Tar Heels Open New Lacrosse Stadium Saturday Versus Denver

Saturday, March 2

Chapel Hill, N.C.

10 a.m.

North Carolina

Denver

Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium rendering graphic

February 28, 2019 | Men's Lacrosse

Watch on ACC Network Extra Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)Media Guide (PDF)

UNC hosts Pioneers at 10 a.m.

By: Dave Lohse

Tar Heels Open New Lacrosse Stadium Saturday Versus Denver

2019 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S LACROSSE GAME NOTES
Game 5: North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1, ACC 0-0, ranked 15th in USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll, ranked 20th in Inside Lacrosse Media Poll) vs. Denver Pioneers (3-1, BigEast 0-0, ranked 8th in USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll, ranked 8th in Inside Lacrosse Media Poll)
Saturday, March 2, 2019
10 a.m. EST
UNC Lacrosse Stadium
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.
KEY LINKS FOR SATURDAY'S GAME
UNC Media Guide: 2019 Media Guide
Player Roster & Coaches' Bios: GoHeels.com Roster Page
2019 Statistics: Individual Stats
UNC Lacrosse Social Media Links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Live Stats: GoHeels.com
TV: ACC Network Extra

TAR HEELS OPEN NEW LACROSSE STADIUM SATURDAY AGAINST DENVER:
The University of North Carolina will open its new lacrosse stadium on Saturday, March 2, 2019 when the Tar Heels host the Denver Pioneers in Chapel Hill at 10 a.m. The game will be played at the new UNC Lacrosse Stadium located on the same site as the old Fetzer Field which served as the Tar Heel lacrosse program's primary home from 1949 to 2017.
Admission to Saturday's game is free. Parking will be available in the Bell Tower Parking Deck, School of Government Parking Deck and Rams Head Parking Deck, all within easy walking distance of the new stadium.
The game against Denver will be the fouth of six straight home games for the 2019 Tar Heels. UNC opened its 2019 season February 2 with a 20-9 victory over the Mercer University Bears in a game played at Centennial High School in Roswell, Ga. The Tar Heels played their 2019 home opener by defeating Furman 14-10 February 9 in Kenan Stadium and then defeated the Harvard Crimson 16-11 on February 16 at home in Chapel Hill. UNC lost its first game of the season last Saturday when a last-minute rally fell short against Johns Hopkins 11-10 at Kenan Stadium.
Denver comes to Chapel Hill with a 3-1 record. The Pioneers are ranked eighth in both the coaches and media polls. The Pioneers have wins over Air Force, Utah and Cleveland State. Their only loss so far came at Duke 10-9 on February 16.
The game will be fourth of six successive home games for the Tar Heels to be played in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will follow the matchup against the Pioneers by hosting Marist March 8 and Bucknell March 12.
Altogether UNC will play eight regular season home games in Chapel Hill this year. UNC will also host ACC regular season matchups against Duke March 30 and against Syracuse April 13.
Saturday's game at UNC Lacrosse Stadium will be nationally televised on ACC Network Extra with Chris Hooks on the play by play and Kyle Straub as the analyst.
Limited live Twitter updates during the game will be available via @uncmenslacrosse. Live stats will be available on GoHeels.com.
The new stadium on the UNC campus has not been formally named yet and an opening ceremony will be held at a date to be determined later. In the meantime, the facility will be known as the UNC Lacrosse Stadium in the spring and the UNC Soccer Stadium in the fall. It will be the long term home of the men's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's lacrosse and women's soccer programs at the University of North Carolina.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE TAR HEELS:   Johns Hopkins outscored North Carolina 4-1 in the final eight minutes of the third quarter and then held on in the final minute of play to defeat the Tar Heels 11-10 Saturday afternoon, February 23 in men's lacrosse action at muddy Kenan Stadium.
The playing conditions were precarious at best for both teams as several days of rain left puddles all over the turf and churned up mud virtually every place else. The conditions led to a sloppy but evenly played game as Johns Hopkins improved to 1-2 while UNC lost for the first time and is now 3-1.
Ara Atayan led the Tar Heels offensively with his first career hat trick while Justin Anderson, Nicky Solomon, Jacob Kelly, William Perry, Timmy Kelly, Tanner Cook and Jack Rowlett had single goals. Anderson, Jacob Kelly, Solomon and Alex Trippi had assists for UNC. Joey Epstein had two goals and two assists for the Blue Jays while Kyle Marr had two goals and an assist. Seven other Blue Jay players each had one goal and Cole Williams had two assists.
Hopkins jumped out to a 3-0 lead 7:21 into the match. Epstein scored the second goal for Hopkins and assisted on the third. UNC then ran off five straight goals. Nicky Solomon scored off an assist by Jacob Kelly with 6:06 left in the first quarter to cut UNC's lead to 3-1 after the first 15 minutes. Hopkins outshot the Tar Heels 16-3 in the opening period of the game but put only five shots on goal.
In the second quarter UNC outshot the Blue Jays 15-4, including eight of 15 shots on target. William Perry scored off an assist from Justin Anderson with 10:53 left in the half. UNC then scored three successive unassisted goals to take a 5-3 lead. Atayan, Anderson and Atayan again scored in a span of 2:34 before Hopkins finished the half with a goal to cut UNC's lead to 5-4 at intermission.

The Tar Heels took a 6-4 lead with 10:30 left in the third quarter as Jacob Kelly scored off an assist by Nicky Solomon. But momentum swung to the Blue Jays with eight minutes left in the third quarter and Hopkins outscored the Tar Heels 7-2 over a 17-minute span to take its biggest lead of the game at 11-8 with 6:31 to play. UNC rallied with goals by Jack Rowlett and Timmy Kelly with 33 and 14 seconds remaining in the game but Johns Hopkins won the ensuing face-off and celebrated its second successive win in Chapel Hill in the series which the Blue Jays now lead 26-22.
Hopkins outshot the Tar Heels 36-35 while each team won 12 face-offs in the match. UNC held a slight edge in ground balls at 34-30 led by seven ground balls by both Jack Pezzulla and Jack Halpert. UNC committed 18 turnovers to 16 by the Blue Jays. Ryan Darby made seven saves for Johns Hopkins while Jack Pezzulla had six saves for Carolina.
UNC will be back in action next Saturday when it hosts Denver at UNC Lacrosse Stadium at 10 a.m. The game will be nationally televised on ACC Network Extra.

HEELS PULL AWAY FROM HARVARD LATE:   Ten different players scored goals and seven Tar Heels had assists as the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team employed a balanced scoring attack to defeat Harvard 16-11 Saturday afternoon, February 16 on a rainy and chilly day at Kenan Stadium.
Justin Anderson and Tanner Cook each had hat tricks for Carolina and William Perry added two goals. Henry Schertzinger scored twice for Carolina, Jake Peden had a highlight reel goal for the ages and Parker Alexander tallied his first career goal to lead a balanced UNC offensive unit. Andy Matthews had another multi-point game, the 26th of his career, with a team high four points on a goal and three assists. Most of the offensive damage for the Crimson was inflicted by two individuals – Ryan Graff, who had a game-high five goals, and Austin Madronic who had a game-high six points on three goals and three assists.
UNC improved to 3-0 on the season with the victory, marking the seventh time in coach Joe Breschi's 11 seasons in Chapel Hill that Carolina has started a season with three straight wins. Harvard played in its season opener against the Tar Heels on Saturday.
Statistically the game favored Carolina in most categories. UNC outshot the Crimson 43-34 and led in ground balls 47-34 and in the face-off circle 17-14. The rainy conditions led to turnover problems for both teams as the Crimson had 24 and Carolina had 18 for the second straight game. Neither goalie was able to hit the 50 percent mark in saves. Jack Pezzulla had eight saves and 11 goals allowed for Carolina and Kyle Mullin had 15 saves and 16 goals allowed for Harvard.
UNC senior defenseman Jack Rowlett had one of the best games of his career with seven ground balls and seven caused turnovers. His previous career high for ground balls was six against Johns Hopkins in his freshman year and against Notre Dame in his sophomore year. His seven caused turnovers were three more than his previous career high of four set against both UMass and Syracuse in 2016.
Several other Tar Heels had career highs for ground balls in a game – senior long-stick midfielder Jack Halpert with seven (previous high six versus Mercer in 2018), freshman midfielder Zachary Tucci with 11 (previous high 10 versus Furman last Saturday), senior defenseman Jake Peden with four (previous high two on five occasions), freshman short-stick midfielder Connor Maher with five (previous high was four versus Mercer on February 2) and junior midfielder Tanner Cook who had the first multi-ground ball game of his career with three. In the face-off circle, UNC freshman Zachary Tucci went 17 for 31 while Steven Cuccurullo went 14 for 31 for the Crimson.
UNC never trailed in the game but it also was unable to pull away from the Crimson until it outscored Harvard 5-1 over the last 7:54 of the game.
Jacob Kelly opened the scoring 57 seconds into the match off an assist from his cousin Timmy Kelly. Harvard equaled with a man-up goal by Austin Madronic at 8:23 of the opening quarter before UNC freshman midfielder Henry Schertzinger scored back-to-back man-up goals for the Tar Heels at 7:48 and 7:01 of the opening period.
Harvard answered with a pair of goals of its own before Tanner Cook gave the Tar Heels the lead for good in the game with an unassisted goal with 1:06 left in the opening quarter.
Just forty-seven seconds into the second quarter, UNC scored in transition as sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder Parker Alexander notched his first career goal, assisted by Jacob Kelly. Brian Cameron scored an unassisted goal at 8:19 of the quarter only to see Harvard's Jack Frisoli retaliate six seconds later to cut Carolina's lead back to 6-4. UNC took advantage of a pair of penalties on the Crimson to score goals back-to-back at 4:44 and 4:39 of the quarter, capitalizing twice in a span of five seconds. Tanner Cook scored off an assist by Andy Matthews for the first of the two goals and just five seconds later freshman Nicky Solomon scored from Zachary Tucci to give the Heels an 8-4 lead. It was the first career point for Tucci as he assisted on his fellow freshman's goal.
Ryan Graff scored the last two goals of the first half for Harvard and the teams went to intermission with the Tar Heels holding a slight 8-6 advantage.
The two squads exchanged goals throughout the third quarter, sending the game to the fourth quarter with the Tar Heels holding an 11-8 lead. There was a flurry of action late in the third quarter. At 1:58, Justin Anderson scored for the Tar Heels. Sixteen seconds later, the Crimson answered that goal as Madronic scored his third goal of the game. It took the Tar Heels just 27 seconds to up their lead back to three goals as Jake Peden scored his second career goal in spectacular fashion off Andy Matthews' second assist of the game. Peden took a pass from Matthews on the crease and wrapped a behind his back shot past the Harvard goalie. Peden's previous career goal came against Mercer last season.
The game was far from over, however, as Ryan Graff tallied his fourth and fifth goals of the match, pulling Harvard within 11-10 with 8:48 left in the match.
Carolina kept its poise, however, and finished off the game in a strong fashion, outscoring the Crimson 5-1 the rest of the way. Tanner Cook went low-to-high off an assist by Ara Atayan at 7:54 to restore a two-goal lead. Then, after a penalty on Harvard, Justin Anderson slashed free in front of the Harvard goal and took a pass from Alex Trippi to score with 6:05 left. William Perry's goal at 3:53 gave Carolina its second four-goal lead of the game before Harvard scored with 2:38 left in the match. The Crimson also drew a flag on the play but UNC pulled away with a man-down goal by Anderson assisted by Matthews with 1:38 to play and an empty-net tally by Perry with 25 seconds to play.

NOTING THE TAR HEELS POST HARVARD
• Jack Rowlett was named to the USILA National Team of the Week after his seven ground ball, seven caused turnover performance against Harvard.
• North Carolina improved to 4-1 all-time against Harvard, including three wins over the Crimson in Chapel Hill over the past six seasons..
• Tanner Cook and Justin Anderson each had their fourth hat tricks of their careers.
• Zachary Tucci has won at least 16 face-offs in each of the three Tar Heel games this year – 16 versus Mercer, 21 versus Furman and 17 versus Harvard.
• Andy Matthews ran his active streak of games with points to nine while Timmy Kelly and William Perry have each recorded points in eight straight games.
• William Perry has the longest active goal-scoring streak of any Tar Heel with tallies in eight successive games.
• Parker Alexander scored his first career goal.
• Justin Anderson matched his career high for goals in a game with three. He also had three against UMBC on February 4, 2017, against Richmond on March 14, 2018 and against Mercer on Februray 2, 2019.
• Tanner Cook had a career high three ground balls.
• Jack Halpert had a career high seven ground balls. His previous career high was six versus Mercer on February 28, 2018.
• Connor Maher had a career high five ground balls. His previous career high was four versus Mercer on Februrary 2, 2019.
• Jake Peden had a career high four ground balls. His previous career high was two on five occasions. Peden scored the second goal of his career. His first came against Mercer on February 28, 2018.
• Jack Rowlett had career highs for ground balls with seven and caused turnovers with seven. His previous career high for ground balls was six against Johns Hopkins on February 28, 2016 and against Notre Dame on April 22, 2017. His previous career high for caused turnovers was four versus Massachusetts on March 12, 2016 and against Syracuse on April 16, 2016.
• Zachary Tucci had a career high 11 ground balls, one more than he had against Furman last Saturday. He also had his first career point.
• Henry Schertzinger had the first multi-goal game of his career with a pair of tallies 47 seconds apart in the first quarter.
• Andy Matthews now has 86 career points and is tied for Jimmy Dunster (2009-12) for 51st in UNC history.
• Jack Rowlett moved into seventh place in caused turnovers in UNC history with seven Saturday. He now has 44 in his career.
• With three assists Andy Matthews now has 62 for his career and is tied with Gary Seivold (1984-87) for 18th place in UNC history.

TAR HEELS WIN HOME OPENER AGAINST PALADINS:   Senior Andy Matthews recorded a career-high five assists and freshman Zachary Tucci won the sixth most face-offs in a game in UNC history as the Tar Heels held off Furman 14-10 in the men's collegiate lacrosse action at Kenan Stadium Saturday afternoon, February 9.
The Tar Heels built a six-goal lead early in the third quarter before the Paladins pulled back within three goals midway through the third period. UNC responded with five straight goals to gain its biggest lead of the game at 14-6 before the Paladins ended the game on a four-goal run.
The game was the home opener for the Tar Heels after they started their season with a 20-9 win at Mercer last Saturday. UNC is now 2-0 on the season and Furman fell to 0-2 with losses to Duke and North Carolina. UNC has won all six games in the series against the Paladins since the two teams first met in 2014.
Alex Trippi led the Tar Heels with three goals, the first hat trick of his career. Tanner Cook, William Perry, Brian Cameron and Ara Atayan each had two goals for the Tar Heels while Timmy Kelly, Nicky Solomon and Jacob Kelly each recorded single tallies. Cameron and Atayan both scored their first career goals for Carolina. Andy Matthews had five assists in the game, setting a new career high. His previous career high was four helpers against Lehigh on February 18, 2017.
Freshman face-off man Zachary Tucci won 21 of 27 face-offs for the Tar Heels. He also led the Tar Heels with 10 ground balls. The 21 face-off wins by Tucci were the sixth most in a game in UNC history. The only individuals in Carolina to ever win more face-offs in a game have been Shane Walterhoefer, Stephen Kelly and Todd Oudemool.
Furman was led in scoring by Jarrett Birch who tallied a game-high four goals. He also added an assist. Chad Kreuzer had a pair of goals for Furman and four other Paladins had single tallies.
Jack Pezzulla matched his career high for saves in a game with 13 against the Paladins while allowing 10 goals. He matched the total of 13 saves he had against Johns Hopkins on February 23, 2018 in the Tar Heels' 13-11 win against the Blue Jays at Homewood Field. Alec Van de Bovenkamp was brilliant in the cage for the Paladins as he made 20 saves while allowing 14 goals.
UNC outshot the Paladins 46-33 while Furman edged out the Tar Heels 35-34 in the ground ball battle. Carolina needed its 21-6 edge in the face-off circle as the Tar Heels committed an uncharacteristically high 18 turnovers in the game while the Paladins had just 12 miscues. Furman was 24 of 27 on clears while North Carolina was 17 of 20 in the clearing game.
UNC scored two extra-man goals, both on the same penalty by the Paladins in the first quarter which was an unreleasable foul. Furman had all three of its extra-man goals in the second half, all aiding the Paladins in making runs that narrowed the Tar Heels' lead on a pair of occasions.
North Carolina opened the scoring with a goal by Alex Trippi at 12:10 of the first quarter. Forty-one seconds later, UNC had a cousin-to-cousin goal as senior Timmy Kelly fed freshman Jacob Kelly to put the Tar Heels up 2-0.
With 2:23 left in the first quarter, Furman's Matt Mahoney was sent off for a minute for cross checking, a penalty that was charged as unreleasable. UNC took advantage to score at 2:06 with Tanner Cook taking a feed from Andy Matthews. Carolina then scored its second man-up goal of the possession as William Perry scored off an assist from Matthews with 1:40 to play in the period. After Furman tallied to cut the lead to 4-2, Timmy Kelly snuck one past Van de Bovenkamp with six second left in the quarter to give UNC a 5-2 lead after the opening period.
Carolina outscored the Paladins 3-1 in the second quarter to increase the lead 8-3 at the half. UNC's goals in the second quarter came from William Perry, Alex Trippi and Nicky Solomon.
When Alex Trippi finished his hat trick at 10:39 of the third quarter, the Tar Heels appeared to be in control as they led 9-3. But Furman ran off three goals in just 1:30, the latter two extra-man goals to pull within three goals at 9-6 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
Carolina answered that run with five straight goals of its own. Tanner Cook scored off Matthews' fourth assist of the game with 1:51 left in the third quarter. Then sophomore midfielder Ara Atayan scored his first career goal on an incredible individual effort with four seconds left in the period.
UNC tallied three goals in the opening 1:49 of the final period to take its biggest lead of the game at 14-6 with 13:11 left in the period. Brian Cameron had back-to-back goals at 14:41 and 13:44, the first two markers of his career. Atayan then scored his second goal of the game with 13:11 to go.
Furman was able to crawl back in after the Tar Heels committed turnovers and penalties to help the Paladins score four times in just 5:31. Jarrett Birch scored twice in that run by Furman. But after an unassisted goal by Carson Sorrells with 3:06 to play, UNC was able to kill the rest of the clock to finish off a 14-10 win.
UNC will be back in action again next Saturday at 12 noon, hosting Harvard at Kenan Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ACC Network Extra.

GAME NOTES FROM TAR HEELS' VICTORY OVER THE PALADINS:
• North Carolina improved to 6-0 all-time against Furman, including 4-0 in games in Chapel Hill.
• Zachary Tucci's 21 face-off wins were the sixth most in a game in UNC history. The only individuals with more wins were 23 by Shane Walterhoefer versus Ohio State on April 12, 2008; 23 by Stephen Kelly versus Virginia on April 9, 2017; 22 by Todd Oudemool versus Towson on May 13, 1989; 22 by Shane Walterhoefer versus UMBC on May 9, 2009; and 22 by Stephen Kelly versus Duke on March 29, 2015.
• Zachary Tucci had a game-high 10 ground balls, one more than the nine scooped up by Furman defenseman Cole Horan.
• Both goalies played well in a game that had a lot of end-to-end action. Jack Pezzulla had a career-high 13 saves and career-high four ground balls. He matched his career high for saves in a game originally set against Johns Hopkins on February 23, 2018. Pezzulla's four ground balls exceeded his previous career high of three set against Mercer on February 28, 2018.
• Andy Matthews had five assists in the game. That broke his previous career high of four set against Lehigh on February 18, 2017.
• Andy Matthews had five points in the game. That equaled his career high of five points versus Dartmouth on March 18, 2017 and against Lehigh on February 17, 2018.
• Ara Atayan and Brian Cameron each played in their second career games and each scored their first career goals. Both players had two tallies and they came over a span of just 1:53. Atayan scored with four seconds left in the third quarter. Cameron scored at 14:41 and 13:44 of the fourth quarter and Atayan finished the scoring on the day for UNC at 13:11.
• Alex Trippi had his first career hat trick. He previously had two goals in a game three times in his freshman year against Denver, Syracuse and Notre Dame.
• Andy Matthews now has 82 points in his career. He is tied with Neill Redfern for 56th place all-time at UNC.
• Timmy Kelly now has 75 career points and is in 61st place all-time at UNC.
• Andy Matthews now has 59 career assists and is tied with Jed Prossner for 22nd place all-time at UNC.

TAR HEELS SWEEP ACC PLAYER OF WEEK AWARDS POST FURMAN GAME:   North Carolina senior attackman Andy Matthews and his teammate, freshman midfielder Zachary Tucci, have earned Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week honors on February 11.
Matthews notched a career high five assists and matched his career high for points in a game with five as No. 14 UNC defeated Furman 14-10 to earn offensive player of the week honors. He also had two ground balls and caused one caused turnover. He broke his previous career high for assists in a game set in 2017 against Lehigh, and matched his career high for points in a game with five, which he had done twice previously. He improved his career totals to 82 points and 59 assists with the 20th multi-assist game of his career.
Freshman Zachary Tucci won 21 of 27 face-offs against the Paladins to capture the league's weekly defensive award. The 21 face-off wins are the sixth most in a single game in UNC history and just two short of the school record of 23. He also had a game-high 10 ground balls in the match.

UNC OPENS SEASON WITH WIN AT MERCER:   The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team scored the first six goals of the game Saturday afternoon February 2 and never looked back as it eased to a 20-9 victory over the Mercer University Bears at Centennial High School Football Stadium in Roswell, Ga. A crowd of 1,022 fans watched the season opener for both teams.
Coach Joe Breschi's team was led by a balanced scoring attack that featured seven players with multiple goals in the game and three with multiple assists. Junior midfielder Justin Anderson led the way with a hat trick while junior midfielder Tanner Cook had two goals and a career-high three assists. Senior midfielder Timmy Kelly had two goals and two assists for the Tar Heels as did junior midfielder William Perry. A pair of freshman attackmen – Jacob Kelly and Nicky Solomon – had two goals and an assist for the Heels. Solomon was playing on the same field where he played his high school lacrosse, graduating last spring. Senior attackman Andy Matthews also had two goals and an assist.
UNC defensemen Evan Egan and Jack Rowlett had single goals for UNC and the other tallies came from Alex Trippi, Matt Gavin and Henry Schertzinger. The Bears were led by Will McCarthy's hat trick while Pascal Coombs had two goals. Three Mercer players- Sean Goldsmith, Michael Quinn and Mikey Ewing had a goal and an assist in the encounter.
UNC outscored the Bears 6-1 in the first quarter and 5-2 in the second quarter to build an 11-3 halftime lead. The Tar Heels extended their lead to 18-5 heading into the final quarter before Mercer outscored the Tar Heels 4-2 in the final quarter, tallying three goals in the final 1:50 of the period to cut a 20-6 deficit to 20-9 at the end.
Carolina outshot the Bears 55-35 in the game and both team had 38 ground balls. Mercer had a slight edge at the face-off circle, winning 17 of 33 draws in the match.
Carolina committed 12 turnovers while Mercer coughed up the ball 23 times. UNC had 12 caused turnovers with William Perry, Michael Nathan and Jack Halpert each recording two caused turnovers. Four Tar Heels had a game-high four ground balls – Justin Anderson, Jack Halpert and freshmen midfielders Conner Maher and Zachary Tucci. The Bears also had four players with four ground balls each.
Between the pipes, UNC played two goalkeepers with Jack Pezzulla earning the start and the win. He played 45 minutes and made four saves. Senior Alex Bassil played the final quarter and made six saves while allowing four goals. The two Bears' goalkeepers – Josh Tarver and Bradley Hodoval – combined for 15 saves while allowing 20 goals.
The Tar Heels sped to a 6-0 lead in the game with six different goal scorers tallying in that run – Timmy Kelly, Jacob Kelly, Nicky Solomon, Justin Anderson, William Perry and Tanner Cook scored in that game-opening run.
With the score at 8-3 in favor of North Carolina, the Heels ran off four goals in a row late in the first half and early in the second 30 minutes to go up 12-3. A man-up goal by Justin Anderson started the run before defenseman Evan Egan and Alex Trippi scored before halftime and then Andy Matthews tallied unassisted in the fourth minute of the second half.
UNC would go on to score the last five goals of the third quarter to put the game away, leading 18-5 after 45 minutes. It was another run with five different scorers – Nicky Solomon, Jacob Kelly, William Perry, Tanner Cook and Justin Anderson.
The Heels return to action next Saturday with the first of six successive home games. UNC will host the Furman Paladins at Kenan Stadium at 12 noon next Saturday. The game will be nationally webcast on ACC Network Extra. The match will feature a coaching matchup of two Tar Heels' alumni –Richie Meade, Class of 1976, for the Paladins and Joe Breschi, Class of 1990, for the Tar Heels.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN UNC & DENVER: Despite getting the 100th career goal from senior attackman Chris Cloutier, the eighth-ranked University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team fell to fifth-ranked Denver 10-6 Monday afternoon, March 4, 2019 at Kenan Stadium.
It was the first loss of the season for the Tar Heels after opening the campaign with six wins. Denver improved to 4-1 after winning its third straight game.
After the Tar Heels opened the scoring, Denver ran off the next five goals of the game and never looked back. Carolina twice cut the Pioneers' lead to a pair of goals in the third quarter but it was not able to get any closer in the contest.
Cloutier, William Perry and Alex Trippi each scored two goals for the Tar Heels and Andy Matthews had three assists for Carolina. Austin French had four points for Denver on a goal and three assists while Ethan Walker had a hat trick. Drew Supinski had a goal and two assists for the Pioneers while Colton Jackson added a pair of goals.
The Tar Heels outshot the Pioneers 28-21. Carolina had 15 shots on goal and the Pioneers had 14. Goalkeeper play was a significant difference in the game as Alex Ready of the Pioneers made nine saves and allowed just six goals in 60 minutes of action while also claiming three ground balls. Jack Pezzulla started for UNC in the goal and made just one save while allowing seven goals in 36:46 of action. Alex Bassil came off the bench for the Tar Heels in the second quarter and played 23:14, making three saves while allowing three goals.
Denver dominated the ground balls 30-20 led by five pickups from Trevor Baptiste who won 12 of 20 face-offs.   Charles Kelly won eight of 20 face-offs for the Tar Heels. UNC had an edge in the turnover department, committing just 10 while the Pioneers had 16 miscues. Denver was 13 for 16 in the clearing game while North Carolina was 15 of 17. UNC scored the only two extra-man goals of the game, both by William Perry.
After Alex Trippi opened the scoring with 5:28 elapsed in the first quarter, Denver finished the first quarter on a three-goal run, getting scores from Drew Supinski, Ethan Walker and Nate Marano to lead 3-1 after one quarter. Denver scored the first two goals of the second quarter as Sean Mayle tallied 14 seconds into the period and then Colin Rutan stretched the DU lead to four goals with 11:01 left before intermission.
Trippi scored his second goal of the game at 9:55 before Denver's Austin French countered that goal at 8:14 of the second quarter. Chris Cloutier scored his 99th career goal with 2:29 left in the first half, off an assist by Andy Matthews. In the process, Cloutier scored a goal in a 27th successive game while Andy Matthews recorded an assist in his 16th successive game.
UNC cut the Denver lead to two goals with 11:42 left in the third quarter as William Perry scored a man-up goal off an assist by Matthews. Goals by Jackson and Walker, however, restored Denver's lead to 8-4 with 7:42 left in the third period. UNC continued to stick around as a second man-up goal by Perry, assisted by Matthews, cut the Tar Heel deficit to 8-5 with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Cloutier's second goal, assisted by Timmy Kelly, with 1:28 left in the third quarter was the 100th of the Kitchener, Ontario native's career, and Carolina was within 8-6 with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
Carolina would not score again, however. Walker scored his third goal just 57 seconds after Cloutier's tally and the Pioneers would score the only goal of the fourth period.

CAROLINA VERSUS DENVER THE SERIES: North Carolina and Denver will be playing for the 17th time in history on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 10-6.
In the previous nine games played in Chapel Hill the Tar Heels lead the series 6-3.
The Pioneers will be looking for their third successive win against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Denver won 13-12 in overtime in Chapel Hill in 2016 at Fetzer Field. In 2018, UNC fell against the Pioneers 10-6 at Kenan Stadium.

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUP: North Carolina's tentative starting lineup against Denver could look something like the following:
Attack – #5 Nicky Solomon (Fr.), #9 Jacob Kelly (Fr.), #12 Andy Matthews (Sr.)
Attack Reserve — #6 Matt Guerin (Jr.), #19 Brian Cameron (Fr.), #30 Bailey Laidman (So.)
1st Midfield — #3 William Perry (Jr.), #15 Timmy Kelly (Sr.), #21 Justin Anderson (Jr.)
2nd Midfield — #1 Alex Trippi (So.), #24 Ara Atayan (So.), #77 Tanner Cook (Jr.)
3rd Midfield — #41 Colin Munro (So.), #44 Henry Schertzinger (Fr.), #45 Harrison Schertzinger (Fr.)
4th Midfield — #2 Jesse Cuccia (Sr.), #8 Jordan Prysko (Sr.), #32 Matt Gavin (Jr.)
Short Stick Defensive Midfielders — #23 Parker Alexander (So.), #31 Connor Maher (Fr.), #40 Cole Haverty (Sr.), #46 Alex Helms (So.), #55 Cole Brown (Fr.)
Long Stick Defensive Midfielders — #4 Jack Halpert (Sr.), #28 Cam Macri (Jr.), #88 Evan Egan (Fr.)
Face-Offs — #35 Zachary Tucci (Fr.), #40 Cole Haverty (Sr.)
Close Defense Starters — #0 Jake Peden (Sr.), #22 Jack Rowlett (Sr.), #43 Michael Nathan (Sr.)
Close Defense Reserves – #29 Patrick Lyons (So.), #36 Paddy Sheehan (Sr.), #50 Kevin Walker (Jr.), #99 Tyler Seminetta (Jr.)
Goalkeeper — #42 Jack Pezzulla (So.)
Backup Goalkeepers — #48 Alex Bassil (Jr.)

UNC HEAD COACH JOE BRESCHI: Joe Breschi, UNC Class of 1990, leads the Tar Heels in his 11th season at Carolina. Breschi is 112-56 in his 11 years at Carolina, a winning percentage of 66.6 percent. He also coached 11 years at Ohio State and is 204-119 overall in 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach. His overall winning percentage at Ohio State and UNC combined is 63.2 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 200th overall coaching victory came in a 9-8 victory over St. John's on March 3, 2018 in Kenan Stadium.
Breschi Coaching Facts:
• 112-56 in 11 seasons at UNC (66.6)
• 204-119 in 22 seasons overall (63.2)
• 25-23 in one-goal games at UNC
• 7-7 in overtime games at UNC
• 58-47 versus ranked teams at UNC; 54-9 versus unranked teams at UNC
• 88-26 versus non-conference teams at UNC
• 68-19 in home games at UNC

UNC VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS UNDER COACH BRESCHI: North Carolina has played nationally-ranked (based on the USILA coaches poll) opponents 105 times in Joe Breschi's 11-year coaching tenure. UNC is 58-47 in those games, a winning percentage of 55.2 percent. Conversely, and as would be expected, the Tar Heels are 54-9 against unranked opponents in Breschi's 11 seasons for an outstanding winning percentage of 85.7 percent. Breschi is 112-56 overall at Carolina in his 11 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, at home against Hofstra in 2017, at Hofstra and at Richmond in 2018 and at home against Johns Hopkins in 2019.

TAR HEELS IN OVERTIME UNDER BRESCHI: Carolina's 13-12 loss against Syracuse on April 14, 2018 marked the 14th time the Tar Heels have played an overtime match in Coach Joe Breschi's 11 seasons as head coach. UNC is 7-7 in those 14 overtime contests. Carolina has won four of the last six games that have gone to extra time dating to a 17-16 win at Duke on April 1, 2016.

CAROLINA'S IMPROVEMENT IN ONE-GOAL DECISIONS: Prior to Joe Breschi taking over as head coach in 2009, UNC went just 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 25-23 in games decided by one goal over the past 11 years with Breschi at the helm, a winning percentage of 52.1 percent. UNC was 4-3 in games decided by one goal in the 2018 season with wins over Furman, Lehigh, St. John's and Notre Dame and losses to Richmond, Duke and Syracuse.

OPENING THE NEW STADIUM MARCH 2: At the conclusion of the 2017 lacrosse season, historic Fetzer Field was razed. Construction on a new UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium, which will house the men's and women's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse programs at Carolina, began in May 2017. The new facility will open on March 2, 2019 when the UNC men's and women's teams host a doubleheader at UNC Lacrosse Stadium.
In the interim, North Carolina played all eight of its home games in 2018 in Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels' historic football stadium which opened 92 years ago in 1927.
Carolina played its first three home games in Kenan Stadium in 2019 prior to the new facility being ready.
The Tar Heels will also host the first round game in the 2019 ACC Tournament at Kenan Stadium on April 25 as well as the two semifinal games in the tournament on April 27.
Parking for weekend games during 2019 is free in the Bell Tower Parking Deck located on the West End of Kenan Stadium. Parking will also be available in the Rams Head Parking Deck for an hourly fee on game days and for weekday games. The Rams Head Deck is on the East side of the stadium. The School of Government Parking Deck on South Road is also recommended for parking on game days.
There will be no admission charge for the UNC versus Denver game on March 2. Details on admission charges to future 2019 regular season games are to be determined. There will be admission charges to the 2019 ACC Tournament games on April 25 and April 27.
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.
The original Fetzer Field housed the following sports:
Track and Field -1935-2017
Men's Soccer - 1947-2016
Men's Lacrosse - 1949-2017
Women's Soccer - 1979-2016
Women's Lacrosse - 1996-2017

TAR HEELS AT KENAN STADIUM: Because of field improvements in 2017 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 was back in Kenan Stadium in 2019 for three home games as the new UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium was being completed on campus before opening on March 2. North Carolina had a 6-0 mark in games played at Kenan Stadium from 2013-16 after beating Notre Dame 17-15 there on April 23, 2016.
UNC's last loss in the Tar Heel football stadium came on February 23, 2019 when Johns Hopkins defeated the Tar Heels 11-10. It marked just the third loss for Carolina at Kenan Stadium since April 26, 2009 when the Tar Heels lost to Duke 15-13 at Kenan Stadium in the ACC Tournament championship game.
The Tar Heels defeated Virginia twice (2013 ACC Tournament championship game & 2016 regular season game) and Duke once (2013 ACC Tournament semifinals), Johns Hopkins once (2013 regular season), Maryland once (2014 regular season), Notre Dame twice (2016 regular season, 2018 regular season), Lafayette once (2018 regular season), Furman twice (2018 regular season, 2019 regular season), Lehigh once (2018 regular season), Mercer once (2018 regular season), St. John's once (2018 regular season) and Harvard once (2019 regular season) in the 14 games at Kenan Stadium played between March 30, 2013 and February 16, 2019.
Since his arrival as UNC head coach for the 2009 season, Coach Joe Breschi's teams are 15-5 in games played in Kenan Stadium, winning 75.0 percent of their games there. UNC hosted the ACC Tournament in Kenan Stadium in both 2009 and 2013 during Breschi's tenure. Carolina will again host first-round and semifinal games in the ACC Tournament in 2019.
UNC has won 15 of its past 19 games played at Kenan Stadium dating to the 2009 ACC Tournament semifinals against Maryland on April 24, 2009, losing only to Duke in the 2009 ACC Tournament finals, to Denver on March 5, 2018, to Virginia on April 7, 2018 and to Johns Hopkins on February 23, 2019.

ROWLETT NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC & ALL-AMERICA: Senior defenseman Jack Rowlett of Burke, Va. was recently named to the preseason All-ACC Team announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference and based on a vote of the ACC's five head coaches.
Rowlett was named in December to the third-team preseason All-America Team named by Face-Off Yearbook.

PERRY LED NATION IN MAN UP GOALS IN 2018: UNC midfielder William Perry tied for the national lead in man up goals in 2018. He scored 11 man up goals a year ago, tying with Albany's Jakob Patterson for the national lead
Perry was Carolina's most productive midfield scorer in 2018 with 22 goals and nine assists for 31 points.
Perry's 11 man up goals in 2018 broke the previous school record of 10 man up goals scored by Sean DeLaney in 2010.
Perry has scored goals in nine straight games for the Tar Heels heading into the match against the Pioneers Saturday.

LONG ANDY MATTHEWS ASSIST STREAK: Senior attackman Andy Matthews recorded at least one assist in 16 successive games before that streak was ended on March 10, 2018 against Hofstra. Matthews had begun his assist streak against Dartmouth on March 18, 2017 and it extended for 16 games through the contest against Denver on March 5, 2018. His 16-game assist streak equaled the fifth longest streak in UNC lacrosse history. Players with assist streaks longer than Matthews included Bruce Ledwith (1972-73) at 22 games, Michael Burnett (1980-82) at 21 games, Dennis Goldstein (1990-91) at 18 games and Joey Sankey (2015) at 17 games while Brendan Carey (1996) also had a 16 game assist streak.
Matthews also recorded points in 19 straight games beginning on March 4, 2017 and extending through the game on March 5, 2018.
With points in 19 straight games, Matthews recorded a streak that matched the 22nd longest streak in UNC history.
Matthews curently is tied for 51st in career points at Carolina with a total of 86 points (tied with Jimmy Dunster 2009-12) and he is tied for 18th in career assists with 62 with Gary Seivold (1984-87).

TIMMY KELLY ON CAREER CHARTS:   Senior midfielder Timmy Kelly of Lutherville, Md. heads into the match against Denver tied for 60th in career points with 77 and tied for 51st in career goals with 53.
Kelly had recorded goals in seven straight games before having that streak ended in the Harvard game.
Kelly has recorded at least one point in nine successive games going back to March 24, 2018.

JACK ROWLETT ON CAREER CHARTS:   Senior Jack Rowlett heads into the Denver contest in seventh place in career caused turnovers at Carolina with 44.

CAROLINA SQUAD CHOOSES TWO CAPTAINS FOR 2019 TEAM:   The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse program, under the leadership of Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi, elected a pair of players to serve as team captains for the 2019 season. The 2019 Tar Heel team captains include:
• Senior midfielder Timmy Kelly from Lutherville, Md.
• Junior midfielder Justin Anderson from Las Vegas, Nev.

TAR HEELS ON TV IN 2019: Carolina will have three of its 14 regular season games televised on ESPNU in 2019. Eight Tar Heel games will be televised on ACC Network Extra beginning with this Saturday's game against Furman. The games on ACC Network Extra will feature live streaming on WatchESPN and the ESPNApp.
The only non-televised games this year came against Mercer and versus Cleveland State.
The 2018 ESPNU schedule is as follows:
• Saturday, March 23, 4 p.m., North Carolina at Maryland
• Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m., Duke at North Carolina
• Saturday, April 20, 12 p.m., North Carolina at Notre Dame
The 2018 ACC Network Extra schedule is as follows:
• Saturday, February 9, 12 p.m., Furman at North Carolina
• Saturday, February 16, 12 p.m., Harvard at North Carolina
• Saturday, February 23, 12 p.m., JohnsHopkins at North Carolina
• Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m., Denver at North Carolina
• Friday, March 8, 7 p.m. Marist at North Carolina
• Tuesday, March 12, 4 p.m., Bucknell at North Carolina
• Saturday, April 13, 3 p.m., Syracuse at North Carolina

TAR HEELS IN THE POLLS: After finishing the 2018 season unranked in both the coaches and the media polls, North Carolina began the 2019 season preseason ranked #15 in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association media poll and ranked in a tie for #13 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll.
In the most recent weekly polls issued last Monday, UNC was 15th in the USILA coaches poll and 20th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll with a 3-1 record.

TAR HEELS NAMED TO ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL IN 2017-18: For the third year in a row and the fifth time in the past six years, a record number of Tar Heel have earned spots on the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll. North Carolina placed 391 student-athletes, an all-time high, on the ACC's 62nd-annual honor roll, announced last summer
It's the sixth year in a row that more than 300 Tar Heel student-athletes have earned the recognition.
Twenty-nine Tar Heel men's lacrosse players were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2017-18. That was one more than the 28 who made the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2016-17.
The ACC Honor Roll is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the full academic year. The conference recognized a record 4,650 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom.
UNC's record total marked an improvement of six over last year, when the Tar Heels had an all-time high of 385 students honored. Carolina had 356 in 2015-16 and 339 recognized in 2014-15, following a then-record 347 in 2013-14. UNC's total in 2012-13, 329, was also a record at the time.
The number of UNC students honored for 2017-18 is roughly half of Carolina's total number of student-athletes and is an improvement of more than 100 student-athletes over the past decade.
Two students, both of whom graduated in May, earned the honor for the fifth time. Emily Godwin competed in track and field and Ryan Macri played for the men's lacrosse team. Both majored in business administration.
UNC student-athletes honored for the fourth time included Bug Carper (men's lacrosse), Riley Graham (men's lacrosse), Jordan Prysko (men's lacrosse)
UNC's ACC Academic Honor Roll totals over the past decade:
391 in 2017-18
385 in 2016-17
356 in 2015-16
339 in 2014-15
347 in 2013-14
329 in 2012-13
290 in 2011-12
247 in 2010-11
262 in 2009-10
274 in 2008-09
286 in 2007-08
The men's lacrosse team placed the following players on the 2017-18 ACC Academic Honor Roll — Justin Anderson, Ara Atayan, Alex Bassil, Bug Carper, Matt Cunningham, Riley Graham, Jack Halpert, Cole Haverty, Alex Helms, Timmy Kelly, Joe Kenna, Jack Kozmetsky, Patrick Lyons, Cam Macri, Ryan Macri, Kyle Mathie, William McBride, Patrick McCormick, Matt McLaughlin, Nate Miller, Colin Munro, Michael Nathan, Jack Pezzulla, Jordan Prysko, Patrick Sasser, Steven Schneider, Tyler Seminetta, Alex Trippi and Kevin Walker.

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 14 seasons, dating back to late in the 2006 season. The Tar Heels have won 109 of their last 139 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 11 seasons as head coach, the Tar Heels are a brilliant 88-26 against non-conference teams, a winning percentage of 77.1 percent. 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, to Denver, Hofstra, Richmond and Maryland in 2018 and to Johns Hopkins in 2019.

NEAR DOMINANCE AT HOME UNDER BRESCHI: UNC is 68-19 in home games in Coach Joe Breschi's 11 years at the helm of the Tar Heels. That's a winning percentage of 78.2 percent. UNC's only home losses during Breschi's 11-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, regular-season losses to Johns Hopkins, Hofstra, Richmond, Maryland, Duke and Syracuse in 2017, regular season losses to Denver and Virginia in 2018 and a loss to Johns Hopkins in 2019. 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 293-131-2 in home games. That included a perfect 11-0 record in 2015. In Joe Breschi's 11-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 69.2 percent winning percentage all-time in history in home games.

THE ALL-TIME RECORD: North Carolina has an all-time record of 497-304-2 in the sport of men's lacrosse. That is a winning percentage of .620.
The Tar Heels need three wins to reach the 500-win plateau in school history.
Carolina played the 800th game in Tar Heel men's lacrosse history on February 2, 2019, defeating Mercer 20-9 in Roswell, Ga.

CAROLINA'S DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING GAMES: In Coach Joe Breschi's 11 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 11-10 loss to Johns Hopkins on February 23, 2019, marked only the 22nd 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 125 of 168 games under Coach Breschi's direction dating back to the opening game of the 2009 season. That's 74.4 percent of the time. Carolina is 103-22 in those 125 games, a winning clip of .824. As would be expected, in the 43 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 43 games is just 9-34, a winning percentage of .209.
Carolina's last win in which it was held to single digits in goals came against St. John's 9-8 at Kenan Stadium on March 3, 2018. That marked the first game the Tar Heels had won in which both teams scored in single digits since downing Furman in a 7-3 decision on February 11, 2017 at Greenville, S.C. 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 were 6-4 in games in games which they have scored in double digits in 2018 and 1-3 in which they have scored in single digits.

UNC CLAIMS ANOTHER SEASON OPENING WIN: The Tar Heels Mercer 20-9 in their 2019 season opener on February 2. UNC has won every season opener since the 1999 season, running its streak to 21 seasons in a row with the win over the Bears. 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 291-130-2 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 being built on the same spot with opening planned for August 2019 in time for the 2019 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 marked 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 finished 7-7 in 2018.

EARLIEST START TIME IN TAR HEEL HISTORY: North Carolina and Denver will face off at 10 a.m. Saturday in UNC Lacrosse Stadium. That will be the earliest start time to a game in Tar Heel history.
The North Carolina versus St. John's game on March 3, 2018 faced off at 10:30 a.m. That was the previous earliest start time to a game in UNC men's lacrosse history dating back to the 1949 season.
The previous earliest starting time to a game came on March 10, 2012 when UNC defeated Princeton 9-8 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. That game started at 11 a.m.
Almost excatly six years apart, both of those historically early games ended up in 9-8 Tar Heel victories in regulation time.

EARLIEST GAME DATE WISE IN CAROLINA HISTORY: When North Carolina played Mercer on February 2, 2019 in Atlanta 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 date came against Lafayette in Kenan Stadium on February 3, 2018 and prior to that 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.

OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN BOWEN TO MISS 2019 SEASON: Will Bowen, the nation's #1-ranked national defensive recruit in the men's lacrosse high school Class of 2018, will redshirt his freshman campaign at the University of North Carolina in 2019.
UNC head coach Joe Breschi made the announcement on Friday after consulting with Bowen and his parents. Bowen suffered a lower body injury in practice the week of January 13 that will require him to miss the entirety of the 2019 campaign. He plans to red-shirt and will retain four years of eligibility at Carolina.
Bowen is a native of Cohasset, Mass., and attended Boston College High School before enrolling at Carolina last August.

.SEARS NAMED TEWAARATON LEGEND: The Tewaaraton Foundation is pleased to announce the 2019 Tewaaraton Spirit and Legends honorees. The 13th Spirit of Tewaaraton recipient is Feffie Barnhill, and the 2019 Tewaaraton Legends are former University of Delaware star Karen Emas Borbee and former University of North Carolina star Tom Sears.
The Spirit of Tewaaraton is presented to an individual who has contributed to the sport of lacrosse in a way that reflects the spirit of the values and mission of the Tewaaraton Award. The Tewaaraton Legends Award annually honors recipients who played college lacrosse prior to 2001, the first year in which the Tewaaraton Award was presented.
Sears goes down as one of lacrosse's all-time top goalies. He was a two-time NCAA champion for North Carolina while twice earning the USILA's C. Markland Kelly Award as Goalie of the Year and winning the Enners Award as Player of the Year in 1982. A three-time NCAA All-America, Sears added to his stellar college career by earning all-world honors and winning a gold medal for Team USA in 1982.
"Tom Sears was a truly outstanding goalkeeper, proficient both in the cage as well as out in the open field," said Don Zimmerman, a UNC assistant coach before moving on to head coaching jobs with Johns Hopkins and UMBC. "The backbone of two national championship defenses, 'Searsy' was the inspirational leader of those talented Tar Heel squads. I am so pleased for Tom and his family for this well-deserved honor and recognition."
Tewaaraton Legend recipients are chosen on the basis that their collegiate performance would have earned them a Tewaaraton Trophy, had the award existed when they played. The previous Legends Award winners are Syracuse's Jim Brown (2011), Cornell's Eamon McEneaney (2012), Johns Hopkins' Joe Cowan (2013), Navy's Jimmy Lewis (2014), Syracuse's Brad Kotz (2015), Maryland's Frank Urso (2016), Penn State's Candace Finn Rocha (2016), Army's Peter Cramblet (2017), Virginia's Cherie Greer (2017), Johns Hopkins' Larry Quinn (2018) and Temple's Mandee Moore O'Leary (2018).
Past Spirit of Tewaaraton recipients include Dick Edell, Diane Geppi-Aikens, Sid Jamieson, A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, Roy Simmons Jr., Richie Moran, Bob Scott, Brendan Looney, Oren Lyons, Tina Sloan Green, George Boiardi and Welles Crowther.
All three recipients will receive their awards at the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony May 30th, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
The Tewaaraton Foundation will unveil the 2019 Tewaaraton Award Watch List live at a special fundraising reception in New York City on February 28th.

BRESCHI SIGNS LONG TERM CONTRACT TO COACH AT UNC: 2016 NCAA champion men's lacrosse coach Joe Breschi has signed a five-year contract with the University of North Carolina, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham announced today.
UNC has signed or is announcing:
• contracts and/or contract extensions with a 11 head coaches, including Breschi's contract, which runs through 2023;
• personal service contracts for head coaches with Nike;
• a 10-year extension with Nike;
• and a 12-year extension with Learfield Communications.
All of the contracts, and a licensing agreement and labor standards agreements with Nike, are available on GoHeels.com.
"I'm extremely grateful to athletic director Bubba Cunningham and the Board of Trustees for allowing me to continue my coaching career at the University of North Carolina," said Breschi. "Its an honor and a privilege to teach and mentor our young men at my alma mater and I take great pride in representing all those who came before us . My wife Julie and my four beautiful daughters love the Chapel Hill community and we are thrilled to be here for many years to come."
Breschi has been a head coach at the NCAA Division I for 21 seasons, including 11 at Ohio State and 10 at North Carolina, compiling a 201-118 career record heading into the 2019 season, which will be his 11th in Chapel Hill. Breschi is a 1990 alumnus of Carolina.
Breschi was the USILA coach of the year 2016 when led Tar Heels to 2016 NCAA title and he was tapped as the ACC coach of the year in 2010 and 2013. Since coming to Carolina he has led the Tar Heels to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015 and NCAA bids in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017 and mentored UNC to a share of the 2010, 2013 & 2016 ACC regular-season titles, the former being Carolina's first title since 2003. He coached the Tar Heels to their first ACC Tournament win in 13 years in 2009 and to another finals berth in 2012 and led UNC to 2013 ACC Tournament championship, Carolina's first since 1996. Tar Heels also won league tournament in 2017.
In addition to signing a contract with Breschi, Cunningham is announcing contract extensions for Anson Dorrance (women's soccer), Roy Williams (men's basketball), Mike Fox (baseball), Jenny Levy (women's lacrosse), Brian Kalbas (women's tennis), Sam Paul (men's tennis) and Carlos Somoano (men's soccer), who each re-signed through 2023; and Coleman Scott (wrestling) re-signed through 2021. Also, Donna Papa (softball) and Joe Sagula (volleyball) signed multi-year contracts for the first time; each signed five-year contracts through 2023.
The 11 coaches who signed new contracts or extensions, which were also approved by the Board of Trustees, have a combined 239 years of experience as head coaches at Carolina.
"It's a pretty remarkable day when you can announce contracts and extensions for 11 head coaches, particularly when you have as accomplished a group as we are fortunate to work with here at Carolina," says Cunningham. "These 11 coaches include eight who have won 32 national championships, and are dedicated to winning in the classroom and our community.
"We're also pleased to highlight today the financial impact our partnerships with Nike and Learfield have on our ability to provide opportunities for nearly 800 student-athletes and the positive impact those relationships have on our campus as a whole."
Carolina's 10-year contract calls for Nike to remain the Tar Heels' exclusive supplier of athletic footwear and apparel through June 2028. It is the third extension of a partnership that began in 1993.
As part of the contract, a minimum of $600,000 per year — at least $6 million over the life of the contract — is guaranteed for licensing, which the University directs for need- and merit-based scholarships. That's more than doubling the licensing guarantee of the previous contract with Nike. In addition, the University will receive $200,000 per year in retail product for non-athletic department use, and Nike will hire four student interns each year.
"We're pleased to continue this long-standing partnership with Nike, which goes well beyond the direct benefits it provides to nearly 800 student-athletes each year," says Chancellor Carol L. Folt. "This extension makes even more funds and opportunities available to benefit our students in areas ranging from scholarships to internships and helps Carolina students across our campus."
In an accompanying "Agreement Regarding Labor Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility," the University and Nike also have again affirmed their commitment to fair labor practices.
Nike also has increased the amount of product – primarily uniforms, shoes and practice gear – it provides to Carolina Athletics. Additional funds will be used to support women's sports initiatives, contracts and travel for international competition. All told, the value of the Nike contract exceeds $10 million per year.
"This contract isn't just about supplying uniforms and equipment, but also about supporting student scholarships, internships and opportunities for the University of North Carolina,'' says Cunningham. "We are proud to extend our relationship with Nike and pleased that this agreement will help so many students."
Carolina also extended its multi-media rights partnership with Learfield through June 2029. The Jefferson City, Mo.-based company has managed UNC's radio broadcasts, coaches' shows, digital media productions and venue signage since 1999. The 12-year contract has an average guaranteed value of $12.6 million per year.
"Our partnership with Learfield is an important part of our organizational culture, and we are excited about the continued ideas and opportunities this agreement will bring to our department and to the University,'' says Cunningham.
The contract includes additional Learfield resource investments in student-athlete development, career placement programs, and digital content development and market integration. It includes four annual paid student internships for Carolina students, a Career Tar Heel program and funding to help expand creative resources within the athletic department.

ROWLETT NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA: Inside Lacrosse's Preseason Media All-Americans are here as announced today by the internet magazine. The preseason media All-America team includes University of North Carolina senior defenseman Jack Rowlett of Burke, Va.
Rowlett has been named to the third-team preseason All-America unit as the long-stick defensive midfielders.
Rowlett has played 47 games in his Tar Heel career, leading UNC to the 2016 NCAA championship and the 2017 ACC championship. His career statistics include 10 goals, two assists, 12 points, 97 ground balls and 36 caused turnovers.

CLOUTIER NAMED MLL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Former University of North Carolina men's lacrosse standout Chris Cloutier has been named the Major League Lacrosse Cascade Rookie of the Year for the 2018 season. Cloutier received the award on August 17 at the annual awards ceremony in Charleston, S.C.
Chris Cloutier was a handful the minute he stepped on the field for the Denver Outlaws, who last Saturday defeated Dallas 16-12 to win the 2018 MLL championship.
Fresh off the Chapel Hill campus, the former UNC national champion (2016) reminded the Tar Heel faithful not to forget him with six goals and two assists in his MLL debut against Charlotte on May 19.
Cloutier scored 26 goals and added 14 assists in six games before going down with a knee injury. The Outlaws record was 5-0 in his first five games and they were up 10-5 prior against Dallas prior to his injury in the third quarter of his sixth game before losing 13-12. Despite playing in only six of 15 Outlaws games this year he was the team's third-leading scorer with 40 points.

THREE TAR HEELS NAMED 2018 ALL-ACC ACADEMIC: Three Tar Heels have been named to the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men's Lacrosse Team, announced Tuesday by the league. Justin Anderson, Timmy Kelly and Ryan Macri were selected for the 33-member team, which honors outstanding academic and athletic performance.
Anderson, a rising junior from Las Vegas, is majoring in exercise and sport science. He started 11 games and scored 10 goals with nine assists in 2018.
Kelly, a rising senior from Lutherville, Md., is majoring in political science. In 2018, he started 11 games and appeared in 13, scoring 21 goals and adding 7 assists.
Macri, who is from Hamilton, Mass., graduated in May after majoring in business administration. A team captain in his final season at UNC, he started all 14 games for the Tar Heels.
All five of the league's men's lacrosse programs are represented on the All-ACC Academic Team, which includes 11 student-athletes that earned USILA All-America honors in 2018. Three members of the ACC All-Academic Team were named USILA Scholar All-Americans.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.