Tutton was the 13th pick overall. Senior attackman Jimmy Bitter was selected in the third round with the 22nd pick by the Ohio Machine. The Stowe, Vt. native will reunite with former Tar Heel Marcus Holman, UNC Class of 2013, when he joins the Machine. Holman has played for the Machine the past two years. Holman and Bitter started on the UNC attack together with Joey Sankey in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
CAROLINA'S STELLAR MARK IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES: UNC's record in non-conference games continues to be one of the best in the nation over the past nine seasons. The Tar Heels have won 83 of their past 97 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006. In Joe Breschi's seven seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are 62-10 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 80 of 105 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 68-12 in those 80 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 48-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's seven years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 85.7 percent. UNC's only home losses during Breschi's four-year tenure include regular-season and ACC Tournament games to Duke in 2009, a regular-season loss to Duke in 2011, an NCAA Tournament loss to Maryland in 2011, regular-season losses to Lehigh and Virginia in 2012, an NCAA Tournament loss to Denver in 2012, a regular-season loss to Duke in 2013 and a regular-season loss to Notre Dame in 2014.
CAROLINA IN HOME GAMES: North Carolina has an all-time record of 273-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014 and a 6-0 record so far in 2015. UNC has a 69.3 winning percentage all-time in history in home games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 460-278-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .622.
SIX TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC: Six Tar Heels were chosen for the preseason All-ACC Team for 2015. The team was selected in a vote by the ACC's five head coaches. Tar Heels on the preseason team include senior attackman Joey Sankey, senior midfielder Chad Tutton, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatick, sophomore face-off man Stephen Kelly, sophomore defenseman Austin Pifani and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke.
INSIDE LACROSSE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAS: Six members of the 2015 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were named to the preseason All-America Teams chosen by Inside Lacrosse magazine.
A trio of Tar Heels were named to the second-team preseason All-America Team – senior attackman Joey Sankey, senior midfielder Chad Tutton and sophomore defenseman Austin Pifani.
Another three Carolina players have been named to the honorable mention preseason All-America unit - senior attackman Jimmy Bitter, senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Kilpatrick and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke.
Sankey led the Tar Heels in scoring in 2014 with 57 points on a team-leading total of 33 goals and squad-pacing 24 assists. He shot .355 on the season and started all 15 games for the Heels.
Pifani started 15 games on close defense for the Tar Heels as a fresman in 2015. He scooped up 32 ground balls, the second highest total on the team, and caused 10 turnovers. He spearheaded a much improved UNC defense that surrendered only 8.34 goals per game.
Tutton was Carolina's leading scorer in the midfield, starting all 15 games in the first unit. His 23 goals ranked third on the team and he added five assists for 28 points. He led Carolina in game-winning goals with three.
Jimmy Bitter was second on last year's team in goals scored with 30, playing in 14 games. He was tied for second on the team in points with 37. He shot .370 on the campaign and had 31 ground balls (tied for first in the attack and offensive midfield units) while committing only 16 turnovers.
Kilpatrick, who will captain this year's team with Sankey, Bitter and defenseman Jake Bailey, has been the top player at the LSM position for the Tar Heels for the past three years. Last year he had 23 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers (second highest on team behind Ryan Creighton).
Kieran Burke showed great improvement last year as he started all 15 games. He allowed only 8.47 goals per contest and had a save percentage of .558. He was second on the team in ground balls with 35. He has started 32 games in a row for UNC over the past two campaigns.
UNC CLAIMS ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: The Tar Heels beat Furman 19-4 in their 2015 season opener on February 7. UNC has won every season opener since the 1999 season, running its streak to 17 seasons in a row with the win over the Paladins. Carolina's last loss in a season opener came on February 22, 1988 when the Tar Heels fell to Butler 13-12 at Fetzer Field.
CAROLINA THIS YEAR ON ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS: A total of eight University of North Carolina men's lacrosse games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks. The Tar Heels could also have additional exposure during the 2015 ACC Lacrosse Tournament. Five of UNC's games will be televised on ESPNU - Denver on February 27, Duke on March 29, Virginia on April 3, Syracuse on April 11 and Notre Dame on April 18. Three additional UNC games will be shown on ESPN3 - all games to be played at Fetzer Field. Carolina's non-conference games against High Point, Bryant and Harvard will all be aired on ESPN3. Those three games are midweek contests scheduled on Tuesdays. All three games of the 2015 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship at PPL Park will air on ESPNU for a total of 34 broadcasts throughout the 2015 season. All five ACC teams will make at least five appearances on an ESPN platform this season.
UNC Men's Lacrosse Television Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 10, High Point at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, Feb. 27, Denver at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tuesday, March 10, Bryant at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Tuesday, March 17, Harvard at North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sunday, March 29, Duke at North Carolina, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday, April 3, North Carolina at Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, April 11, Syracuse at North Carolina, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, April 18, North Carolina at Notre Dame, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday, April 24, ACC Championship Semifinal 1, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
ACC Championship Semifinal 2, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday, April 26, ACC Championship, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
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.
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.
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.
