UNC Mines for Midfield Depth in Fall Ball
by Nelson Coffin | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Sophomore midfielder Tyler Morton goes to work against Brown in the San Francisco Lacrosse Classic on Oct. 10. © Peyton William |
In addition to its game against Brown, North Carolina shoehorned a ton into an October weekend in San Francisco.
The Heels left the East Coast at 10 p.m. on a Friday for the Bay Area and departed for home just 50 hours later.
In between, they hosted a clinic, hammered the Bears, 13-5, at the San Francisco Lacrosse Classic, visited Alcatraz, dined on a Coast Guard Cutter and viewed an aerial display by the renowned Blue Angels flight team.
No wonder coach Joe Breschi gave the team three days to recover after its return.
As it turns out, the trip was worth the effort for many reasons, including the fact that many of his previously untested players were able to perform well in front of nearly 5,000 fans in Kezar Stadium.
“Eleven of our goals were scored by freshmen and sophomores,” Breschi. “It was almost like a playoff atmosphere, in terms of all the people and how fired up they were. They weren’t cheering for one team or the other. I think they just wanted to see some good lacrosse. At some points, they were ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ with some of the better plays.”
Breschi was pleased that his second and third midfield lines — sophomores Jeff Muscatello, Tyler Morton and Chris Layne and freshmen Ian Braddish, Cam Wood and Zander Walters — produced six goals and three assists in the victory.
Those players will vie for time in the spring behind established starters Sean Delaney and Jimmy Dunster, as well as Sean Burke, who started seven games last season, and junior college transfer Ed Prevost.
Redshirt junior goalie Chris Madalon also came through for Carolina, which dressed 30 players for the Brown contest. All of them played.
“It was an opportunity for our guys to give something back
to the sport,” Breschi said, referring to the pregame clinic
staged by both teams.
