COLLEGE PREVIEW 2014 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S TOP 20 3 I
Enemy Lines WHAT RIVAL COACHES SAY
“Five-star recruits at all six offensive spots. Weakness: Only one ball… Playing better in the ‘other areas’ (unsettled, ride, transition)… The rule changes had an effect on Keenan. Does he rebound?... The guy who may surprise is Pat Foster, who has been more of a utility guy off the bench but can be as dangerous as anyone… Defense improving as Breschi puts recruiting dollars into that half of field.”
North Carolina TAR HEELS
2013 RECORD: 13-4 (2-1 ACC) COACH: JOE BRESCHI (6TH YEAR) • RECORD AT NORTH CAROLINA: 59-25
09 10 11 12 13
Schedule Feb 9
Chad Tutton
Key Game North Carolina has not
visited the Carrier Dome since 1994. With playoffs not far off, this could be the first of multiple meetings. Nicky Galasso, once a promising star for UNC, now plays for Syracuse.
Feb 15 Feb 22 Mar 1 Mar 7
Mar 11 Mar 15 Mar 18 Mar 23 Mar 29 Apr 5
Apr 12 Apr 18
at Furman Manhattan Dartmouth Notre Dame at Princeton Bucknell at Duke Harvard Maryland
at Johns Hopkins Virginia
at Syracuse at High Point
Projected Starters A Joey Sankey (Jr.)* G: 36
f the 2014 season unfolds the way Joe Breschi envisions it, North Carolina will throw an army of midfielders at its opponents with regularity. Given the daunting stretch of ranked
teams the Tar Heels face over a two-month span that begins March 1 with Notre Dame, Breschi figures he has no choice but to keep the substitution box busy. While North Carolina waits to see who emerges as a leader after the graduation of dynamic attackman Marcus Holman, Breschi would prefer his players not rely too much on attackmen Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter to set the tone. That means top
midfielder
Chad Tutton will get more scoring chances, and it means the Tar Heels want to run opponents out of gas with waves of midfielders.
“We might play 16 middies a game
— three lines on offense, four defensive midfielders, three faceoff guys,” Breschi said. “We still want to make it a track meet by getting up and down the field in a hurry. Our schedule is going to force us to play more people. We’re all going to have to find a way to build more depth in the ACC.
34 LACROSSE MAGAZINE February 2014 >>
A Jimmy Bitter (Jr.)* G: 32
Top Returner A JOEY SANKEY (JR.)
With Jimmy Bitter recovering from knee surgery, the small, hyper-quick Sankey will shoulder the load.
North Carolina experimented with the three-line approach in the fall, with good results. Digging deep into an expanded midfield rotation helped the Tar Heels outscore Ohio State by nine goals in the first half of an October scrimmage. Tutton is the unquestioned top gun in
the midfield. But the first two groups were undecided heading into the preseason, since so many Tar Heels have made a solid case for spots on the first two lines. At this stage, it seems a good bet that sophomores Steve Pontrello and Spencer Parks (21 combined goals in 2013) will join Tutton, although redshirt freshman Michael Tagliaferri had an outstanding fall. As for the rest of the midfielders, youth
will be served in Chapel Hill. Sophomores Brent Armstrong and Jake Matthai will push seniors Mark McNeill and Pat Foster on the depth chart. And look for talented Canadian freshman Shane Simpson to force his way into the rotation. “Midfield health is going to be crucial for
us,” Breschi said. “This schedule is going to force us to play more people, even in the critical games when coaches sometimes
rely on fewer guys. Not this year.” — Gary Lambrecht
A Publication of US Lacrosse
A Patrick Kelly (Fr.) G: 0
M Chad Tutton (Jr.)* G: 28
M Steve Pontrello (So.)* G: 12
M Spencer Parks (So.) G: 9
A: 20 A: 20 A: 0 A: 7 A: 1 A: 1
FO R.G. Keenan (Sr.)* FO%: 52.9
LSM Ryan Kilpatrick (Jr.) GB: 36
Pts: 8 CT: 8
D Jordan Smith (Sr.)* GB: 7
D Evan Connell (So.)* GB: 25
D Jake Bailey (Jr.) GB: 12
* returning starters X-Factor FO R.G. KEENAN (SR.)
Keenan had an off year and faded late in 2013. But he’s still capable of dominating in the clutch, and the Tar Heels probably will spell Keenan more with Frankie Kelly and Brent Armstrong to keep him fresh.
Power Ratings (SCALE OF 1-5)
4 3 3 4 OFFENSE DEFENSE GOALIE FACEOFF
CT: 13 CT: 15 CT: 12
G Kieran Burke (So.)* GAA: 10.07 SV%: 54.5
Tournament Trend
QUARTERS QUARTERS 1ST 1ST
RD RD
QUARTERS
©PEYTON WILLIAMS (CT, RGK); ©KEVIN TUCKER (RP); ©MARC PISCOTTY (WB)
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