Brown, UNC Take Fall Ball to San Francisco

by Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Update: UNC 13, Brown 5 (San Jose Mercury News)

Billy Bitter is North Carolina's top gun returning, but the San Francisco Lacrosse Classic will give the Tar Heels a chance to test drive some homegrown talent among freshmen. © Kevin P. Tucker

San Francisco Fall Classic

Date: Satuday, Oct. 10
Site: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, Calif.
Lax fax: If not pre-purchased, single tickets cost $28. More at sflacrosse.com.
Who’s in: Brown and North Carolina

Why you should go:
This inaugural event pits the rising Ivy League power Bears against the ACC’s Tar Heels, giving fans in Northern California an opportunity to see NCAA Division I performers in person for the first time. Moreover, all proceeds are earmarked for Bay Area Youth Sports, an organization devoted to helping underserved youth find a healthy outlet through participation sports. To that end, Carolina and Brown players will hold a clinic for 4th-8th graders prior to the contest while coaches from both squads will do the same for local youth and high school coaches. There’s also a historic twist to playing the game at Kezar Stadium, a reconstructed version of the original structure built in 1925 and the home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers from 1946-71. Kezar was rebuilt in 1989 with a more modest seating capacity (10,000) than its 60,000-seat predecessor.

First impressions:
There’s some intrigue regarding the Heels’ incoming homegrown talent, namely midfielder William Scroggs and attackman Stephen Burns, who will join rising sophomore middie Logan Corey. All three played for nearby Chapel Hill High, although Burns attended Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut after playing for Chapel Hill for three years.

Defenseman Gray Smith, from Forsyth Country Day in Winston-Salem, will also be getting his feet wet after redshirting this spring.

“We want to encourage more North Carolina kids to get involved with our program,” said UNC coach Joe Breschi, who played an intrasquad game in Wilmington last winter and will hold another in Charlotte in 2010. “We’re hoping all these guys are able to make an impact right away.”

Carolina also will unveil two members of Lacrosse Magazine’s No. 2-ranked Gilman (Md.) team in midfielder Greg McBride and attackman Marcus Holman, a duo instrumental in the South’s first-ever victory in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic in June. McBride scored a goal in the battle and Holman had three goals and two assists for the winners.

“Greg isn’t the biggest guy, but he’s as athletic and competitive as you can get. And Marcus is such a smart player and great finisher. He’s the kind of guy who will be in the mix to replace (attackman) Bart Wagner,” said Breschi.

Brown’s Lars Tiffany will also boast a member of the winning South team in longstick middie Roger Ferguson from St. Alban’s (D.C.), an offensive threat who also has the ability to guard quicker opponents as a close defender. “We’ll probably also use him at the faceoff X, too,” Tiffany said. “The more he’s on the field, the better.”

Moreover, Tiffany said he was excited about watching attackman Johnny DePeters, from the Taft School (Conn.), use his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame to make deft moves around the crease. “He has the power to run through checks and the quickness to get his shot off,” Tiffany said.