Jan. 24, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
These are exciting times for the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse program as the Tar Heels officially inaugurate the Joe Breschi coaching era on February 7, 2009 by hosting Robert Morris at Fetzer Field. Breschi, a 1990 Carolina graduate, returned to his alma mater as the head coach in June 2008 after an 11-year tenure at Ohio State where he rescued a Buckeye program from oblivion and made it into an NCAA Tournament calibre side.
Breschi is anxious to return the Tar Heel program to its past glory. He played and also served as an assistant coach at Carolina during a period of time when UNC made 12 final four appearances in a 14-year span from 1980 to 1993.
The Baltimore native who played his high school ball at the Loyola Blakefield School as a member of the Dons is also enthused about adapting UNC's style to one of his liking, a style which is also favored by today's collegiate players.
THE OFFENSE
"The offense will be transition style, pushing the ball from defense through our D-mids and LSMs," elaborates Breschi. "We will ask a lot of our defense throughout the year to pressure teams and put the ball on the ground to utilize our athletes in the transition game.
"We will run motion sets on 6v6 opportunities, attacking from every position on the offensive end, making our style difficult to defend. We will look for matchups that benefit our strengths as a team and put our guys in a position to be successful individually."
ATTACK
Expect the attack unit to be keyed by returning starters Bart Wagner (Glen Arm, Md.) and Gavin Petracca (Manhasset, N.Y.) with sophomore Billy Bitter (Stowe, Vt.) stepping in at the third starting spot for the graduated Michael B. Burns.
The top backups at the attack spots will be junior
Kevin Federico (West Islip, N.Y.), true freshman
Thomas Wood (Richmond, Va.) and senior
Matthias McCall (Manteo, N.C.).
Wagner, who has led the Heels in scoring three straight seasons, will lead the unit. He has tremendous hands and vision and the ability to score in 6v6 and transition.
Bitter had a tremendous fall ball season for Carolina. He is a dynamic lefty dodger who can break down a defense at any time which helps to open up his teammates.
The steady Petracca is a versatile player who can dodge, finish and distribute the ball. Breschi feels he will fit the system well.
Federico is a lefty finisher who rides well and hustles all over the field. Breschi labels Wood as a right-handed Billy Bitter. A dynamic player, he can shoot the lights out of the ball. His skills are tremendous and he will be used at both attack and midfield. McCall is known for his ability to chase the ball all around the field. He is relentless in his love and enthusiasm for the game and his style of play illustrates that.
OFFENSE MIDFIELD
1st Line-Ben Hunt, Bobby McAuley and Sean Delaney
Breschi indicated in the fall that two seniors and a junior would play on the first line midfield this spring. This trio is Ben Hunt (Arnold, Md.), Bobby McAuley (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Sean Delaney (Moorestown, N.J.).
Hunt ranks as a major threat on the field and is described by Breschi as one of the best players in the game. Hunt has excellent skills both right-handed and left-handed and he puts major pressure on the defense every time he touches the ball. He is a down-hill dodger who is difficult to defend.
McAuley plays with a tremendous versatility in his game. He has the ability to control the game through great communication and skills set. He plays both a finesse and a physical style of lacrosse, creating issues for opponents. He has terrific hands and vision.
The third component in the first line is Delaney. Sean is the most physical dodger on the Tar Heel team. He actually looks for the contact and runs through the slides to get to the cage.
2nd Line-Sean Burke, Cryder DiPietro and Jimmy Dunster
Going into spring practice, Breschi lists his second line as consisting of junior Sean Burke (Fort Salonga, N.Y.), junior Cryder DiPietro (Ruxton, Md.) and freshman Jimmy Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.).
Burke has tremendous talent, size and skills. He's a great athlete who can play both ends of the field to help bolster the Tar Heels' transition game. Breschi said keeping Burke healthy throughout the season will be a key to the squad's potential success.
DiPietro is a big middie who has solid skills and a terrific shot. He is one of the best shooters on the team with his hands free.
Freshman Dunster is an athlete who really came on in the fall, running the field and playing an aggressive style of offense. He attacks the cage well and worked on improving his shot in the off-season.
Breschi also said he expects to see redshirt sophomore Colin Sherwood (Greensboro, N.C.) and freshman Tyler Morton (Denver, Colo.) making an impact in the offensive midfield this season.
THE DEFENSE
"We will play an aggressive style of defense to put pressure on teams at the offensive end of the field," says Breschi. "We are looking to dictate the tempo of the game, playing man to man, zone, shut-offs and a high pressure style of lacrosse.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
Breschi identified six players he expects to see in the mix in the d-mid area, citing three players who will see the bulk of the playing time, a group which consists of sophomore Chris Hunt (Arnold, Md.), redshirt sophomore Michael Burns (Medford Lakes, N.J.) and freshman Chris Layne (Downingtown, Pa.). Hunt showed tremendous athleticism in the fall, turning up the UNC transition game and playing an aggressive style of defense. He can shut down offensive middies but also be a threat on offense. Burns is the most physical defender at the midfield that the Tar Heels have. Another transition player who runs the field extremely well and can face-off with great success when Face-Off Yearbook preseason first-team All-America and All-ACC choice Shane Walterhoefer (Ellicott City, Md.) needs a rest. Burns' competitiveness is evident every time the Tar Heels step on the field.
Layne is a youngster the coaches moved to D-middie in the fall. He blossomed in the role with great confidence to defend and handle the ball between the lines. Tommy D'Alessandro (Charlotte, N.C.), Matt Davie (Syosset, N.Y.) and Logan Corey (Chapel Hill, N.C.) will also battle for playing time coming out of the fall.
LSM POSITION
Freshman Mark Staines (Gambrills, Md.) was the biggest surprise of the fall for the coaching staff. He has amazing athleticism between the lines and as a former middie his ball-handling skills make him a huge threat in transition. He will also face-off at times when needed.
Junior Michael Jarvis (Richmond, Va.) is improving every day. His size, stick skills and range make him difficult to beat in 1v1 situations. Sophomore Milton Lyles (Miami Gardens, Fla.) had a solid fall, switching between close defense and LSM. He has continued to improve his stick skills to add to his "fastest man on the team" title. Senior Pell George (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Kerry McCormick (Garden City, N.Y.) will also be counted on in the spring while sophomore Scott Bollert (Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.) is redshirting after off-season foot surgery.
CLOSE DEFENSE
Two of the starting positions on close defense appear set heading into the spring. Senior captain Jack Ryan (Darien, Conn.) has been an enforcer on defense, directing traffic and playing a physical style that has set the tone for the close D. An excellent athlete, Jack has solid skills and stick work to help with the clearing game.
Sophomore Ryan Flanagan (West Islip, N.Y.) is probably also set in a starting spot for the Tar Heels. Flanagan is a rangy defender with solid ability to defend in 1v1 situations. A terrific athlete, Ryan covers a lot of ground with his wing span, knocking down passes and creating havoc for the offense.
Five Tar Heels have all shown signs of gathering up the third starting spot. Breschi has indicated it may be defense by committee at this starting position. In the hunt are sophomore Kevin Piegare (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), senior Andrew Pyke (Baltimore, Md.), junior Sean Jackson (Fairfax, Va.), redshirt junior Chris Cortina (Pennington, N.J.) and freshman Charlie McComas (Parkton, Md.).
GOALIE
The Tar Heels return one of the best netminders in the nation in redshirt senior Grant Zimmerman (Cockeysville, Md.), a preseason All-ACC selection as named by Face-Off Yearbook. Zimmerman will be in his third full-time year as UNC's starter after sharing the position as a freshman. He is a terrific stopper with great hands and the ability to run the defense. This past fall, he continued to work hard on his clearing game. His athleticism is amazing with great speed and the agility to be a threat outside the cage.
Freshman James Petracca (Manhasset, N.Y.), the younger brother of Gavin, had a tremendous fall, playing in all three fall ball games and saving over 65 percent of the shots he faced. He's a classic ball stopper with high energy and enthusiasm between the pipes. He continues to work on his clearing game and stick handling. Junior Chris Madalon (Darien, Conn.) will be redshirting during the 2009 season.
THE X
Carolina is fortunate in that it returns the player considered by many to be the top face-off man in the country in senior Shane Walterhoefer. "Walt" has set every conceivable record in the Tar Heel archives in three seasons and he now looks to hunt down players at the top of NCAA charts in his senior campaign. Both sophomore Michael Burns and freshman Mark Staines will be counted on as proven backups.
A DEEP BENCH
The Tar Heels' deep bench also includes junior attackman Joe Howard (Chapel Hill, N.C.), freshman attackman Ryan Kotowski (Crofton, Md.), sophomore defenseman Emmit Kellar (Glyndon, Md.), freshman defenseman Gray Smith (Winston-Salem, N.C.), sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Locke (Charlotte, N.C.), freshman midfielder Matt Conte (Thornton, Pa.) and freshman midfielder Jeff Muscatello (Wells, Maine).
