University of North Carolina Athletics
From Fetzer To Finley: Memorial Day Magic
July 28, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, Featured Writers
Editor's Note: Dave Lohse has served as the sports information director for the men's lacrosse team at the University of North Carolina since 1979. He served as the sports information director for the women's lacrosse team beginning with its creation in 1994 through the 1999 season.
This weekend marks the two-month anniversary of Carolina's remarkable Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia when the women's and men's lacrosse teams captured NCAA championships on successive days. The 72-hour period from the start of the women's semifinal game against Penn State on Friday, May 27 at 5 p.m. until Chris Cloutier found the back of the net in overtime to shock the lacrosse world on Monday, May 30 as the 4 o'clock hour was about to chime can be described accurately as the stuff dreams are made of.
Rare are moments in Carolina athletic history when so much success has been packed so tightly into a brief time frame. Certainly the five NCAA championships in men's basketball and one in women's basketball come to mind. So does November 19, 1989 when the Tar Heel field hockey and women's soccer teams won NCAA titles on the same day.
As I begin to put down in words the whirlwind nature of Memorial Day in Philadelphia I must cop to the fact I have become obsessed with the events that transpired in a way that anyone who was there or watched it on television will not forget any time soon.
Confession Number 1: I have watched the women's championship game in its entirety three times since the Tar Heels put a whipping on top-ranked and undefeated Maryland 13-7 to earn Carolina's second NCAA title in the sport on Sunday, May 29.
Confession Number 2: I have only watched the men's championship game in its entirety twice since the Tar Heels rallied late to stun another #1-ranked Maryland squad 14-13 in overtime to claim the University's fifth NCAA title in the sport and first since 1991. But I have watched the overtime period at least once every day since May 30 and I don't intend to stop that practice anytime soon.
A friend recently asked me if I might need a little psychological help to deal with my problem. My retort was quick. “Absolutely not. I simply don't want to let it go. I don't know when I will see something like that again.”
Carolina entered neither game as the favorite. The fear in the back of my mind was these two Carolina teams getting so far only to be turned away again. It is no secret that the athletic department at UNC has had more than its fair share of storms to weather in recent years. A taste of winning something significant can buoy minds and spirits in so many ways.
It was three years ago – May 26, 2013 to be precise – when the Tar Heel women's lacrosse squad won its first NCAA title by defeating an undefeated and top-ranked Maryland team 13-12 in triple overtime in a game for the ages, giving UNC its 40th NCAA team title in history.
Since then, UNC athletic teams had gotten to four NCAA championship finals and lost all of them in heartbreaking fashion – women's tennis in 2014, women's lacrosse in 2015, field hockey in 2015 and men's basketball in 2016. It was time for Carolina fans to have something huge to cheer for in a big way.
As time passes, I think we will all look back and appreciate even more what played out. As a Tar Heel, you don't have to know anything about lacrosse to feel the pride that weekend brought to this University. People were watching. They know. In the past couple of months, I've been stopped many times around Chapel Hill by people I don't necessarily know, but who know who I am and what I do for a living. Each time the subject matter is the lacrosse championships. I've heard stories about whole neighborhoods getting together to watch the men's championship game as Memorial Day food was on the grill outside. I've been told of the frantic efforts to find the game on radio when errands had to be run on the holiday weekend. Carolina fans were out in force on Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia at both venues and they were loud despite being outnumbered by much closer geographically Maryland fans. The ratings for the men's championship game on ESPN were significantly up from last year's title match, especially in the Research Triangle, Charlotte and Greensboro/Winston-Salem markets, very unsurprisingly.
The path the two Tar Heel teams took to Memorial Day weekend were quite different though. Coach Jenny Levy's team was supposed to be there. Despite early season one-goal losses to Florida (15-16) and Maryland (7-8) in Chapel Hill on successive Saturdays in February, the Tar Heels entered Championship Weekend on a 15-game winning streak. Six of those 15 wins were by one goal, including a surreal 15-14 overtime win against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament championship game, giving the Tar Heels their first ACC title since 2002.
The men's journey was entirely different. Despite nine straight NCAA bids from 2007 through 2015, Carolina had fallen short of Championship Weekend, something that within the program itself and with its alumni and fan base, had frankly become something of a burden to bear. Carolina finished the regular season 8-6 but a Senior Day win over top-ranked Notre Dame had given the Tar Heels hope they would sneak into the field. The last 10 minutes of that game will be talked about for years. Carolina trailed the Fighting Irish 15-10 and had already put up double digits against a team that had not allowed as many as 10 goals all year. But Carolina staged its largest second half comeback in its history, outscoring Notre Dame 7-0 over a span of seven minutes and emerging with a marquee win.
Still, after an ACC Tournament semifinal loss to Syracuse, Carolina was perceived to be on the bubble for an at-large bid. Selection Sunday came and the Heels were headed to Marquette the following Saturday where they eked out a 10-9 first-round win. A week later, Carolina traveled to Columbus, Ohio for a quarterfinal rematch with Notre Dame. The emotional nature of that weekend has been well documented. Breschi returned to the place he had coached from 1997 to 2008 and where his son Michael had been killed in a tragic automobile accident in 2004. On Saturday, Breschi visited Michael's grave and the next day at breakfast captain Patrick Kelly spoke from his massive heart and brilliant mind about dedicating that day's game to Michael. The contest was never close after the first half. UNC built an 11-3 lead heading into the final quarter and despite a late Notre Dame run, emerged with a 13-9 triumph. Carolina was headed to Championship Weekend for the first time in 23 years. Breschi's post-game interview on ESPN thoroughly revealed what a wonderful coach, husband, parent and human being he is.
As Championship Weekend preparations began the Tar Heels found out their hotel assignments (preset by tournament seeds) were in fact the same. How serendipitous indeed. The Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel would be Tar Heel central Memorial Day weekend as the teams checked in on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. And what happened over the following days is a story for another day.
Part Two of this column will be published on Saturday, July 30.
