Carolina Hosts Colgate In 2020 Opener

Saturday, February 1

Chapel Hill, N.C

12 p.m. ET

North Carolina

Colgate

January 31, 2020 | Men's Lacrosse

Live Results Watch (ACCN)Game Notes

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Head coach Joe Breschi's 2020 edition of the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team opens its regular-season campaign Saturday when the Tar Heels face the Colgate University Red Raiders at 12 p.m. noon at Dorrance Field.

Though the Tar Heels lost a number of decorated seniors, including Timmy Kelly, Andy Matthews and Jack Rowlett, following the 2019 season, there is plenty of buzz surrounding the 2020 squad.

Tewaaraton Award nominee Chris Gray, a junior from Wading River, N.Y., announced his decision to transfer from Boston University to North Carolina in June. Since then, Gray has received 2020 Inside Lacrosse Preseason First-Team All-America recognition as well as Atlantic Coast Conference's 2020 Preseason All-ACC honors.

After suffering a season-engine knee injury in the 2019 preseason, redshirt freshman Will Bowen is expected to make his first appearance in Carolina Blue. Bowen was the No. 2 overall recruit and the No. 1 defenseman in the Class of 2018 as ranked by Inside Lacrosse. The Cohasset, Mass. native was also an Under Armour All-America, Bostonlax Player of the Year and the Boston Globe Player of the Year in Massachusetts all in 2018.

Carolina also returns a number of high profile players. The 2019 ACC Freshman of the Year, sophomore goalkeeper Caton Johnson earned a 2020 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America nod on the honorable mention unit. Johnson and sophomore defensive midfielder Connor Maher joined Gray in Preseason All-ACC recognition.

Captains Will Perry, Justin Anderson and Cam Macri are back for their senior seasons. Perry was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2019 and appeared in all 15 games of his junior campaign, starting eight. Perry combined for a team-leading 26 goals and the second-most points on the team (32) just behind Andy Matthews. Anderson was also an ACC All-Tournament selection and ended the season with the fifth-most points on the team, totaling 25 points with 19 goals and six assists. Macri contributed to the Tar Heels' defensive efforts in all 15 games during the 2019 campaign.

Other returning offensive starters include sophomores Jacob Kelly, Nicky Solomon and Brian Cameron and junior Alex Trippi. Sophomore face-off midfielder Zac Tucci is looking to improve upon a solid freshman campaign while Tanner Cook, Matt Gavin, Harrison Schertzinger, Henry Schertzinger and Parker Alexander are all returners who appeared in at least 10 games last season.

UNC has another outstanding group of freshmen, including three players ranked among Inside Lacrosse's Top-100 Overall Recruits in the Class of 2019. Face-off midfielder Andrew Tyeryar stood at No. 34 in the nation, defenseman Matt Wright at No. 61 and attackman Lance Tillman at No. 68.

Coaches David Metzbower returns as offensive coordinator for the sixth season and Kevin Unterstein is entering his second year as defensive coordinator following stints at Princeton, Denver and Hofstra. Volunteer assistant coach Will Fox and director of operations Nick Sagraves are both in their first seasons as members of the coaching staff.

Carolina enters the 2020 season ranked 10th in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll. The Tar Heels are also 10th in the preseason Inside Lacrosse media poll and 11th in the US Lacrosse preseason poll.

The Tar Heels won the most recent meeting against Colgate, 19-12 in Chapel Hill during the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

After playing Colgate, UNC remains at home for two games, beginning with a matchup against Mercer on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 12 noon. This season's home games will be played at Dorrance Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW
The North Carolina men's lacrosse season opener against Colgate will be aired on the ACC Network.

Links to live results and live streams of North Carolina men's lacrosse games are available at GoHeels.com.

Fans can also follow @UNCMensLacrosse on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the meet. UNC Men's Lacrosse is also on Facebook. A recap of games and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of each competition.

Live Results | Watch (ACCN) | 2020 Schedule | 2020 Roster

THE WILLIE SCROGGS PATIO
The patio at the UNC Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium is being named in honor of Willie Scroggs.

Willie Scroggs built and maintained the University of North Carolina's men's lacrosse programs into one of the most successful entities in Atlantic Coast Conference history while also leading that team to incredible accolades on the national stage. During his coaching career at Carolina, which began in 1978, he led Tar Heel teams to a 120-37 record over 12 seasons. Scroggs led UNC to national championships in 1981, 1982 and 1986 and to ACC titles in 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1990. Under his tenure, Carolina lacrosse teams reached the NCAA semifinals in nine of his 12 seasons as head coach. His 1981 team was the first national championship team at UNC since the men's basketball team won the NCAA title in 1957. Scroggs retired in 1990 from coaching but continued to serve admirably as an associate athletic director until 2014. In 2016, the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) inducted Willie Scroggs into its second Hall of Fame class.

This honor for the former men's lacrosse coach and senior associate director of athletics was made possible by a gift of $500,000 from a group of 11 generous donors. Their gifts honor Willie Scroggs and recognize the incredible impact he had and continues to have on the lives of so many Tar Heels.

The Willie Scroggs Patio is the area on the field side of the team building just outside of the building (where the seats are located in the east end of the field), as well as the area between the team building and indoor practice complex (the site of several receptions this past year). A plaque recognizing Willie and the donors to this project will be placed at the patio in the coming weeks.