Undefeated Tar Heels Host Mercer Wednesday

Wednesday, February 28

Chapel Hill, N.C. (Kenan Stadium)

4:00 p.m.

North Carolina

Mercer

Photo by: Jack Gill

February 26, 2018 | Men's Lacrosse

Watch on ACC Network Extra Live Stats Complete Game Notes (PDF)2018 Media Guide (PDF)Twitter Updates

#10 Tar Heels look to improve to 5-0.

By: Dave Lohse

Tar Heels Begin Three-Game Home Stand With Match Against Mercer Wednesday

2018 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 5: North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0, ranked #10 in USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll, ranked #10 in Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Poll) vs. Mercer Bears (1-3)
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
4:00 p.m. EST
Kenan Stadium
Chapel Hill, N.C.
KEY LINKS FOR WEDNESDAY'S GAME
Live Stats: GoHeels.com, UNC Stat Broadcast
Telecast: ACC Network Extra, Watch ESPN, ESPNApp
UNC Media Guide: 2018 Media Guide
Player Roster & Coaches' Bios: GoHeels.com Roster Page
2018 Statistics: Individual Stats
2018 Game Notes: Game Notes
UNC Lacrosse Social Media Links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

TAR HEELS RETURN TO KENAN STADIUM TO BEING THREE-GAME HOME STAND WEDNESDAY: Head coach Joe Breschi and his 2018 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team returns home to begin a three-game home stand this Wednesday when the Tar Heels play host to the Mercer University Bears at 4 p.m. at Kenan Stadium.
After a 13-11 win at Johns Hopkins last Friday, UNC will play host to Mercer Wednesday, St. John's Saturday and Denver Monday.
The game Wednesday will be played at Kenan Stadium on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, N.C. Opening face-off is at 4 p.m. and the game will be nationally webcast on the ACC Network Extra with live streating on WatchESPN and the ESPNapp.
Brian Waer and Chris Hooks will be on the call for ACC Network Extra.
A live stat link for the game will be available on GoHeels.com and on the UNC Stat Broadcast Link.
Live Twitter updates during the game will be available via @uncmenslacrosse.

PARKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR WEDNESDAY'S GAME: The University of North Carolina Department of Parking and Transportation has issued the following guidelines for parking for Wednesday's UNC versus Mercer men's lacrosse game.
For fans arriving prior to 3 p.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon, parking will be available in Rams Head Parking Deck for $1.75 an hour.
Parking will not be available in Bell Tower Parking Deck before 3 p.m. Wednesday due to weekday operations. However, a very limited number of spaces will be available in Bell Tower Deck beginning 3 p.m.
There should be plenty of parking available throughout the day in the Rams Head Parking Lot.

HEELS HIT ROAD AND EMERGE WITH COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN AT JOHNS HOPKINS: The 12th-ranked University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team never led until midway through the fourth quarter but three successive goals by junior attackman Timmy Kelly gave the Tar Heels the lead for good in an eventual 13-11 victory over 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins before 1,383 fans and an ESPNU national television audience at Homewood Field on Friday evening, February 23.
With the win, the Tar Heels started the season 4-0 for the first time since 2015 and Coach Joe Breschi's team has already won a two-goal game on the road and a pair of overtime games, playing extremely well in tight games in the young 2018 campaign. UNC has now won its last five games against the Blue Jays at Homewood Field and has cut the Blue Jays' all-time lead in the series to 25-22.
Kelly notched a career-high four goals in the game, including three straight in the fourth quarter that broke a 9-9 tie and lifted the Heels to a three-goal lead. Sophomore midfielder Tanner Cook matched his career high for points in a game with five as he scored four goals, all in the first half, and added an assist. Chris Cloutier added two goals, running his goal scoring streak to 24 successive contests. Both Andy Matthews and William Perry had a goal and two assists. Matthews has now recorded assists in 13 consecutive games.
Tar Heel sophomore goalkeeper Jack Pezzulla stood on his head for long stretches during the night, making a career high 13 saves. Hopkins led 5-3 at the end of the first period but Pezzulla made five saves in the opening 15 minutes and prevented the early deficit from growing greater. Hopkins placed 10 of its 11 shots in the first quarter on goal and had leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 5-3 in the quarter.
Hopkins led in most statistical categories except saves where Brock Turnbaugh had nine for the Blue Jays. Hopkins led in shots 39-37 and in ground balls 29-20. This marked the second straight game in which the Tar Heels have earned just 20 ground balls (Lehigh had 30 to UNC's 20 in the previous game), but in both cases UNC has pulled out tight victories.
Hopkins face-off man Hunter Moreland was outstanding as he won 18 of 27 draws at the X and had a game-high 10 ground balls. Four of his nine losses at the X were due to face-off violations.
Both teams committed 13 turnovers and both squads were excellent in the clearing game with just one failed clear each. UNC's extra-man offense, which has been a highlight of its early-season play, was three of four while Hopkins scored twice on four chances.

Hopkins opened the game with a pair of goals in the first 1:15 of play before Tanner Cook got the Tar Heels on the board with 3:10 elapsed. After the Blue Jays again went up by two goals, tallies by Cook and Chris Cloutier tied the game at 3-3 with 5:41 left in the period. Hopkins, however, regained the momentum with unassisted goals at 1:05 and 0:14 of the period and led 5-3 at the first break.
Cook scored back-to-back goals at 13:52 and 5:28 of the second period and the Heels were back in a tie at 5-5. Cole Williams put the Blue Jays back ahead 4:53 before halftime but he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for tossing his stick in the air in celebration and Carolina capitalized with Kelly's first goal, an extra-man tally off an assist by Andy Matthews just 27 seconds later.
Coming out of halftime, Hopkins seized the momentum. A pair of unassisted goals gave the Blue Jays an 8-6 lead 3:55 into the second half. Carolina bounced back and goals by Cloutier at 5:42 and by William Perry in a man-up situation with 2:27 left saw the game tied at 8-8 heading into the final period.
Patrick Fraser regained the lead for Johns Hopkins with 12:39 left in the game with an EMO goal but momentum shifted to Carolina about three minutes later. An unassisted goal by Andy Matthews tied the game at 9-9 with 9:46 to play and started a four-goal run for the Tar Heels. At 8:11, Kelly gave UNC its first lead of the game, scoring man-up off an assist by Cook. Jack Rowlett then forced a turnover by Hunter Moreland eight seconds later and the junior defenseman fed Kelly for a two-goal lead with 7:56 to play.
Charles Kelly was called for a penalty on the ensuing face-off but Pezzulla saved a shot by Fraser on the Hopkins EMO. UNC cleared the ball and called timeout and a minute and a half later, Kelly notched his fourth goal of the game to put the Heels up 12-9 with 5:09 to play.
Hopkins scored a pair of goals to cut UNC's lead to 12-11 with 3:06 to play. Carolina won the next face-off but turned the ball over and Hopkins had two shots to tie the game, both off cage, before Jack Keogh turned the ball over with 1:53 to play. After the Tar Heels were hit with a shot clock warning with 1:08 to play, Justin Anderson scored six seconds later to restore a two-game lead for the Tar Heels. Hopkins had two more shots and an EMO in the final minute but it turned the ball over with one second left.
Next up for Carolina is a match against Mercer on Wednesday, February 28 at 4 p.m. at Kenan Stadium. Admission is free. The game will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra.
NOTING THE TAR HEELS
• North Carolina improved to 22-25 all-time against Johns Hopkins. The Tar Heels have won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams and they have won the past five games between the two teams played at Homewood Field.
• Chris Cloutier scored two goals in the game. He has scored at least one goal in 24 successive games. Cloutier's 24-game scoring streak is the second longest active streak in the country and it is tied for the fifth-longest goal scoring streak in UNC history.
• Andy Matthews had two assists against the Blue Jays. He now has at least one assist in 13 successive games. That is the seventh longest assist streak in UNC history.
• Chris Cloutier has now scored 91 goals in his career. He is now tied for 20th in career goal scoring at Carolina with Ryan Wade (1991-94). He is now 28th in career points at UNC with 123.
• Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi needs two more victories to reach 200 career wins on the collegiate level. He has 92 wins in 11 seasons as head coach at Ohio State and he has 106 wins in 10 seasons as head coach at North Carolina.
• Carolina has won 104 of its last 129 games against non-conference opponents dating back to April 2006. That's a winning percentage of 80.6 percent in those 129 games.
• Timmy Kelly scored four goals against the Blue Jays, a career high. He had a trio of three-goal games previously in his career, against UMBC in his sophomore year and against Lafayette and Lehigh ealier this season. Kelly's four points matched his career high previously set against Virginia on April 10, 2016 and matched against Lafayette on February 3, 2018
• Tanner Cook matched his career high for points in a game with five. He also had five points against Furman on February 10, 2018
• Jack Pezzulla had a career high 13 saves. His previous career high was eight against Lehigh on February 17, 2018.

KELLY NAMED ACC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON FEBRUARY 26: University of North Carolina junior attackman Timmy Kelly of Lutherville, Md., was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, February 26.
Kelly scored a career-high four goals as North Carolina earned a 13-11 victory at No. 13/14 Johns Hopkins, giving the Tar Heels their fifth straight win over the Blue Jays in Baltimore. With the game tied at 9-9, Kelly put North Carolina ahead for good with a man-up goal with 8:11 left in the game. He scored again 15 seconds later to give the Tar Heels a two-goal lead and then scored with 5:09 left in the match for the eventual game-winning goal in UNC's 13-11 victory. Kelly's previous career high was three goals in a game, achieved on a trio of occasions - once in 2017 and twice in 2018.

TAR HEELS CONCLUDE SEASON OPENING HOME STAND AGAINST LEHIGH FEBRUARY 17: The 2018 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team concluded a three-game season-opening home stand February 17 when the Tar Heels defeated Lehigh University 12-11 in overtime to improve to 3-0 on the season.
North Carolina opened its 2018 season on February 3 with a 17-10 victory over Lafayette College at Kenan Stadium. Carolina then survived a spirited challenge from coach Richie Meade's Furman Paladins team on February 10, emerging with a 15-14 overtime victory. Seven days later Carolina prevailed in overtime once again to down Lehigh.
After the 13-11 victory at Johns Hopkins last Friday, the Tar Heels will return to Kenan Stadium for their second three-game home stand of the season when they play three games in a span of just six days, meeting Mercer on February 28, St. John's on March 3 and Denver on March 5.

GAME DETAILS: North Carolina will be playing its fifth game of the season and Mercer will be playing its fifth game of the 2018 season on Wednesday when they meet at 4 p.m. at Kenan Stadium.
The Bears are currently 1-3. Mercer opened its season with home losses against Vermont 11-3 and Lehigh 13-8. After winning 10-9 in overtime at Cleveland State, the Bears fell at home on February 18 against Detroit Mercy in an 8-7 overtime game. Mercer's match at Chapel Hill Wednesday will mark the Bears' first game in 10 days.
The Tar Heels opened their season on February 3 at Kenan Stadium with a 17-10 victory over Lafayette College and then prevailed in back-to-back overtime games against Furman February 10 at Kenan Stadium by a 15-14 score and against Lehigh February 17 at Kenan by a 12-11 score. The Tar Heels won at Johns Hopkins last Friday by a 13-11 score.
Live stats will be available on game day on on GoHeels.com and the UNC Stat Broadcast link. Please check back Wednesday around 3:45 p.m. to see the live link.
Wednesday's game will be webcast nationally on the ACC Network Extra with live streaming on WatchESPN and ESPNTheApp. Brian Waer and Chris Hooks will be on the call for ACC Network Extra.
The link for the UNC versus Mercer live webcast on WatchESPN and the ESPNapp can be found on GoHeels.com and also on WatchESPN.com.

TAR HEELS CLAIM THRILLING WIN AGAINST LEHIGH: For the second straight Saturday, the 13th-ranked University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team needed overtime to prevail in a barnburner as William Perry's fourth goal of the game with 36 seconds elapsed in extra time gave the Tar Heels a 12-11 win over Lehigh before 826 fans at Kenan Stadium on February 17.
Just seven days previous to that game, it was Perry's fellow sophomore first midfield line mate Justin Anderson who scored just 31 seconds into overtime to lift the Tar Heels past Furman 15-14 at Kenan Stadium.
With the win over the Mountain Hawks, the Tar Heels improved to 3-0 on the season while Lehigh fell to 2-1. Saturday's game marked the second straight Saturday in which the Tar Heels fell behind late in the fourth quarter, earned a tying score with less than 2 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation and then won the game in the first minute of overtime.
William Perry had a career high four goals to lead the Tar Heels while Timmy Kelly matched his career high for goals in a game with three and Andy Matthews equaled his career high for points in a game with five. Matthews had two goals and three assists in the game.
Lehigh had two players combine for seven of its 11 goals as Andrew Pettit had four tallies for the Mountain Hawks and Tristan Rai had three goals.
The Tar Heels ended the game with a 39-35 shot advantage. North Carolina's Charles Kelly did yeoman's work in the face-off circle as he won 15 of 26 face-offs, including four of six wins in the fourth quarter and the face-off to begin overtime. He led the Tar Heels with six ground balls.
Kelly's work at the X was a key factor in the Tar Heels' win as the Mountain Hawks had an edge in most other statistics. Lehigh led in ground balls 30-20 and it committed only seven turnovers compared to 11 for the Tar Heels. Both teams scored two extra-man goals and both squads were almost perfect in the clearing game as Lehigh went 15 for 16 and UNC went 19 for 21. Conor Gaffney had a game-high seven ground balls for the Mountain Hawks while Andrew Pettit had six ground balls to go with four goals and an assist.
Both goalies played the entire 60:36 in the cage with Lehigh's James Spence making 11 saves and UNC's Jack Pezzulla notching eight saves.

GAME OF RUNS ENDS IN OVERTIME WITH TAR HEELS TOPPING PALADINS: The ninth-ranked University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team weathered a furious second half rally by Furman on February 10 to win 15-14 on a Justin Anderson goal just 31 seconds into the sudden victory period at Kenan Stadium before a crowd of 845 rain-soaked fans.
Anderson, a sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., assisted on Chris Cloutier's game-tying goal with 1:16 left in regulation and then he scored the game-winner with 3:29 left in the first overtime period to lift the Tar Heels to 2-0 on the season. Despite trailing by six goals with less than four minutes left in the third quarter, the Paladins (now 0-2) scored eight of the next nine goals of the game and took a 14-13 lead on an extra-man goal by Mike Liscombe with 2:09 to play in the fourth quarter.
Senior attackman Chris Cloutier led the Tar Heels offensively with five goals and an assist while sophomore midfielder Tanner Cook scored five goals, including four in the first half, on just seven shots. The sophomore midfielder's previous career high for goals in a game was three the previous Saturday versus Lafayette. Justin Anderson had the game-winning goal and his three assists were a career high. He had never had more than one assist in a game in his career prior to Saturday. Sophomore midfielder William Perry had two goals and an assist for Carolina while Andy Matthews had a pair of assists and Timmy Kelly had a goal and an assist.
UNC dominated the game statistically but it was never able to put the Paladins away in the second half. The Tar Heels outshot Furman 45-36, won the ground ball battle 43-26 and was in control at the face-off X, winning 21 of 32 draws. But the Tar Heels committed 17 turnovers to just 14 for Furman and the Paladins made 13 saves in goal while a pair of UNC goalkeepers combined for nine.
Both Charles Kelly and Riley Graham were above 50 percent at the face-off X to help lead Carolina to the win. Kelly won 11-of-14 draws and Graham won 10-of-18. The two Tar Heels tied for the game-high ground ball total on the day with six each. Cloutier had five ground balls for Carolina.
The 11 face-off wins by Kelly versus Furman were the most he has had in a game in his career. His previous career high was seven versus Michigan on February 6, 2016.

CLOUTIER NAMED TO USILA TEAM OF THE WEEK: The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association has instituted a 10-man National Team of the Week for the first time in 2018. The initial Tar Heel tapped for the team is senior attackman Chris Cloutier of Kitchener, Ontario. Cloutier was named to the team on February 12 after scoring five goals and adding an assist in the Tar Heels' 15-14 overtime victory over Furman.
Cloutier forced overtime with a goal with 1:16 to play in regulation and sophomore Justin Anderson won the game for the Tar Heels 31 seconds into overtime.

TAR HEELS IN OVERTIME UNDER BRESCHI: Carolina's 12-11 win over Lehigh on February 17 marked the 13th time the Tar Heels have played overtime in Coach Joe Breschi's 10 seasons as head coach. UNC is 7-6 in those 13 overtime contests and has won four of the last five games that have gone to extra time dating to a 17-16 win at Duke on April 1, 2016.

CAROLINA OPENS WITH WIN OVER LEOPARDS: Ten different Tar Heel players scored goals on February 3 as the ninth-ranked University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team defeated Lafayette 17-10 in both team's season openers at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels' balanced scoring effort was led by hat tricks by attackman Timmy Kelly and midfielder Tanner Cook as the Tar Heels won their season opener for the 20th year in a row in front of a crowd of 1,112 fans.
Lafayette outshot the Tar Heels 46-38 in the game and the Leopards won the battle at the face-off X by a margin of 19-12. But Carolina shot the ball with more accuracy, tallying 17 goals on 27 shots on goal. While Carolina committed 16 turnovers, the Leopards had 24 turnovers and that negated much of the Leopards' edge in face-offs. UNC had 33 ground balls to 29 for Lafayette. Seventeen different Tar Heels recorded ground balls for UNC led by Riley Graham with five and Ryan Macri with four.
Jonathan Anastos played the whole game in goal for the Leopards and made 10 saves while allowing 17 goals. UNC played two goalkeepers. Freshman goalie Luke Millican played the first 50:48 and made eight saves while allowing seven goals. Jack Pezzulla played the final 9:12 in the cage and had three saves and three goals allowed.
Carolina was led in scoring by Timmy Kelly and Chris Cloutier with four points each as Kelly had three goals and an assist and Cloutier rung up two goals and two helpers. Tanner Cook added a hat trick for Carolina and William Perry and Brian Cannon each scored twice. Freshman Colin Munro had a goal and an assist for the Tar Heels in his Tar Heel debut while Andy Matthews added a pair of assists for UNC.
With two goals in the game, Chris Cloutier scored a goal in his 21st straight game, matching Jimmy Bitter for the seventh longest goal scoring streak in Tar Heel history. Andy Matthews had two assists for the Tar Heels and he has now posted helpers in 10 straight games, matching John Webster for the ninth longest streak in UNC history.

NEW VENUE FOR 2018: At the conclusion of the 2017 lacrosse season, historic Fetzer Field was razed. Construction on a new Fetzer Field, which will house the men's and women's soccer and lacrosse programs at Carolina, began in May 2017. The new Fetzer Field will reopen in August 2018 in time for the Tar Heels' men's and women's soccer seasons. UNC men's and women's lacrosse will return to the new Fetzer Field in the spring of 2019.
In the interim, North Carolina will play all eight of its home games in 2018 in Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels' historic football stadium which opened 91 years ago in 1927. All home games will be free of charge in 2018.
Fans are encouraged to sit on the South Side of the stadium and enter through gate 5 on the West end of Kenan Stadium as stadium improvements are being made on the North Side of the stadium. Parking for weekend games will be free in the Bell Tower Parking Deck. Parking will also be available in the Rams Head Parking Lot for a fee on game days and for weekday games. The Rams Head Deck is on the East side of the stadium.
Concessions on game days will only be available on the South Side of the stadium. Seating on the North Side of Kenan Stadium is not available this spring as new seats are being installed.
The original Fetzer Field was built in 1935 and had served as the home of the Tar Heel men's lacrosse program since 1949, its first varsity campaign. The original Fetzer Field was built as a Works Progress Administration program during the Great Depression.

TAR HEELS IN THE POLLS: North Carolina entered the 2018 season coming off an 8-8 campaign in 2017 in which it won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship and earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the 11th straight season.
Carolina began the 2018 campaign ranked ninth in the Inside Lacrosse Maverik preseason media poll. Coach Joe Breschi's Tar Heels were also ranked ninth in the preseason United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association preseason coaches' poll.
The first regular season polls were released on February 12. After starting the season 4-0, Carolina is currently ranked #10 in the USILA coaches poll and #10 in the Inside Lacrosse Maverik media poll. Both of those rankings are just one spot off of Carolina's preaseason rankings of ninth in both polls.

TWO TAR HEELS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC: A pair of Tar Heel veterans were named to the preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team selected by the league's five head coaches and released by the conference office on Tuesday, January 30.
Senior attackman Chris Cloutier and junior close defenseman Jack Rowlett were named to the preseason All-ACC Team. Both are entering their third years as starters for the Tar Heels. Cloutier was the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 ACC Tournament when the Tar Heels won their 13th league title in history.

CAROLINA PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN ACC: The North Carolina men's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2018. The preseason poll voted on by the league's five head coaches was released on Tuesday, January 30. The Tar Heels are the defending Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champions after having finished fourth in last year's ACC regular season standings.
Duke and Notre Dame are tied atop the 2018 preseason poll with 17 points each in the rating. The Tar Heels are picked third with 12 poll points. Syracuse is fourth with nine poll points and Virginia is fifth with six poll points.

CAROLINA SQUAD CHOOSES FIVE CAPTAINS FOR 2018 TEAM: The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse program, under the leadership of Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi, elected five players to serve as team captains for the 2018 season.
The 2018 Tar Heel team captains include:
• Senior attackman Chris Cloutier of Kitchener, Ontario
• Senior defenseman Joe Kenna of Chantilly, Va.
• Senior defenseman Ryan Macri of Hamilton, Mass.
• Senior defenseman Kyle Mathie of Smithtown, N.Y.
• Senior midfielder William McBride of Baltimore, Md.
McBride is the second member of his family to serve as a Tar Heel captain. His brother Greg McBride served as a team captain in 2014.
Macri served as a team captain on the Tar Heels' ACC championship team in 2017. He is one of just eight individuals to serve as a team captain in multiple years for the Tar Heel program, joining the following players who were all two-time team captains in their own right.
• Ryan Macri, 2017-18
• Austin Pifani, 2016-17
• Mark Rizzo, 2016-17
• Marcus Holman, 2012-13
• Mike Munnelly, 2007-08
• Austin Garrison, 2002-03
• Joey Seivold, 1986-87
• Lew Floyd, 1953-54

CONGRATULATIONS MARCUS: The U.S. men's lacrosse national team named its 23-player travel roster that will represent the United States in the Federation of International Lacrosse Men's World Championship July 12-21 in Netanya, Israel.
The U.S. team will again include 2013 University of North Carolina alumnus Marcus Holman, who also played on the National Team when the World Championships were held in Denver, Colo., in 2014. The U.S. Team won a silver medal in that event.

28 TAR HEELS NAMED TO ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL IN 2016-17: A record 385 University of North Carolina student-athletes were named to the 2016-17 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll, announced on July 13, 2017 by the league. It was the second year in a row and the fourth time in the past five years that UNC had established a new high and the fifth year in a row that more than 300 Tar Heel student-athletes have been honored.
Coach Joe Breschi's North Carolina men's lacrosse team was responsible for 28 of the 385 Tar Heels on the Honor Roll during the last school year. Fifty-six percent of the team's 50 members were tapped for the Honor Roll. The ACC champion 2017 Tar Heels placed four more members on the team than the outstanding number of 24 tapped from 2016's NCAA championship squad for the 2015-16 Honor Roll.
Overall, the 2016-17 school year honorees included freshman Justin Anderson, senior Brian Balkam, sophomore Alex Bassil, junior Bug Carper, freshman Tanner Cook, junior Matt Cunningham, junior Mike D'Alessandro, senior Luke Goldstock, junior Riley Graham, sophomore Jack Halpert, sophomore Cole Haverty, senior Stephen Kelly, sophomore Timmy Kelly, senior Peyton Klawinski, senior Jack Lambert, freshman Patrick Lyons, freshman Cam Macri, junior Ryan Macri, junior Kyle Mathie, sophomore Andy Matthews, junior Patrick McCormick, sophomore Michael Nathan, senior Austin Pifani, sophomore Jordan Prysko, senior Mark Rizzo, freshman Tyler Seminetta, sophomore Kevin Walker and senior Luke Walsh.

TAR HEELS ON TV IN 2018: Carolina will have four of its 14 regular season games televised on ESPNU in 2018. In addition to that, seven more games will be televised on ACC Network Extra with live streaming on WatchESPN and the ESPNApp. Games at Hofstra and Richmond will be on other networks. The only non-televised game will be against Maryland in California on March 24.
The 2018 ESPNU schedule is as follows:
• Friday, February 23, 5 p.m., North Carolina at Johns Hopkins
• Friday, March 30, 5 p.m., North Carolina at Duke
• Saturday, April 14, 4 p.m., North Carolina at Syracuse
• Saturday, April 21, 12 p.m., Notre Dame at North Carolina
The 2018 ACC Network Extra schedule is as follows:
• Saturday, February 3, 12 p.m., Lafayette at North Carolina
• Saturday, February 10, 12 p.m., Furman at North Carolina
• Saturday, February 17, 12 p.m., Lehigh at North Carolina
• Wednesday, February 28, 4 p.m., Mercer at North Carolina
• Saturday, March 3, 10:30 a.m., St. John's at North Carolina
• Monday, March 5, 4 p.m., Denver at North Carolina
• Saturday, April 7, 6 p.m., Virginia at North Carolina
The UNC-Hofstra game will be televised on LSN and Pride Productions. The UNC-Richmond game will be televised on NBCSW+.

CAROLINA VERSUS MERCER THE SERIES: North Carolina and Mercer will be playing for the second time in history on Wednesday. The first meeting came on February 12, 2012 and resulted in a 20-7 Tar Heel victory at Kilpatrick Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
North Carolina got goals from 12 different players and assists from nine players and played its entire roster as the sixth-ranked Tar Heels defeated the Mercer Bears 20-7 at the Lovett School in Atlanta that Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heel men's lacrosse team improved to 2-0 on the young season while the Bears fell to 0-2 with the loss.
UNC freshmen scored 12 goals and had seven assists in the match. The 12 goals were a school record total for first-year players in a game in Tar Heel history.
After an early 1-1 tie, the Tar Heels broke open the game with eight straight goals over a span of less than 13 minutes to make the score 9-1 with 13:41 left in the second quarter. Mercer closed the half strong, scoring three of the last five goals of the second period. A tally by Keoni Rausch 37 seconds into the third quarter pulled the Bears within six goals at 11-5 but UNC ran off eight successive goals to end the period and gain its biggest lead of the game at 19-5.
Freshmen Joey Sankey and Chad Tutton each scored three goals to lead the way for the Tar Heels while freshmen Jimmy Bitter and Walker Chafee and juniors Davey Emala and Stephen Burns had two goals each. Pat Foster, Drew Hays, T.J. Kemp, Will Campbell, R.G. Keenan and Derek Henson all had single goals for UNC. Sankey, Tutton, Chafee, Hays, Kemp and Henson all had their first goals in UNC uniforms.
Sankey finished with six points overall as he added three assists while Bitter finished with four points overall as he recorded two helpers. Burns, Chafee, Jimmy Dunster, Foster, Frankie Kelly, Kemp and Tutton also added assists. The assist was the first career point for Kelly.
UNC outshot the Bears 56-26 and won the ground ball battle 55-29. Sankey led the Tar Heels with nine ground balls while R.G. Keenan had six. Justin Evans led the Bears with six ground balls.
Carolina finished with a 20-11 edge at the face-off circle. Sophomore R.G. Keenan won 13 of 16 face-off for UNC while Frankie Kelly won seven of his 14 attempts. Justin Evans finished 11 of 28 from the face-off circle for the Bears.
UNC played three different goalkeepers. Steven Rastivo played the first half and made four saves, Matt Holman manned the net in the third quarter and made two saves and Andrew O'Connell played the fourth quarter, making five saves. Dillon Volk played the first 36:23 for Mercer and made 12 saves while allowing 17 goals. Justin Bateman made four saves and allowed three goals in his 23:37 of work.
The 20 goals scored by UNC were the most in a game for the Tar Heels since it defeated Denver 20-7 on February 14, 2009.
After UNC took an initial 1-0 lead, Zach Ward tied the game for Mercer with 10:59 left in the first quarter. R.G. Keenan won the ensuing face-off and scored four seconds later to give the Tar Heels the lead for good in the game. Carolina scored five more times in the first quarter, all in a span of 3:07, to lead 7-1 after one quarter. Five different players -- Will Campbell, Joey Sankey, Drew Hays, T.J. Kemp and Chad Tutton -- scored during the run.
UNC's other big scoring run came in the third quarter after Rausch's goal for Mercer cut the Tar Heels' lead to 11-5 with 14:23 left in the third quarter. Jimmy Bitter scored seven seconds later off an assist by Joey Sankey. That sparked a run of eight goals by UNC in just 7:21. Sankey finished off the run with an unassisted goal with 6:55 to play in the third quarter, boosting the lead to 19-5.

EARLIEST GAME IN CAROLINA HISTORY: When North Carolina played Lafayette in Kenan Stadium on February 3, 2018, it marked the earliest date on which the Tar Heels have ever played a game in their history dating back to 1949. The previous earliest game ever played was on February 4, 2017 when UNC defeated UMBC 17-6 in Raleigh, N.C. at Cardinal Gibbons High School.

CLOUTIER'S GOAL SCORING & POINTS STREAKS: Junior attackman Chris Cloutier heads into the Mercer game with a 24-game goal scoring streak. That matches the fifth longest goal scoring streak in Tar Heel history. The only players with longest scoring streaks are Marcus Holman with 29, Mac Ford with 27, Harper Peterson with 25 and Luke Goldstock with 25. Merrill Turnbull also scored goals in 24 successive games.
During Cloutier's 24-game scoring streak (four games in 2016, 16 games in 2017, 4 games in 2018), he has scored 66 goals, an average of 2.75 goals per game. Cloutier currently has the second longest active goal scoring streak in NCAA Division I lacrosse. The only player with a longer streak is Duke's Justin Guterding who has scored goals in 32 straight games dating back to March 26, 2016. Cloutier's current goal-scoring binge began on May 14, 2016 against Marquette in the first round of that year's NCAA Tournament.
Cloutier also has at least one point in 24 successive games. That matches the 16th longest point production streak in Tar Heel lore. During those 24 games, Cloutier has been responsible for 87 points on 66 goals and 21 assists. Cloutier's 24-game point streak is tied for the 14th longest streak amongst current streaks in NCAA Division I.

Andy Matthews ASSIST STREAK: Junior attackman Andy Matthews has recorded at least one assist in 13 successive games heading into the Mercer game on Wednesday. Matthews began his assist streak against Dartmouth on March 18, 2017. His 13-game assist streak is the seventh longest streak in UNC lacrosse history. Players with assist streaks longer than Matthews include Bruce Ledwith at 22 games, Michael Burnett at 21 games, Dennis Goldstein at 18 games, Joey Sankey at 17 games, Brendan Carey at 16 games and Marcus Holman at 14 games.

Chris Cloutier ON CAREER CHARTS: Junior attackman Chris Cloutier (Kitchener, Ontario) has scored 91 career goals at Carolina heading into the Mercer game. Cloutier is currently tied for 20th place in UNC goal scoring history and he would need to score 37 goals the remainder of this season to tie Bert Fett (1972-75) for the Tar Heel career record of 128 goals.
Cloutier is currently tied with Ryan Wade (1991-94) in career goal scoring with his 91 goals. He needs three goals to tie Bart Wagner (2006-09) and Gavin Petracca (2007-10) for 18th place in Tar Heel career goal scoring history.
The senior attackman is currently in 28th place in points in Carolina history with 123. He has 91 goals and 32 assists in his career.

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUP: North Carolina's tentative starting lineup against Mercer could look something like the following:
Attack – #15 Timmy Kelly (Jr.), #45 Chris Cloutier (Sr.), #12 Andy Matthews (Jr.)
Attack Reserves — #1 Alex Trippi (Fr.), #55 Matt Cunningham (Sr.)
1st Midfield — #77 Tanner Cook (So.), #21 Justin Anderson (So.), #3 William Perry (So.)
2nd Midfield — #11 Brian Cannon (So.), #16 Sean Morris (Fr.), #41 Colin Munro (Fr.)
3rd Midfield — #18 Ryan O'Connor (So.), #17 Ryan O'Connell (Fr.), #31 Steven Schneider (Fr.)
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders — #11 William McBride (Sr.), #40 Cole Haverty (Jr.), #23 Parker Alexander (Fr.), #28 Cam Macri (So.), #19 Timmy Gehlbach (Sr.), , #49 Matt McLaughlin (Fr.)
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders — #4 Jack Halpert (Jr.), #43 Michael Nathan (Jr.), #0 Jake Peden (Jr.)
Face-Offs — #25 Riley Graham (Sr.), #26 Charles Kelly (Jr.)
Close Defense Starters — #22 Jack Rowlett (Jr.), #20 Ryan Macri (Sr.), #88 Kyle Mathie (Sr.)
Close Defense Reserves – #0 Jake Peden (Sr.), #29 Patrick Lyons (So.), #50 Kevin Walker (Jr.), #43 Michael Nathan (Jr.)
Goalkeeper — #42 Jack Pezzulla (So.); Backup Goalkeeper — #34 Luke Millican (Fr.)

TAR HEELS AT KENAN STADIUM: Because of field improvements last spring at Kenan Stadium, 2017 marked the first year since 2015 that the Tar Heels did not play a game at Kenan Stadium, the home of the football Tar Heels.
UNC is back in Kenan Stadium on a full-time basis in 2018 for eight home games as the new Fetzer Field in being completed on campus.
North Carolina had a 6-0 mark in games played at Kenan Stadium from 2012-16 after beating Notre Dame 17-15 there on April 23, 2016.
UNC's last loss in the Tar Heel football stadium came on April 26, 2009 when Duke defeated Carolina 15-13 in the ACC Tournament championship game.
The Tar Heels have defeated Virginia twice (2013 ACC Tournament championship game & 2016 regular season game) and Duke (2013 ACC Tournament semifinals), Johns Hopkins (2013 regular season), Maryland (2014 regular season), Notre Dame (2016 regular season), Lafayette (2018 regular season), Furman (2018 regular season) and Lehigh (2018 regular season) once each in its past nine games at Kenan Stadium played since 2013.
Since his arrival as UNC head coach for the 2009 season, Coach Joe Breschi's teams are 10-2 in games played in Kenan Stadium. UNC hosted the ACC Tournament in Kenan Stadium in both 2009 and 2013 during Breschi's tenure. UNC has won 10 of its past 11 games played at Kenan Stadium dating to the 2009 ACC Tournament semifinals against Maryland.

UNC HEAD COACH JOE BRESCHI: Joe Breschi, UNC Class of 1990, leads the Tar Heels in his 10th season at Carolina. Breschi is 106-48 in his 10 years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 68.8 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 198-111 overall in 21 seasons as a collegiate head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC combined is 64.1 percent.
On April 9, 2017, UNC head coach Joe Breschi won his 100th game at Carolina. His 100th win as the Tar Heel head mentor came in Carolina's 15-12 victory against Virginia at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
His 190th overall coaching victory came in a 13-9 victory over #1-ranked Denver on March 4, 2017 in Denver, Colo. Breschi needs two more victories to achieve the 200-win mark in his collegiate coaching career.
Breschi Coaching Facts:
• 106-48 in 10 seasons at UNC (68.8)
• 198-111 in 21 seasons overall (64.1)
• 23-19 in one-goal games at UNC
• 7-6 in overtime games at UNC
• 57-42 versus ranked teams at UNC; 49-6 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 83-21 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 63-16 in home games at UNC

UNC VERSUS?RANKED?OPPONENTS UNDER?COACH?BRESCHI: North?Carolina has played nationally-ranked (based on USILA coaches poll) opponents 99 times in Joe Breschi's 10-year coaching tenure. UNC?is 57-42 in those games, a winning percentage of 57.6 percent.
Conversely, and as would be expected, the Tar Heels are 49-6 against unranked opponents in Breschi's 10 seasons for an outstanding winning percentage of 89.1 percent. Breschi is 106-48 overall at Carolina in his 10 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, at Pennsylvania in 2012, at home to Hofstra in 2016, at Massachusetts in 2016 and at home against Hofstra in 2017.

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 13 seasons, dating back to the 2006 season. The Tar Heels have won 104 of their last 129 games against non-conference teams dating back to April 15, 2006 when the Tar Heels beat Fairfield 18-9 at Kenan Stadium.
In Joe Breschi's 10 seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are a brilliant 83-21 against non-conference teams, a winning percentage of 79.8. The only non-conference 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, to Maryland twice in 2015, to Hofstra, Denver, Massachusetts and Maryland in 2016 and to Johns Hopkins, Hofstra, Richmond, Maryland and Albany in 2017.

NEAR DOMINANCE AT HOME UNDER BRESCHI: UNC?is 63-16 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's 10 years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 79.7 percent. UNC's only home losses during Breschi's 10-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, a regular-season loss to Notre Dame in 2014, regular-season losses to Hofstra and Denver in 2016 and regular-season losses to Johns Hopkins, Hofstra, Richmond, Maryland, Duke and Syracuse in 2017.
The Tar Heels had won 17 successive home games under Breschi's tutelage from 2014-16 before being upset at home by Hofstra on February 20, 2016. That 17-game home winning streak had begun against Bucknell with a 20-4 win on March 11, 2014.

CAROLINA IN HOME GAMES: North?Carolina has an all-time record of 288-128-2 in home games. That included a perfect 11-0 record in 2015. In Joe Breschi's 10-year tenure as head coach, he has twice led Carolina to unbeaten records at home – 7-0 in 2010 and 11-0 in 2015. Since 1949, UNC has had eight undefeated home seasons, two under the tutelage of Breschi. UNC?has a 69.1 percent winning percentage all-time in history in home games.

THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 490-296-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .623.

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 23-19 in games decided by one goal over the past 10 years with Breschi at the helm, a winning percentage of 54.8 percent.

CAROLINA'S DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING GAMES: In Coach Joe Breschi's 10 years as head lacrosse coach at UNC, Carolina's success has in large part been tied to hitting the 10-goal plateau in a game. In fact, UNC's 15-12 loss to Albany on May 13, 2017, marked only the 17th 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 115 of 154 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. Carolina is 98-17 in those 115 games, a winning clip of .852. As would be expected, in the 39 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 39 games?is just 8-31, a winning percentage of .210.
Carolina's last win in which it was held to single digits came against Furman in a 7-3 decision on February 11, 2017. That marked the first game the Tar Heels had won in which both teams scored in single digits since a 9-8 win over Princeton on March 10, 2012.
The 10 goals in the UNC-Furman game on February 11, 2017 were the fewest combined goals in a Tar Heel game since Februrary 13, 2010 when UNC beat Bryant 5-4 in Chapel Hill at Navy Field.
In 2017, UNC was 6-3 when scoring in double digits and 1-5 when being held in single digits. The Tar Heels are 4-0 in games in which they have scored in double digits in 2018.

UNC CLAIMS ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: The Tar Heels beat Lafayette 17-10 in their 2018 season opener on February 3. UNC has won every season opener since the 1999 season, running its streak to 20 seasons in a row with the win over the Leopards. 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 VERSUS NUMBER ONE: During the 2017 season, North Carolina played against the team ranked #1 in the nation in the USILA coaches poll a total of three times.
North Carolina played against the #1-ranked team in the USILA coaches poll that third time when it defeated Syracuse 16-15 on Friday, April 28 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. That was also the 12th time UNC had played the nation's #1-ranked team since midway through the 2012 season.
With a 13-9 victory over top-ranked Denver on March 4, 2017, the University of North Carolina recorded a victory against a team ranked #1 in the USILA coaches' poll for the sixth straight year. UNC would go on to play Syracuse twice in the 2017 when the Orange was ranked #1, losing an overtime game in the regular season before winning against the Orange in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Since beating Johns Hopkins 13-9 on April 1, 2012 at the Meadowlands, UNC is now 8-4 against the nation's top-ranked teams in its last 12 games against teams ranked at the top of the USILA coaches rankings.
Altogether, UNC played #1 teams thrice each in both the 2016 and 2017 campaign.
According to research by UNC Athletic Communications, UNC is now 14-21 all-time against teams ranked #1 in the USILA coaches poll after the April 28, 2017 victory against Syracuse. Carolina's first meeting against a #1 USILA ranked team came in 1974.
Carolina has had wins against #1 teams in each of the six years from 2012-17. 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, against Denver 12-10 on February 27, 2015, against Notre Dame 17-15 on April 23, 2016, against Maryland 14-13 in overtime on May 30, 2016, against Denver 13-9 on March 4, 2017 and against Syracuse 16-15 on April 28, 2017.
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 VERSUS #1 TEAMS ALL-TIME IN USILA POLL (14-21)
March 13, 1974 - Maryland 16, UNC 8 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 24, 1980 – Virginia 11, UNC 10, two overtimes (at Charlottesville, Va.)
May 30, 1981 – UNC 14, Johns Hopkins 13 (at Princeton, N.J.)
May 21, 1983 – Johns Hopkins 12, UNC 9 (at Baltimore, Md.)
April 6, 1985 – UNC 11, Johns Hopkins 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 19, 1985 – Syracuse 14, UNC 13, overtime (at Syracuse, N.Y.)
May 24, 1986 – UNC 10, Johns Hopkins 9, overtime (at Newark, Del.)
April 8, 1989 – Johns Hopkins 16, UNC 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 26, 1990 – Syracuse 21, UNC 10 (at Piscataway, N.J.)
March 9, 1991 – UNC 10, Syracuse 3 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 6, 1993 – UNC 14, Syracuse 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 3, 1994 – Syracuse 17, UNC 10 (at Syracuse, N.Y.)
April 6, 1996 – UNC 19, Virginia 18 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 12, 1997 – Princeton 10, UNC 9 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 8, 1999 – Loyola 10, UNC 7 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 19, 2002 – Virginia 10, UNC 3 (at Durham, N.C.)
March 29, 2003 – Johns Hopkins 11, UNC 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 22, 2004 – Johns Hopkins 15, UNC 9 (at Charlottesville, Va.)
April 2, 2005 – Johns Hopkins 7, UNC 5 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 8, 2006 – Virginia 21, UNC 13 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 15, 2008 – Duke 19, UNC 9 (at Durham, N.C.)
April 6 2009 – Virginia 11, UNC 10 (at East Rutherford, N.J.)
April 10, 2010 – Virginia 7, UNC 5 (at East Rutherford, N.J.)
April 1, 2012 – UNC 13, Johns Hopkins 9 (at East Rutherford, N.J.)
April 7, 2012 – Virginia 15, UNC 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 23, 2013 – UNC 10, Maryland 8 (at College Park, Md.)
March 22, 2014 – UNC 11, Maryland 8 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
February 27, 2015 – UNC 12, Denver 10 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 18, 2015 – Notre Dame 15, UNC 14 (at Notre Dame, Ind.)
March 5, 2016 – Denver 13, UNC 12, Overtime (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 23, 2016 – UNC 17, Notre Dame 15 (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
May 30, 2016 - UNC 14, Maryland 13 - overtime, (at Philadelphia, Pa.)
March 4, 2017 – UNC 13, Denver 9 (at Denver, Colo.)
April 15, 2017 – Syracuse 12, UNC 11 – overtime (at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 28, 2017 – UNC 16, Syracuse 15 (at Durham, N.C.-ACC Tournament Semifinal)

THE FINAL GAME AT THE OLD FETZER: Fetzer Field had served as the primary home of the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse program since the varsity program's founding in 1949. Despite exhaustive efforts at research, an exact record for games played at Fetzer is not fully known or researchable due to gaps in athletic communications records from the 1940s to 1970s. The all-time home record for UNC lacrosse since 1949 was 285-128-2 at the end of the 2017 season and now stands at 288-128-2 overall. That includes games played at Fetzer Field, Kenan Stadium, Navy Field, Henry Stadium and Finley Field.
Fetzer Field was built as a track and field facility in 1935 as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project during the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration in the Great Depression.
Over the decades, several more sports began to compete at Fetzer Field - men's soccer in 1947, men's lacrosse in 1949, women's soccer in 1979 and women's lacrosse in 1996.
Fetzer Field was torn down in May 2017. A new soccer/lacrosse specific stadium is b being built on the same spot with opening planned for August 2018 in time for the 2018 men's and women's soccer campaigns. A new track and field facility is being built on Old Mason Farm Road in Chapel Hill near the Ronald McDonald House and a new field hockey stadium is being built on Ehringhaus Field. An indoor practice facility for football and outdoor football practice fields are also a part of the overall athletics construction project and those are located on the previous site of Navy Field and Henry Stadium.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASON UNDER COACH BRESCHI: Despite playing against one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2016, the Tar Heels reached a double digit win total for the eighth successive year under the tutelage of head coach Joe Breschi, who was hired in June 2008. The win over Notre Dame on May 22, 2016 gave UNC eight successive seasons with 10 or more wins.
Breschi was the first head coach in UNC history to post double digit win totals in each of his first eight 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 as the Tar Heel head coach. 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, 13-4 in 2015 and 12-6 in 2016.
The 2009-16 streak marks the first time that UNC has won 10 or more games in a season in eight straight years in Tar Heel history. UNC won 10 or more games in six straight seasons from 1989-94, the first two seasons under head coach Willie Scroggs and the last four under head coach Dave Klarmann.
After going 8-8 in 2017, the Tar Heels are off to a 4-0 start in 2018. Six more wins this season would give the Tar Heels 10 or more wins in a season for the ninth time in head coach Joe Breschi's 10-year coaching tenure.