University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels & Cavaliers Meet Up Friday
April 2, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
Tar Heels Travel To Virginia Friday
2015 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 12: North Carolina Tar Heels (10-1 overall, 1-0 ACC, #4 USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll/#4 Cascade/Maverik Media Poll, #4 Nike/Lacrosse Magazine NCAA Division I Men's Rankings) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (8-2 overall, 0-2 ACC, #6 USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll/#8 Cascade/Maverik Media Poll, #5 Nike/Lacrosse Magazine NCAA Division I Men's Rankings)
Friday, April 3, 2015
7 p.m. EDT
Klockner Stadium
Charlottesville, Va.
KEY LINKS FOR FRIDAY'S CONTEST
Live Stats: CBS College Sports Gametracker
Television Information: ESPNU; Anish Shroff, Play-by-Play Announcer; Quint Kessenich, Analyst
Webcast Information: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Purchase Tickets To UNC Home Games: 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
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
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Follow The Tar Heels On Twitter: @UNCMensLacrosse
Follow The Tar Heels On Instagram: Follow The Heels
CAROLINA HITS THE ROAD FOR KEY ACC GAME AT UVA: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Breschi, is back in action in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday, April 3 when the Tar Heels play the Virginia Cavaliers at 7 p.m. at Klockner Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU and simulcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
Friday's game will mark the 73rd meeting between the Tar Heels and the Cavaliers since the Tar Heels became a varsity lacrosse program in 1949. The Cavaliers have dominated the series historically, winning two-thirds of the games (48-24). The two teams split games last year with Carolina winning 11-10 in the regular-season meeting at Fetzer Field and Virginia beating the Tar Heels 13-11 in the ACC Showcase Game in Chester, Pa.
FRIDAY'S BASICS: The Tar Heels are ranked fourth in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coaches poll, the Cascade/Maverik media poll run in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse Magazine and the Nike Lacrosse Magazine Poll. The Tar Heels are ranked behind Notre Dame, Syracuse and Maryland in all three polls. Carolina (10-1) 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 Santa Ana, California, falling behind 7-2 before staging a furious rally that fell short in a 10-8 loss. In its most recent game, Carolina emerged victorious against two-time defending NCAA champion Duke 15-14 last Sunday at Fetzer Field.
Virginia has started its season 8-2 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers' only losses have come at home against top-ranked Notre Dame and at second-ranked Syracuse. The Cavaliers played two home-state foes last week, beating VMI 17-3 and Richmond 14-7. Virginia has won three games in a row and five of its last six contests.
FRIDAY'S TV COVERAGE: Friday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Anish Shroff will be the play-by-play announcer for the game while former Quint Kessenich will serve as the analyst. The game will be simulcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
UNC 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 79-31 in his seven years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 71.8 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 171-94 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC is 64.5 percent.
CAROLINA VERSUS VIRGINIA: Friday's game will mark the 72nd meeting between Duke and North Carolina since the Tar Heels became a varsity program in 1949. Virginia leads the all-time series against Carolina 48-24.
The two teams have exchanged long periods of success during the course of the series. Virginia won the first 16 games between the two teams before the Tar Heels beat Virginia 13-10 in 1976. Beginning with that win, the Tar Heels held their own against Virginia from 1976-96. Over those 21 seasons, UNC went 18-12 against the Wahoos.
Virginia reasserted its dominance from 1997-2012 when it won 19 of its 21 meetings against North Carolina. The Tar Heels defeated Virginia 11-9 in the 2012 ACC Tournament semifinals at Klockner Stadium, starting a four-game winning streak against UVA that included an 11-10 win in the regular season meeting at Chapel Hill last year. Virginia captured the most recent game between the two teams when it beat Carolina 13-11 in last year's ACC Showcase Game at Chester, Pa.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART FOR FRIDAY's CONTEST: Carolina's pre-game depth chart for the game versus Virginia 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 - #0, Steve Pontrello, Junior; #12, Chad Tutton, Senior; #22, Shane Simpson, Sophomore.
2nd Midfield Unit - #2, Patrick Kelly, Junior; #32, Duncan Hutchins, Redshirt Senior; # 42, Peyton Klawinski, Sophomore
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: Before the largest crowd at Fetzer Field in 32 years, the fourth-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team rallied past sixth-ranked Duke to post a 15-14 triumph in a wild back-and-forth game televised nationally on ESPNU on March 29, 2015. Chad Tutton, Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey all had hat tricks for Carolina to help overcome a five-goal performance by Duke's Deemer Class. UNC trailed by four goals in the first half before rallying in the third quarter to take a 10-8 lead. Duke then scored three times in the final 3:29 of the third period to regain the lead heading into the fourth quarter. But Carolina persevered and a 5-1 scoring run to start the fourth quarter was just enough for Carolina to weather a late Duke rally as UNC beat the Blue Devils at Fetzer Field for the first time since March 19, 2003. A crowd of 5,711 packed the historic edifice to capacity, the largest crowd for a men's lacrosse game there since a crowd of 8,500 fans saw UNC beat Johns Hopkins 14-13 in double overtime on April 9, 1983. At that game, fans ringed the track around the stadium for standing room only spots as much as 10 deep in the historic Blue Jays' program first ever visit to Chapel Hill.
Chad Tutton stepped up for the Tar Heels by scoring three of his four goals in the fourth quarter scoring run, including one shot from 12 yards that he deposited behind Duke goalie Danny Fowler back-handed, under-handed and on the run. Junior Kieran Burke made five of his 11 saves in the final 15 minutes including one on a shot by Myles Jones with 1:06 to play on Duke's final possession. Sophomore Stephen Kelly was also a huge key in the game as he won a career high 22 face-offs and led both teams with 11 ground balls. The 22 face-off wins were just one shy of the school record and the most won by a Tar Heel since May 9, 2009 when Shane Walterhoefer claimed 22 wins at the X against UMBC in an NCAA first round win.
On the game, UNC outshot the Blue Devils 44-43 and had a 51-44 edge in ground balls. Carolina won 22 of the 33 face-offs in the game while both teams turned the ball over 17 times. Danny Fowler finished with 13 saves for the Blue Devils while Kieran Burke had 11 for UNC, including five in the fourth quarter.
Chad Tutton's four goals matched his career high in a game and marked his 16th career hat trick. Both Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey had three goals and two assists in the game as they recorded their 20th and 19th career hat tricks, respectively. Luke Goldstock had two goals and two assists for Carolina while both Shane Simpson and Steve Pontrello each had a goal and an assist.
TAR HEEL ODDS AND ENDS HEADING INTO VIRGINIA
As A Team
• Of Carolina's 169 goals in the first 11 games of the season, a total of 111 of them have been assisted. 65.7 percent of Carolina's goals this season have been assisted as compared to just 47 percent during the 2014 season.
• After its 15-14 win over Duke on March 29, North Carolina has now won 13 straight home games heading into the April 11 battle against Syracuse at Fetzer Field. That's the longest home winning streak since UNC won 26 games in a row in Chapel Hill more than two decades ago. That streak started with a 26-13 win over Duke on April 21, 1990 and was ended by Virginia on April 9, 1994 when the Cavaliers won 16-6 at Fetzer Field.
• Carolina has recorded 10 or more wins for the seventh straight season, a school first. UNC had won 10 or more in six straight seasons from 1989-94 for the only other time with six successive double digit win seasons.
• UNC's starting attack unit of Jimmy Bitter, Luke Goldstock and Joey Sankey has combined for 81 goals, 72 assists and 153 points in 11 games this season. A year ago, the starting attack unit (Jimmy Bitter, Joey Sankey, Pat Foster) had 81 goals, 50 assists and 131 points in 15 games. In four less games this season, UNC's attack has matched its goal total from a year ago while recording 22 more assists and 22 more points.
• The following Tar Heels have all recorded season highs for ground balls in their careers – Stephen Kelly with 62, Jimmy Bitter with 37, Tate Jozokos with 31, Jake Bailey with 29, Luke Goldstock with 23, Zach Powers with 21, Jake Matthai with 17 and Michael Tagliaferri with 17.
• 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 14 caused turnovers. He had 10 during the entire 2014 season. Zach Powers has 12 caused turnovers after having just eight in his first two years combined. Jake Bailey and Ryan Kilpatrick each have 10 caused turnovers for the Tar Heels.
Brent Armstrong
• Brent Armstrong won a career high seven face-offs and had a career-high four ground balls versus Maryland on March 21.
Jake Bailey
• Jake Bailey had a career high 10 ground balls versus Bryant. His previous high in a game was five.
• Bailey has three points this season after having two in his first three years combined. He had both a goal and an assist versus Harvard on March 17 and the game-clinching goal versus Denver on February 27.
Jimmy Bitter
• Jimmy Bitter's 52-game point scoring streak is the second longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
• Jimmy Bitter leads all active Tar Heels with 20 career hat tricks, one more than Joey Sankey.
• Jimmy Bitter has 57 points this season in 11 games. He had 37 points all of last season in the 14 games he played in. Bitter's 57 points are the most he has had in a season in his career (previous high was 52 in 2013) and his 30 assists are the most he has ever had in a single season (20 in 2013). The 57 points equal the 14th most in a single season in UNC history. His 30 assists equal the ninth most in a single season in the Carolina record book.
• Jimmy Bitter now has 187 career points, which ranks eighth in UNC history. On Tuesday, March 17, he moved past his brother Billy Bitter (2008-11) on the UNC scoring chart. Billy Bitter had 175 points in his career. Bitter trails only Marcus Holman, Joey Sankey, Bruce Ledwith, Bert Fett, Michael Burnett, Dennis Goldstein and John Webster on the all-time point scoring chart. He needs six points to move into fourth place all-time.
• Jimmy Bitter has scored 116 goals in his career. He is now the third most prolific goal scorer in UNC history, trailing just Bert Fett (128 goals from 1972-75) and Marcus Holman (121 goals from 2010-13).
• Jimmy Bitter now has 71 career assists, the 10th most in Tar Heel history.
• During the 2015 season, Jimmy Bitter currently ranks fifth in NCAA Division I in assists per game at 2.73 while he is seventh in points per game at 5.18. He leads the ACC in points per game and is second in assists per game.
• Jimmy Bitter's 187 career points ranks sixth amongst all active NCAA Division I players. Bitter is tied for seventh amongst all active Division I goal scorers with 116.
• Jimmy Bitter tied his career high for goals in a game with five versus Harvard on March 17. He also had seven points versus the Crimson, matching his career high. He set career highs for assists in a game with five and ground balls in a game with seven in the win at Richmond.
• In his career, Bitter has 36 multi-goal games, 21 multi-assist games and 47 multi-point games.
Kieran Burke
• Kieran Burke has started the last four games for the Tar Heels, making double digits saves in each game. His 21 saves versus Harvard on March 17 were second most he has had in a game in his career. His career high is 23 versus Virginia on April 6, 2013.
Luke Goldstock
• Luke Goldstock has 47 points this season after having just 10 as a freshman in 2014 when he was the first player off the bench at attack. He leads UNC with 34 goals and also has 13 assists. As a freshman he had seven goals and three assists.
• Luke Goldstock's 34 goals are the most by a UNC sophomore in a season since Billy Bitter had 46 goals in 2009. The 34 goals equal the 18th most in a single season in UNC history.
• During the 2015 season, Luke Goldstock ranks 10th in the nation and third in the ACC in goals scored per game at 3.09. Goldstock ranks 11th in the NCAA and second in the ACC in shooting percentage at .424.
• Goldstock recorded career highs for goals in a game with six versus both Bryant and Richmond. He had a career high four assists versus Manhattan as well as a career high nine points versus the Jaspers. He scooped up a career high five ground balls versus Duke.
• Luke Goldstock has 10 career multi-goal games, three career multi-assist games and 13 career multi-point games.
Duncan Hutchins
• Duncan Hutchins matched his career high for goals in a game with two versus Furman and UMass, equaled his career high for assists in a game with two versus Bryant and matched his career high for points in a game with three versus Furman.
• Hutchins has four career multi-point games, three career multi-assist games and 10 career multi-point games.
Tate Jozokos
• Jozokos has four goals and five assists this year after having just one assist as a freshman.
• Jozokos had a goal, an assist and a career high five ground balls in the win over #1 Denver. He was named ACC and NCAA Defensive Player of the Week the following week.
• Jozokos has seven games with three or more ground balls. He scored twice in the game versus Maryland.
Patrick Kelly
• Patrick Kelly has 11 points this season, one more point than he had a year ago.
• Kelly has three career multi-goal games, two career multi-point games and seven career multi-point games.
Stephen Kelly
• Kelly won 134 face-offs this year, the ninth most in a season in UNC history.
• Has won 10 or more face-offs in eight games this year. Has eight games with five or more ground balls.
• His 22 face-off wins against Duke were a career high (previous was 15 versus Princeton in 2014). The total was one shy of the school record of 23 by Shane Walterhoefer versus Ohio State in 2008. It marked only the fourth time in school history a player has won as many as 22 face-offs and the first time since Walterhoefer versus UMBC in 2009.
• Kelly's 11 ground balls versus Duke marked his second highest total ever. He had a career best 13 versus Princeton last year.
Ryan Kilpatrick
• Has scored three goals this season (one each versus Furman, Denver, Manhattan) after scoring twice in his first three years combined.
Peyton Klawinski
• 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 at the of the 2015 season and has responded with 14 goals and three assists for 17 points in 11 games.
• Recorded hat tricks versus High Point, UMass and Richmond.
• Has five career multi-goal games and six career multi-point games.
Jake Matthai
• Matthai posted a career high six ground balls against Furman.
Austin Pifani
• Notched his second career goal versus UMass.
• Pifani tied his career high for ground balls in a game with five versus High Point.
• He equaled his career high for caused turnovers in a game with three versus UMass. He has 14 caused turnovers this year after having 10 in 2014.
Zach Powers
• Powers has 21 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers this season after having 11 and eight, respectively, in his first two years combined
• Against High Point he had career highs for ground balls with seven and caused turnovers with three.
Joey Sankey
• Joey Sankey's 47-game point streak is tied for the third longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
• Joey Sankey has 19 career hat tricks, the second highest total on the team.
• Joey Sankey's 29 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 in a season. He had 22 as a freshman, 20 as a sophomore and 24 as a junior. His season high for points was 57 in 2014. He currently has 49 points this season.
• Joey Sankey has 206 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 career points) on the UNC all-time point-scoring list heading into the Virginia game. Holman played at Carolina from 2010-13. Against Duke, Sankey passed Bruce Ledwith for second place on the all-time chart. Ledwith had 204 points with the Tar Heels from 1970-73.
• Joey Sankey now has 111 career goals, which is tied for fifth place in UNC history with Mac Ford (1982-85.
• Joey Sankey currently has 91 career assists. That is the fourth highest assist total in UNC history behind Bruce Ledwith (119 from 1970-73), Michael Burnett (106 from 1980-83) and Marcus Holman (92 from 2010-13).
• During the 2015 season, Joey Sankey currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division I in assists per game at 2.64 while he is 14th in points per game at 4.45.
• Joey Sankey's 206 career points are the second most amongst active players behind only Albany's Lyle Thompson's 332. Sankey's 111 career goals are tied for ninth amongst all active NCAA Division I players. Sankey's 95 assists are tied for fifth amongst active NCAA Division I players.
• Sankey matched his career highs for assists in a game with four against UMass and Maryland. His seven points versus the Minutemen matches his career best as well. He has had seven points in a game four times in his career.
• In his career he has 36 multi-goal games, 31 multi-assist games and 51 multi-point games.
Michael Tagliaferri
• Tagliaferri recorded his second career hat trick versus Manhattan.
• He has recorded a career high three ground balls in a game three times (Richmond, Maryland, Duke).
• Tags has 17 ground balls this season, despite missing the first two games with injury. He had four ground balls all of last year.
Chad Tutton
• Chad Tutton has 95 career goals which places him in a tie for 15th place in UNC history with Jason Wade (1993-96).
• Chad Tutton has scored 24 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, 23 goals as a junior and now 24 as a senior.
• Chad Tutton's 95 career goals are the 19th most amongst active NCAA Division I players.
• Tutton tied his career high for goals in a game with four. He has done it three times, twice against Duke.
• Has four hat tricks this season and 16 for his career.
• Equaled his career high for assists with two each versus Johns Hopkins and Richmond.
• Leads UNC with six man-up goals.
* Tutton has 26 multi-goal games in his career, five multi-assist games and 33 multi-point games.
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 tallies in a 10-8 win over Carolina. The eight goals scored against the Terps marked only the third time in the 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 early March. In the process, he tied the school record for goals scored 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 points Goldstock totaled. 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 are ranked second in the country in assists per game with 10.09 per game, behind Albany's 12.38 assists per contest. UNC has 111 assists on 169 goals this season. That's a percentage of assisted goals of 65.7. A year ago, UNC recorded assists on only 47.0 percent of its goals.
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 52 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 55 successive games. During the 52-game stretch, Bitter has recorded 107 goals and 69 assists for 176 points. Bitter broke the school record for consecutive games with a point against Maryland on March 21. 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 Sankey7has recorded at least one point in a game in 47 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 93 goals and added 82 assists for 175 points those 47 games. Sankey's 47-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 to the victorious cause 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 streaks 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).
TUTTON & KELLY SHARE ACC AWARDS MARCH 31: North Carolina's Chad Tutton and Syracuse's Dylan Donahue were named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Co-Offensive Players of the Week March 31, 2015, while the Tar Heels' Stephen Kelly and Notre Dame's Matt Landis shared Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Tutton, who was also named the NCAA.com National Offensive Player of the Week on April 1, matched a career-high with four goals as he helped rally North Carolina past Duke, 15-14, on March 29. The senior midfielder from Courtice, Ontario was efficient with his opportunities as he scored his four goals, including three in the fourth quarter, on seven total shots for the day. With UNC trailing 11-10 entering the fourth quarter, Tutton's goal with 12 minutes to play put the Tar Heels ahead 12-11, and after Duke tied the game at 12-12, Tutton scored back-to-back goals that gave North Carolina the lead for good. The Tar Heels' home win over the Blue Devils marked the first time they had defeated Duke at Fetzer Field since the 2003 season. Kelly had the best game of his North Carolina career in winning 22-of-33 face-offs – one shy of the school record - and helping the Tar Heels dominate the face-off X in the 15-14 win over Duke. Kelly also picked up a game-high 11 ground balls to help North Carolina control the second half en route to the win. The 11 ground balls were the second highest career total for Kelly.
JOZOKOS NAMED NCAA.COM & ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore short stick defensive midfielder Tate Jozokos was named both the NCAA.com and the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week following Carolina's win over Denver on February 27. 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 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 #4 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. 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 four 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. Against Richmond, attackman Luke Goldstock had six goals while attackman Joey Sankey had three and midfielder Peyton Klawinski added three. In the win over Duke, Chad Tutton matched his career high with four goals while Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey each scored three times.
Here are the total number of career hat tricks for active Tar Heel players: Jimmy Bitter 20, Joey Sankey 19, Chad Tutton 16, 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 has led the Tar Heels to double-digit win totals in his first seven seasons as head coach and NCAA Tournament bids in each of his first six seasons in Chapel Hill.
Breschi Coaching Facts:
• 79-31 in seven seasons at UNC (71.8)
• 171-94 in 18 seasons overall (64.5)
• 9-12 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
• 17-13 in one-goal games at UNC
• 40-28 versus ranked teams at UNC; 39-3 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 64-11 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 51-8 in home games at UNC
ANOTHER DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASON UNDER COACH BRESCHI: Despite playing against one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2015, the Tar Heels have reached a double digit win total for the seventh successive year under the tutelage of head coach Joe Breschi, who was hired in June 2008. Breschi is the first head coach in UNC history to post double digit win totals in each of his first seven 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, 10-5 in 2014 and 10-1 so far in 2015. The 2009-15 streak marks the first time UNC has won 10 or more games in a season in seven straight years. UNC had won 10 or more in six straight seasons from 1989-94.
UNC VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS UNDER COACH BRESCHI: North Carolina has played nationally-ranked opponents 68 times in Joe Breschi's seven-year coaching tenure. UNC is 40-28 in those games, a winning percentage of 58.8 percent. Conversely, the Tar Heels are 39-3 against unranked opponents in his seven seasons (92.9 percent). Breschi is 79-31 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 17-13 in games decided by one goal over the past seven years.
THREE TAR HEELS CHOSEN IN 2015 MLL DRAFT: Three members of the 2015 UNC 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 84 of 110 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 72-12 in those 84 games. As would be expected, 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 51-8 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's seven years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 86.4 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.
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.
CAROLINA IN HOME GAMES: North Carolina has an all-time record of 276-120-2 in home games. That included a 6-1 home record in 2014 and a 9-0 record so far in 2015. UNC has a 69.6 winning percentage all-time in history in home games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 465-279-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .625.
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)
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.
