Calvert Hall High School was the host to two Top 15 teams earlier today as North Carolina and Ohio State scrimmaged each other as part of the MRB Thumbs Up Event. The event was used as a fundraising event in order to support the Michael R. Breschi Scholarship. The scholarship was set up at Ohio State as remembrance for the death of North Carolina head coach Joe Breschi’s 3-year-old son who passed away in March of 2004. The scholarship is given to an Ohio State senior lacrosse player who best exemplifies the spirit of Michael. At the end of the day, the game raised $7,000 for the scholarship.
As for the game, it was pretty one-sided in favor of North Carolina. In the early going both teams were sloppy as the Tar Heels held most of the possession in the early going. They would have had some goals as well if not for the play of Ohio State’s freshman goalie Nick Doyle. Doyle stopped six of the first seven shots he saw, some of which were highlight worthy.
Eventually, the Tar Heels broke through on their possessions and started to show the disparity in talent between the two teams. The Tar Heels rattled off eight of the next nine goals of the game and although no one was officially keeping score, ended the half up 12-3.
Joey Sankey looked strong against Ohio State and 2013 honorable mention all-american defenseman Joe Maurer as he had five points and one assist in the game. Sankey made a few highlight reel goals as he scored from no angle and goal line extended on several occasions.
It is also worth noting that the Tar Heels were working a lot of picks on goal line extended anytime they got into 6v6 action. I would assume that the Tar Heels were using it as a bland offense for this game and to see if they could shake what should be a very good Ohio State defense this season.
As for Ohio State, senior goalie Greg Dutton did not play in today’s scrimmage which is why Nick Doyle played the whole game in place of Dutton. Buckeye fans should not be concerned as head coach Nick Myers said that it was a coach’s decision to not play him and that he is fine.
The defense for the Buckeyes was really strong in the early going as they slid and recovered well and bodied up well on 1v1 dodges. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes did not fare well at the faceoff ‘X’. The Buckeyes used LSM Darius Bowling and Spencer Matches at the ‘X’ but both were not effective on the afternoon. It seems as if the Buckeyes are still trying to find a replacement for the departed Trey Wilkes.
A lot was made of the talent that North Carolina brought in as they had the No. 3 ranked recruiting class according to Inside Lacrosse. Fans got a preview of the talent the Tar Heels brought in as No. 13 ranked recruit Shane Simpson had a nice goal for the Tar Heels and saw a lot of playing time. The other notable freshman was the No. 17 ranked recruit, Austin Pifani. Pifani started with Evan Connell and Jake Bailey and played a large portion of the game. Pifani has great agility for a guy as big as he is and was able to stay out on the Buckeyes hands.
Players who were injured or missing for both teams included Tar Heels midfielder Chad Tutton and Ohio State midfielder Jesse King who were trying out for Team Canada. Tar Heel captain Campbell Wood warmed up with the team but only in stick and gloves and had a large knee brace on his right knee. He was still bringing heat as he warmed up the goalies. UNC midfielder Ryan Creighton had either a sleeve or some sort of white brace on his right forearm and hand today but played. Finally, LSM Ryan Kilpatrick had a goal today but injured his shoulder or clavicle on the play. He was seen with a sling on his left arm soon after.
