Jan. 28, 2010
Tar Heel head lacrosse coach Joe Breschi sat down with associate athletic communications director Dave Lohse prior to the season to talk about the upcoming 2010 Carolina lacrosse season.
Lohse: Coach, what are some of the points of emphasis you and the coaching staff are addressing heading into the 2010 season?
Coach Breschi: "I think one of things we are looking at is the special teams. We want to become a better riding team and a better clearing team. The first half of last season, I thought we did a nice job in those areas but the second half of the year I thought we tailed off in our efficiency. We also want to be better both in man up and man down situations.
"One of the critical things we are changing is the commitment we are making to become a two-way midfield oriented team. That is the ultimate goal of the program moving forward. Whether we can do it fully and do it with three midfield lines we are going to make that attempt which we did a little bit of in the fall.
"I would say those are the critical things - the special teams, man up, man down, riding, clearing, being a better inbounds riding team than we were last year and embracing a two-way midfield concept.
"We always want to play fast. We always want to be aggressive defensively and get the ball on the ground because I think that is where we are our best.
"Ultimately the switch to playing the two-way midfielder will be the biggest change you'll see in UNC lacrosse."
Lohse: Now that we are a year into your stewardship of the program, how has the transition gone?
Coach Breschi: "I think the biggest thing after year one is the way they've embraced things. After meeting with the upperclassmen and the captains recently, they said that this was the best fall they've had here based on the fact they were used to the system. They were more comfortable in it which allowed them to press forward and fine tune the things we've implemented. We're try to push them forward to the next level which is to get them to understand the intricacies of what schemes we are in, offensively and defensively.
Lohse: Can you talk a little about the additions you've made to the team. How have the newcomers adapted to the Tar Heels' style in fall ball?
Coach Breschi: "I think all four of the freshman midfielders - you have Ian Braddish, Greg McBride, Zander Walters and Cam Wood - are two-way middie type guys. Three of them played on a line in the fall although McBride was hurt and didn't see any action. The others played on the third midfield line together. They had some chemistry together which was good to see. McBride will add significantly to that line so those four middies will see considerable time this year. William Scroggs is going to help at the faceoff X by being a third faceoff option for us.
"Then you look at the attack and Marcus Holman has made the biggest impact there so far and Stephen Burns is coming along and will help us down the line.
"Defensively, "Boom" Leighton-Armah is playing a close defense role for us. We moved him from pole to close defense in the fall because he's a very physical presence. Another freshman, Kieran McDonald is playing long pole.
"Ed Prevost, the transfer attackman, has a tremendous work ethic and he will make an impact for us. He's done a terrific job of doing extra work outside of practice. He's terrific off ball. And he's a competitor. He and Marcus (Holman) are two terrific additions to the attack."
Lohse: Coach, let's talk about the team position by position, and see how things are going to line up. We'll start with the attack unit.
Coach Breschi: "Obviously it's going to be Billy Bitter at the quarterback position. Our offense runs through Billy. He knows he will be targeted every game. We're trying to fine tune his vision and have him see the field more. We also don't want him have to shoulder as much of the offense as he did last year. We'll need to have the other guys help out more because the opposing players are immediately going to slide to Billy. Obviously he's the guy everyone is expecting a big year from.
"We missed having Gavin Petracca in fall ball. He was injured in the fall but it's still his position coming back as our vocal leader on the offensive end of the field. He's a great shooter and a great field general. In essence, he was kind of our leader of the offense last year with his outstanding organizing skills. It was fun to see improve last year. He demanded a lot of his teammates. He put guys in the right spots. He settled the ball down. He's more of the field general of the offense. While not holding the ball as much or carrying it as much as Billy, Gavin was the quarterback of the offense in a different fashion.
"Then I'd have to go with Marcus Holman, Ed Prevost and Thomas Wood as the next three guys on our depth chart. As of today we are five deep in this position and it may go in that order. We may go with Marcus if we were to start today. He's very similar to Bart Wagner but doesn't have the experience of a Bart Wagner. He has a better dodging ability than Bart and better hands than Bart. I think he needs the experience. So we have those five guys forming our top corps heading into 2010."
Lohse: "Sounds good Coach. Now give me a breakdown of how the midfield might stack up."
Coach Breschi: "As of the end of the fall you'd have had to go with Sean DeLaney, Sean Burke, Cryder DiPietro and Jimmy Dunster on the initial line. But Burke had a season-ending injury in the off-season and he will now be red-shirting. This fall we practiced with those four guys on the first midfield line. I think our idea of playing four on a line is part of the plan of playing two ends of the field for our middies. So if any offensive-oriented middie gets stuck on the defensive end, hopefully we've used him as a wing on the faceoff or he's played both ends and he's used to it. Having middies play both ends of the field gives you a more effective way of building depth. Whether we can accomplish this and it stays that way we'll have to wait and see.
"Our second line includes Chris Hunt, Tyler Morton, Jeff Muscatello, who in particular had a very good fall, and Chris Layne. Those four played on the second line this fall. Three of those guys were short stick defensive middies for us last year but they also combined for four goals and two assists out in San Francisco at our fall ball game. The concept is to try to work those guys into being more two-way players.
"Then the four freshmen I mentioned earlier were on the third midfield line. We're teaching them defense. We're keeping out scheme simple defensively. "Our hope this season is to try and pressure teams across the board which helps jump start our offense. One of the big things in college lacrosse is to try to keep offensive middies on the field as much as possible. If we develop two-way middies and therefore don't have to take guys off the field we can in turn pressure teams while they are substituting."
Lohse: With more two-way middies, will the role of short-stick defensive midfield become more of a specialty role?
Coach Breschi: "Right now we have two specific short stick d-middies. Our No. 1 guy is Michael Burns and he will also do most of the faceoff work. Our second faceoff guy is probably Mark Staines. And then William Scroggs is the third guy. Outside of Burns, Logan Corey is probably our top defensive middle. Those two guys are both stoppers. Down the road we're trying to move away from using specific short stick mids on defense but we feel these guys are so strong at that position we are best off keeping them in that role. That's where they will help us the most.
Lohse: Okay, Coach, give me an idea of which people will man the pole position and what the depth chart looks like there.
Coach Breschi: "I'd have to say that Sean Jackson would be the No. 1 pole at this point if we had to play today. Milton Lyles would be No. 2. Mark Staines would be No. 3. All of them bring something different to the game which I think is a good thing. Jackson is big, strong and athletic. He runs the field well. Has a very good stick. Milton Lyles brings speed to the game and is excellent in claiming ground balls. Staines is another athletic guy who can face off as well. He'll be a little more multi purpose than he was last year.
Lohse: Coach, I think the close defense is going to be an improved part of our team. Can you talk about what we're going to see there.
Coach Breschi: "Even though Charlie McComas missed fall ball, heading into the spring Charlie will be out there with Ryan Flanagan and Michael Jarvis. Jarvis would be our third starter at close position at this point. With that being said Jackson would probably be our fourth guy at close D with a guy like Kevin Piegare fighting for that spot as well. Redshirt freshman Gray Smith had a terrific fall. Then William Leighton-Armah is being groomed to play down there. We have a decent core group of guys. It's going to be critical for our depth to come along quickly down there.
Lohse: The million dollar question coach is how are we going to shape up in the goal.
Coach Breschi: "It's been interesting because both goalies who were here in the fall played well. Anytime you've come off a season where you've played and you've got that experience you go in with more confidence. I think what James Petracca has shown is a tremendous amount of confidence. He's really worked hard to be a positive leader on the field which has been a good thing. He had a terrific game when we scrimmaged the Alumni. I think Chris Madalon, who hasn't really played much in his career here, is certainly an extremely capable goalie and ready to make an impact. He's got great size and a terrific outlet pass. He makes saves. I like the depth we have. It's a wide open situation going into the spring. Penn State transfer Steven Rastivo is another terrific goalie. He has a good outlet pass, has extremely quick hands and can make saves for us. At the end of the day for a goalie, it's saving the ball number one, it's outlets and controlling the defense number two.
Lohse: How do you feel about the depth of your team going into the season?
Coach Breschi: "I think we're pretty deep across the board. I think we're deeper than we were last year on the attack. At the midfield we're creating depth although it's inexperienced. I think we're creating it in the style of play we're going to run as we move forward. Defensively, I feel confident we can run five guys and as many as four poles. I think the biggest question mark for us is consistent goalie play and the faceoff X. If we can get better wing play than we had last year and control the ball better after we do win faceoffs it that will be an enormous part to our success."
Lohse: Coach I know you have a tremendous coaching staff. Can you talk to me a little bit about them.
Coach Breschi: "Pat Myers is the kind of guy who is a perfectionist when it comes to attention to detail. That's what makes him special. He leaves no stone unturned. He's learned so much in one year with relationship building, with getting the most out of the players, with developing himself as an overall coach, with being creative. Pat has all the tools to become a great head coach one day.
"There is a great dynamic between Chris Feifs and Pat. Chris has a willingness to learn and a gift dealing with different personalities. He is a great fit for our program.
"I think the world of Brian Holman. He has great wisdom. He has a son in the program and that makes him great with relationships with other the parents in the process. He adds a different dimension to our staff. And he's great working with the goalies.
Lohse: Now that you are 18 months into the job, how is it going for you personally?
Coach Breschi: "I couldn't be happier to be back home. To give back to the program that had such an extraordinary impact on me in such a critical part of my life when I was 18-22 years old, I almost can't describe it. I had a chance to play under Coach Scroggs and to learn, not just how to play the game, but also how to take responsibility and learn accountability. To Come back to the program and give back to UNC in some way and try to impact these kids and their lives and make a positive impact is a thrill. Julie and I and the girls are thrilled to be here. I hope I will be here a long time. It's our home now."
