Stephen Kelly

Position:
Midfielder
Height:
5-11
Weight:
190
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Lutherville, Md.
High School:
Calvert Hall

General: 2017 team captain...named to Dean’s List in fall 2016...four-year starter at face-off X...had an amazing junior season, consistently coming through in the clutch for the national champion Tar Heels...improved his face-off winning percentage to over 74 percent as a junior...three-time returning letter winner...had an outstanding freshman year before breaking his wrist against Harvard in the eighth game...came back from that injury to have phenomenal sophomore and junior years...has done a terrific job of getting stronger, spending a lot of time in the weight room...has great technique and speed of hands...has won 15 or more face-offs in a game 16 times in his UNC career...ranks ninth in ground balls in UNC history with 275, third in face-offs won with 537 and 11th in face-off winning percentage at .548...was a member of the 2012 USA Under 19 Lacrosse Team that won the FILA World Championship in Turku, Finland…he was the youngest member of that gold medal winning squad, playing on it as a high school junior.
2016 (Junior): Co-MVP of national championship team with Steve Pontrello...honorable mention USILA All-America...honored on All-ACC Team as well as All-ACC Academic Team...won the team’s Holmes Harden Award for most ground balls with 126, the fifth most in a season in UNC history...was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week three times - February 29, March 21 and April 25...captured USILA National Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 1...won 249 of 434 face-offs on the year (.574 percent)...the 249 face-off wins were the second most in a season in UNC history...named to ACC Academic Honor Roll...had three goals and six assists...tallied game-winning goal in come-from-behind 17-15 win over Notre Dame as Carolina scored the last seven goals of the contest after trailing 15-10...had assists on successive goals early in the second quarter of NCAA semifinals against Loyola as Tar Heels built a 10-goal lead...won at least 15 face-offs in nine games...won 20 of 35 face-offs in overtime win over Duke and 19 of 35 face-offs in NCAA semifinals versus Loyola and Notre Dame in regular season game...was 17 of 25 against Johns Hopkins, UMass, UVA and versus Notre Dame in NCAA quarterfinals...won 17 of 23 versus Richmond...was 16 for 16 in win over Manhattan, first perfect face-off game in UNC history with 15 or more attempts...very consistent...was under 50 percent in only four of 18 games...had 12 ground balls against Duke and Notre Dame, 11 against Fighting Irish in NCAA quarterfinals and 10 versus Virginia.
2015 (Sophomore): Won 214 face-offs, the fourth most in a season in UNC history...led Carolina with 102 ground balls, a total matching the 10th most in a season in Carolina history...captured Carolina’s Holmes Harden, Sr., Memorial Award for leading the team in ground balls for the second straight year...had 13 ground balls against Notre Dame, matching the eighth highest total in UNC history...his 22 face-off wins against Duke matched the second most in a game in Carolina history...also won 20 face-offs in NCAA first round game versus Colgate...played in all 17 games...scored goals against High Point and Massachusetts...recorded assists versus Manhattan and Bryant...had 12 games in which he won double digits in face-offs...won a career-high 22 in win over Duke and had 20 victories in NCAA win over Colgate...had 18 wins versus Notre Dame and 17 vs. Massachusetts...had his best percentage of the season at 79 percent vs. Manhattan (15-19)...matched career high for ground balls with 13 at Notre Dame...had 11 ground balls versus both Duke and Colgate...had 10 games with five or more ground balls...named to All-ACC Academic Men’s Lacrosse Team...was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week on March 30, 2015 after win over Duke...2015 ACC coaches preseason All-ACC Team selection... member of the Rising Star program in the Carolina Leadership Academy...named to ACC Academic Honor Roll.
2014 (Freshman): Saw action in eight games before injuring his wrist in the Harvard game…took 121 face-offs, just seven fewer than R.G. Keenan’s team-leading 128…won 74 face-offs on the season, the most on the team, including double-digit victories in each of the final four games he played in…his 15 face-off victories at Princeton were the most by a Tar Heel in a game during the season…won seven of the eight face-offs he took against Dartmouth…his 47 ground balls in eight games were the most by any player for the whole season…had a season-high 13 ground balls against Princeton…scored two goals on the season…his goal against Princeton was a highlight reel goal from the back of his stick as time expired in the first half....won the Holmes Harden, Sr., Memorial Award as the team’s ground ball leader…member of the ACC Academic honor roll…named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester.
Prep: Graduate of Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore...was coached there by his uncle, Bryan Kelly…2013 Under Armour All-America…No. 2-ranked lacrosse player (#1 midfielder) in Class of 2013 as named by Inside Lacrosse Magazine in 2011 & 2012…four-year lacrosse letterman as a midfielder and face-off specialist…finished his career with 68 goals, 56 assists and 622 ground balls…won 74 percent of his career face-offs (767 of 1032)…as a senior his numbers were 24 goals, 21 assists, 196 ground balls and 234 of 304 face-offs (77%)…2012 & 2013 U.S. Lacrosse high school All-America…finalist for 2013 C. Markland Kelly Award as top player in MIAA…won Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro honors three straight years (2011-13)…also named first-team All-MIAA each of those seasons…2012 & 2013 Towson Times Co-Player of the Year…2013 team captain…led Calvert Hall to 2011 MIAA “A” championship game…the following year Calvert Hall won the MIAA “A” title, just its second title in 35 years…team was ranked #1 in the area by Baltimore Sun and #2 nationally by Inside Lacrosse…also played basketball and captained the football team where he was a three-year starter…led Calvert Hall to their first football championship in 28 years, and a #1 ranking in the state in 2010…was named first-team All-MIAA as a running back and All-State as a defensive back in 2012…was twice recognized as a Baltimore Sun High School Athlete of the Year finalist…McMullen Scholar…member of National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society…had a 4.0 weighted GPA…served as a peer educator as a junior and senior…four-year captain of FCA Huddle.
Personal: Full name is Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly…nicknamed “Bones”…son of Frank and Gayle Kelly…was born November 21, 1994 in Lutherville, Md. …majors in business administration…his father Frank played football and lacrosse at Cornell and was captain of 1986 Big Red team…his mother Gayle was a field hockey and lacrosse player at Mary Washington…uncles David and Bryan Kelly played lacrosse at Carolina on 1986 and 1991 NCAA championship teams, respectively…his uncle John played lacrosse at Washington College, competing in three NCAA Division III title games…his brother Frankie graduated from Carolina in 2014 after playing four years on the lacrosse team...also has a sister Jackie, 19, and a brother J.K., 13...his first cousins Patrick and Timmy were both members of 2016 NCAA championship with him...volunteers at UNC Children’s Hospital.

Catching Up With Stephen Kelly
Section #1: Lacrosse Related
My favorite thing about wearing Carolina Blue is it’s my favorite color.
I love competing for this incredible coaching staff because the care about us.
My most underrated strength about my lacrosse game is my intensity.
My best friend on my high school lacrosse team was Garrett Epple and he is now playing at Notre Dame.
Every high school recruit should dream of becoming a Tar Heel because it is the best school.
Section #2: Your Interests
An ideal Saturday afternoon in the summer is spent on the beach.
My teammate with the best taste in music is Kevin Walker because he has absolute jams.
My favorite professional sports team is the Baltimore Ravens.
The best movie I’ve ever seen on a lacrosse bus trip is Shawshank Redemption.
The foreign country I would love to visit most is Spain so I can practice my Spanish.
Section #3: Food
My favorite tailgate foods are Buffalo wings.
My favorite fast food restaurant is Qdoba because of its queso.
Sweet, salty or both? Both.
My favorite food made by a relative is Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandmother’s.
My favorite Chapel Hill dining spot is TOPO.
Section #4: Digging into your Personality
If I possessed the gift of time travel I would go when Jesus was on Earth.
The person in history I would most want to have dinner with is Jesus.
People would be very surprised to know I love music.
In a quarter century I would love to be living in Baltimore and working in family business.
The most interesting or fascinating person I’ve met in my time at UNC is Clootch because he is a legend.

Stephen Kelly’s Career Statistics
Year    GP/GS    SH    SOG    G    A    PTS    GB    CT    FO    PCT.
2014    8/0    9    6    2    0    2    47    0    74-121    .612
2015    17/0    14    8    2    2    4    102    1    214-425    .504
2016    18/0    21    9    3    6    9    126    3    249-434    .574
Totals    43/0    44    23    7    8    15    275    4    537-980    .548
Career Highs: Ground Balls: 13 vs. Princeton, 3-7-2014; 13 vs. Notre Dame, 4-18-2015; Face-Offs Won: 22 vs. Duke, 3-29-2015; Face-Off Percentage (minimum 15 attempts: 1.000 (16-16) vs. Manhattan, 3-14-2016; Face-Offs Attempted: 35 vs. Duke, 4-1-2016; 35 vs. Notre Dame, 4-23-2016; 35 vs. Loyola, 5-28-2016.