From the editor // N


BRESCHI FACTOR WAS REAL


orth Carolina coach Joe Breschi ushered his players onto the stage for a post- game press conference, still


soaked from the celebration. Wearing his hat backward, Breschi asked, “Do we have to keep our composure here?” At different points, he simply blurted out in suspended belief, “We just won the national championship.” Whatever emotions Breschi felt this season — joy, grief or exasperation — he let them fl y. In a profession often prone to stoicism, Breschi opened his heart. And his players followed suit. They dedicated their unlikely NCAA tournament run to his late son, Michael, who died in 2004 when he was struck by a vehicle in a preschool parking lot in Clintonville, Ohio. He was 3. Breschi visited his son’s grave


when the Tar Heels played Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfi nals at Ohio State, a place where he coached for 11 seasons. Breschi’s on-camera catharsis after North Carolina upset the Irish was gripping. Since taking the reins in 2009, Breschi at times seemed burdened by the expectations that came with coaching in Chapel Hill. When, oh when, would the Tar Heels get back to the fi nal four? This year, with a less heralded cast of players, Breschi forged a deeper connection with them by revealing the raw feelings that swirled inside of him. At a team breakfast in Columbus, he thanked them for bringing him back home not only to where he started as a coach, but to where his son is. Senior midfi elder Patrick Kelly declared that the team would honor Michael’s memory by carrying Breschi to a place he’d never been as a coach. “This team is always at its best when it plays for a purpose bigger than us,” Kelly said. “[Breschi] has taught us so much about how life is about much more than lacrosse.”


— Matt DaSilva mdasilva15


2 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » July/august 2016 LM VAULT


THE LAST TIME JULY 1991


Before this year’s edition of the Tar Heels ended a 25-year NCAA men’s title drought for the North Carolina program, the last time it won a national championship was 1991. Back then, that wasn’t even good enough to get on the cover of Lacrosse Magazine. The WCLL champ, Whittier, made it instead, with Carolina, Hobart, Essex, Virginia and Trenton being noted as champs in text only. Maybe if it was known it would take a quarter-century for a men’s title to return to Chapel Hill (page 32), someone wearing Carolina blue would have graced the glossy front page.


There was plenty of information inside on how North Carolina beat 11th-seeded Towson in the fi nal after knocking off Syracuse in the semis on their own turf in the Carrier Dome. Dennis Goldstein, the 1991 national player of the year, notched a goal and two assists in the championship for the Tar Heels’ fi rst win since 1986. They waited a bit longer for the next. — Corey McLaughlin


BILL BELICHICK


ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra talks with Patriots coach Bill Belichick about his passion for lacrosse at YouTube.com/ LacrosseMag.


NOW TRENDING ON LAXMAGAZINE.COM


U.S. U19 TEAM


Follow live coverage from Coquitlam, British Columbia, as the #USAMLAX U19 team goes for gold July 7-16.


HIGH SCHOOL WRAP


The Nike/Lacrosse Magazine high school champions and players of the year are crowned.


PUBLICATION Lacrosse Magazine


July/August 2016 Vol. 40 No. 7 LaxMagazine.com


Contents ©Lacrosse Magazine 2016. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent of US Lacrosse and the writer, photographer or artist is prohibited. LACROSSE and Lacrosse Magazine are registered trademarks of US Lacrosse, Inc. Lacrosse Magazine (ISSN: 1069-5893) is published 10 times per year in January, February, March, April, May, June, July/August, September/ October, November and December for $25 per year for youth players (youth players receive six issues), $35 for players age 18 and under, and $50 for adults 18 and over by US Lacrosse, 2 Loveton Circle, Sparks, Md. 21152. Periodical postage paid at Sparks, Md., and additional mailing offi ces.


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Phone (410) 235-6882. Fax (410) 366-6735.


VP, Comm & Membership Mark Hogan


Director, Communications Brian Logue


Editor-in-Chief Matt DaSilva mdasilva15


Deputy Editor Corey McLaughlin Corey_McL


Staff Writers Megan Schneider mschneider713


Matt Hamilton Matthamilton92


Bill Tanton Art Director


Gabriella Ferraro O’Brien


Graphic Design Manager Heather Hughes


Video Production Manager Mike Wallin


Digital Content Coordinator Sean Burns


Staff Photographers Kevin P. Tucker John Strohsacker


Advertising Sales Kirsten Brown


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