University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Business Trip, Too
May 27, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
By Turner Walston
Joe Breschi had planned to be in Philadelphia this weekend. In 1991, the Carolina men's lacrosse team won the NCAA Division I Tournament with an 18-13 victory over Towson. Breschi was a young first-year assistant to Dave Klarmann that season. That team will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its title win at halftime of the men's championship game on Monday.
Joe Breschi's team will be in Philadelphia this weekend as well, on a mission to win a title of their own. Last weekend, Carolina men's lacrosse took down Notre Dame 13-9 in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal to earn the program's 13th Final Four trip and first in 23 years. The Tar Heels will be seeking the program's fifth national title. Joe Breschi was going to be in town anyway, but now it's a business trip. "We're certainly thrilled for the opportunity to go back to the Final Four," Breschi said this week. "It's hard to say 'back to the Final Four' when you haven't been in over two decades, but for this group in particular to have an opportunity to continue our season to the end is a testament to the character of these guys and the work ethic that they've shown and the improvement that they've shown throughout the year. I couldn't be happier for the seniors, the upperclassmen and the entire team for the time and energy they've put in throughout the year for the chance to go to Philly."
Twenty-three years is a long time between Final Four appearances for an elite program. The Tar Heels have had eight chances since 1993 to take that step, but not until last Sunday, when the Heels overwhelmed the Fighting Irish with a barrage of goals, did they break through. This team is one of the most unlikely to have taken that step. Early in the season, they won on the road at #8 Johns Hopkins, then fell by a goal in overtime to defending national champion Denver. But after a loss at Massachusetts, they sat at 3-3. "We kind of had a heart-to-heart (after that loss). "We let everything out on the table. There was no holding back," said junior defenseman Austin Pifani. "It was a special moment. It definitely didn't feel good, but having those movements happen during the season can really bring you together."
Since that 3-3 start, the Tar Heels have won seven of ten, with the only losses coming to Maryland, who is playing in the other semifinal, and twice to Syracuse. A month ago, the Tar Heels defeated then-#1 Notre Dame in comeback fashion on Senior Day in Kenan Stadium and earned the #1 seed at the ACC Tournament. But after falling to Syracuse in Kenesaw, Ga., they still had to sweat out Selection Sunday. Carolina had to travel to Big East champion Marquette in the first round, then to Columbus, Ohio for that quarterfinal game with Notre Dame. Despite the odds, they've come through. Now, a Final Four matchup with Loyola, and with it, more pressure, right? Not so fast.
"I think the beauty of this team is that the pressure was never on," Breschi said. "Although we hadn't been to the Final Four, [we] played loose and fast. We were unseeded and the underdog in every game we've played so far. We'll continue to be, as all three (other semifinalists) are seeded in front of us."
There's a '4' on the whiteboard in the team's film room, representing the number of teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels are one of them, and that's all that matters right now. "What's in the past is in the past," Breschi told his team on Monday. "Let's build on the things we did well. Let's work on the things that we struggled with. All the focus will be right on Loyola, from here on out."
Yes, it's been 23 years since the Tar Heels were on this stage. And while reaching the Final Four is a fine accomplishment itself, the work is not done. "We have a lot in front of us and a lot to take care of," said senior defenseman Jake Matthai. "We're not satisfied with where we're at. We'll need to keep progressing. Loyola's going to throw everything they have at us, and we need to throw everything we have at them in order to win that game."
To get here, Carolina threw everything they had at Notre Dame last Sunday. With 19 seconds to play in the first quarter, the Irish tied the score at two. In the next seven seconds, Carolina's Stephen Kelly won the faceoff and found Chris Cloutier for a go-ahead score. The Heels never looked back, reeling off eight straight goals. Kelly won faceoff after faceoff, earning possession for his team, keeping the pressure on and frustrating the Irish. "Knowing how the first game unfolded against Notre Dame (in which the Tar Heels overcame a five-goal deficit to win 17-15), there weren't enough goals to score," Breschi said. Even when Notre Dame did have the ball, they weren't often allowed quality looks at the net thanks to a communicating defense and tremendous work by goalie Brian Balkam.
And that commitment, that consistent effort and hard work has led the Tar Heels to the Final Four. They experience for the first time as players; their coach for the first time as a head coach. This is the fun part, where the players that bond in the competitive cauldron can enjoy the ride. They've gotten, well, interesting haircuts to share in that bond. Some have dyed their hair blue with the help of women's lacrosse's Sammy Jo Tracy. "They're doing 'Final Four hair,' and it is crazy," Tracy said. "I dyed it, by accident, green [Monday] night, and Coach Breschi was upset, so we dyed it dark blue."
Not all of the Tar Heel men opted for a dye job. "I think that it's up to each guy to kind of have their own thing," Matthai said. "And although that is really cool, it's not for everybody but certainly if you look everyone's got some interesting cuts.
"That's the unique thing about this team. Once a few guys went and got a couple haircuts, everybody else wanted to do it. It's not like it's half the team's doing this, half the team's doing that; everybody just wants to be a part of what we've got going on, and that's the beautiful thing about this team. It sort of echoes what Coach is saying about how hard we work together and where we've come as a team, how far this group has come."
The Tar Heel men will be joined in Philadelphia by the Tar Heel women, staying in the same hotel, competing in their own Final Four a day earlier. "We're thrilled for Jenny (Levy) and her team," Breschi said. "They've been a mainstay there in the Final Four, so it's nice for us to join them." Breschi has tapped into the fellowship of coaches at Carolina, women and men who understand the pressures of coaching in college, the highs and lows of the profession. Many teams have competed for championships in this school year alone. "The success of the student-athletes . . . just breeds success in a place like this, when you see it and feel it," he said. "It's exciting for the women and exciting for us, but really the athletic department as a whole."
The road to the Final Four for the Tar Heel men didn't start in 2016 for this team. It began with a look at missed opportunities in years past. It began with finally figuring out how to compartmentalize the inherent pressure that comes with expectations at an elite program. "In the past, we've had so much pressure on us," Pifani said. "It was Final Four or bust. This year, it's 'we're a team and we have a goal set for us, and we're going to play loose and have fun.' I think it's just that dedication and making sacrifices."
Making sacrifices for one another and committing to the team and the ideals of its head coach. Family. Academics. Lacrosse. In that order. It's why the Tar Heels played for Breschi and his late son Michael last weekend, just 20 minutes away from the cemetery where Michael is buried.
So when Breschi was asked if making the Final Four is a weight off his shoulders, he deflected. Not on him, no. Not alone. "It's really a weight off the program's shoulders," Breschi said. "We're just along for the ride. This is for the program, the alumni and all those who have believed in us, believed in the philosophy, believed in what we were trying to build here, culture-wise. Playing with heart and passion, and it' sheen fun. It's been a fun ride, and it continues."
"You're working so hard for this goal, and that's to be the best team in the country, and so to know that we have another shot, another opportunity this weekend is such a special feeling," Matthai said. "The work is not over. We have two games left to reach that goal."
Joe Breschi had planned to be in Philadelphia this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Tar Heels' 1991 national title. Might as well play for one of his own while he's in town.
