UNC 2024

[Finster]

Duffy not dressed and wearing a big knee brace on the sideline. Guess he's done for the year.

Ugh

Very sorry to hear that.

[LaxPundit07]

6-5 at half if Dom uses his right hand on the last two possessions. Dear Lord. He is fantastic, but that is rec league stuff.

[CloutierPoutine]

Every Notre Dame player and beating us on Defense. What happened to this unit? Breschi can’t stay in front of anyone! Understand Barton is a huge loss but this is embarrassing… zero resistance!

[JerrysWorld]

Saw a picture of Duffy in a knee brace. I’m assuming he is done for the Duke game? Hopefully nothing too serious.

[Laxfan23]

Yes a disappointing second half but a valiant first half effort up 3-2 at end of first and down 5-4 at half. UNC is down three key starters and ND is averaging 16+ ppg.
ND has scored just 10 once, 13 once and 14+ on all others including 18 against Cornell,15 against Duke and 14 against Syracuse.
No one is happy about how the season has unfolded particularly starting with the High point collapse. They competed hard against both Syracuse and Army coming up a goal short. They had a good half against ND despite a four game losing streak.
Here is hoping for a complete effort against Duke….something positive to build upon……

[10 10 2]

Both Schwarz brothers also did not play against ND. Injured? By my count that's 5 starters/key contributors out.

[JustR3Lax]

A win against the Blue Devils won’t fix the season, but man would it feel great. A lot of young building blocks to be excited about for the future. Offense, defense, special teams. With a few more pieces, the maturation of the underclassmen/junior class, and an updated ACC landscape, I am excited for this team moving forward.

But first, the task at hand… Excited for this weekend

All Heels All Day

[Lax4love]

Yes, let's hope that the Heels show up for the seniors and knock off Duke....

I will take a crack at 2025, and yes, there are some positives going forward:

UVA and Duke lose a ton of offense, and to a lesser extent, ND, too. This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact. I expect all 3 teams to be active in the transfer market, but the pickings will be much less helpful than in years past, so the good news for the Heels is that the ACC is not going to be as strong as it has the past couple years. However, Syracuse will only be better as the the fantastic sophomores become juniors....

One of the best things going for the Heels is that the roster for 2025 will be much smaller and more like pre-Covid rosters. This will mean a better experience for all the players--practice, facilities (no sharing of lockers), travel, among other things, will all be immeasurably better once the roster shrinks. This should create a better team dynamic and chemistry.

Attack---there has been much longing for Duffy, Petro and Matan to all be together on the field at the same time and 2025 is when it will happen. Matan is extremely athletic (take a look at his backhand goal against ND last week) and he should benefit greatly from moving back to his natural position. Look for Petro to hopefully improve his shooting percentage as well as his overall IQ (to be fair, he had not played for almost 2 years before this season). Duffy again will be the focal point of the offense and he should be even better at recognizing what the defense is offering. Wrede should also get some time next year based on his spot play this year.

Mids---to get back to an élite level, UNC is going to have to figure out how to get more production for the midfield. This unit has been the Achilles Heel of the team for the past several years. There are some really athletic options in 2025, including DeMarco, Egan, Schwarz, Levey, Whaling and Preis. However, it is just beyond me how this unit has failed to have much of an impact, if any, this year and in years past. Look for the the two 5 stars who are coming in (Harshbarger and Szewczyk) to get ample opportunity to compete for playing time. It seems like the talent will be there but there needs to be much more production to get the Heels back to consistently winning games in the ACC. This could be an area where the transfer portal might help a bit.

FO/Wings--Wambach is fantastic and should be even better in 2025. However, it is hard to discern what's behind him, now that Tyeryar is gone. This could also be an area for the portal to add some depth.
Schwarz did a nice job as LSM, and the playing time that Prohaszka and Koopman received this year should help them grow into better players.

Defense--this will continue to be the strength of the team, with Barton (maybe the best player on the team) and Thomann returning. The loss of Geppert will be felt, but I expect that incoming frosh Fox to get an opportunity to step in, much like Thomann did this year.
Krieg had a solid career, and Goode has looked good in spot time. However, I would not be surprised if UNC is active in the portal, particularly if the Princeton AA goalie has an interest in taking his extra year in Chapel Hill.
Shorties will be outstanding next year, only losing Striano, who was great on the wings at getting ground balls. English and Hagerup are both lockdown defenders, and Frankenheimer is physical and athletic. If the goalie situation is strong, expect this defense to be one of the top performing units in the country.

[JeremyCuse]

Yes, let's hope that the Heels show up for the seniors and knock off Duke....

I will take a crack at 2025, and yes, there are some positives going forward:

UVA and Duke lose a ton of offense, and to a lesser extent, ND, too. This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact. I expect all 3 teams to be active in the transfer market, but the pickings will be much less helpful than in years past, so the good news for the Heels is that the ACC is not going to be as strong as it has the past couple years. However, Syracuse will only be better as the the fantastic sophomores become juniors....

One of the best things going for the Heels is that the roster for 2025 will be much smaller and more like pre-Covid rosters. This will mean a better experience for all the players--practice, facilities (no sharing of lockers), travel, among other things, will all be immeasurably better once the roster shrinks. This should create a better team dynamic and chemistry.

Attack---there has been much longing for Duffy, Petro and Matan to all be together on the field at the same time and 2025 is when it will happen. Matan is extremely athletic (take a look at his backhand goal against ND last week) and he should benefit greatly from moving back to his natural position. Look for Petro to hopefully improve his shooting percentage as well as his overall IQ (to be fair, he had not played for almost 2 years before this season). Duffy again will be the focal point of the offense and he should be even better at recognizing what the defense is offering. Wrede should also get some time next year based on his spot play this year.

Mids---to get back to an élite level, UNC is going to have to figure out how to get more production for the midfield. This unit has been the Achilles Heel of the team for the past several years. There are some really athletic options in 2025, including DeMarco, Egan, Schwarz, Levey, Whaling and Preis. However, it is just beyond me how this unit has failed to have much of an impact, if any, this year and in years past. Look for the the two 5 stars who are coming in (Harshbarger and Szewczyk) to get ample opportunity to compete for playing time. It seems like the talent will be there but there needs to be much more production to get the Heels back to consistently winning games in the ACC. This could be an area where the transfer portal might help a bit.

FO/Wings--Wambach is fantastic and should be even better in 2025. However, it is hard to discern what's behind him, now that Tyeryar is gone. This could also be an area for the portal to add some depth.
Schwarz did a nice job as LSM, and the playing time that Prohaszka and Koopman received this year should help them grow into better players.

Defense--this will continue to be the strength of the team, with Barton (maybe the best player on the team) and Thomann returning. The loss of Geppert will be felt, but I expect that incoming frosh Fox to get an opportunity to step in, much like Thomann did this year.
Krieg had a solid career, and Goode has looked good in spot time. However, I would not be surprised if UNC is active in the portal, particularly if the Princeton AA goalie has an interest in taking his extra year in Chapel Hill.
Shorties will be outstanding next year, only losing Striano, who was great on the wings at getting ground balls. English and Hagerup are both lockdown defenders, and Frankenheimer is physical and athletic. If the goalie situation is strong, expect this defense to be one of the top performing units in the country.

Not to be that guy but your a year early on the 5th year/grad transfer covid portal. This is the last year for that as there are 25 + IVY dudes in the portal right now. Next year your info is spot on.

[Mr3Putt]

This is a lot. Show up … move the ball. And get everyone involved. You have big advantage @ X , where you can be competitive. If the goalie is not competitive- PULL HIM. What do u have to lose? Nothing.

[JerrysWorld]

Yes, let's hope that the Heels show up for the seniors and knock off Duke....

I will take a crack at 2025, and yes, there are some positives going forward:

UVA and Duke lose a ton of offense, and to a lesser extent, ND, too. This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact. I expect all 3 teams to be active in the transfer market, but the pickings will be much less helpful than in years past, so the good news for the Heels is that the ACC is not going to be as strong as it has the past couple years. However, Syracuse will only be better as the the fantastic sophomores become juniors....

One of the best things going for the Heels is that the roster for 2025 will be much smaller and more like pre-Covid rosters. This will mean a better experience for all the players--practice, facilities (no sharing of lockers), travel, among other things, will all be immeasurably better once the roster shrinks. This should create a better team dynamic and chemistry.

Attack---there has been much longing for Duffy, Petro and Matan to all be together on the field at the same time and 2025 is when it will happen. Matan is extremely athletic (take a look at his backhand goal against ND last week) and he should benefit greatly from moving back to his natural position. Look for Petro to hopefully improve his shooting percentage as well as his overall IQ (to be fair, he had not played for almost 2 years before this season). Duffy again will be the focal point of the offense and he should be even better at recognizing what the defense is offering. Wrede should also get some time next year based on his spot play this year.

Mids---to get back to an élite level, UNC is going to have to figure out how to get more production for the midfield. This unit has been the Achilles Heel of the team for the past several years. There are some really athletic options in 2025, including DeMarco, Egan, Schwarz, Levey, Whaling and Preis. However, it is just beyond me how this unit has failed to have much of an impact, if any, this year and in years past. Look for the the two 5 stars who are coming in (Harshbarger and Szewczyk) to get ample opportunity to compete for playing time. It seems like the talent will be there but there needs to be much more production to get the Heels back to consistently winning games in the ACC. This could be an area where the transfer portal might help a bit.

FO/Wings--Wambach is fantastic and should be even better in 2025. However, it is hard to discern what's behind him, now that Tyeryar is gone. This could also be an area for the portal to add some depth.
Schwarz did a nice job as LSM, and the playing time that Prohaszka and Koopman received this year should help them grow into better players.

Defense--this will continue to be the strength of the team, with Barton (maybe the best player on the team) and Thomann returning. The loss of Geppert will be felt, but I expect that incoming frosh Fox to get an opportunity to step in, much like Thomann did this year.
Krieg had a solid career, and Goode has looked good in spot time. However, I would not be surprised if UNC is active in the portal, particularly if the Princeton AA goalie has an interest in taking his extra year in Chapel Hill.
Shorties will be outstanding next year, only losing Striano, who was great on the wings at getting ground balls. English and Hagerup are both lockdown defenders, and Frankenheimer is physical and athletic. If the goalie situation is strong, expect this defense to be one of the top performing units in the country.

This is under the assumption all these kids decide to come back…

[Lax4love]

"This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact."

I think I got this right--only Ivys get the extra year in 2025, and not too many of them. And I did reference the Princeton goalie--he may be biggest 'get.'

[JeremyCuse]

"This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact."

I think I got this right--only Ivys get the extra year in 2025, and not too many of them. And I did reference the Princeton goalie--he may be biggest 'get.'

There's about 25 in right now and likely more to come. D 2 and D3 guys also have another year but yes the regular D1 guys the last of the covid extra years are done.

[Laxfan23]

Only the IVY players have another year of eligibilty. Some IVY players took five years to graduate from their IVY institution and therefore had only one extra grad year. Others went straight through undergrad without withdrawing and preserving another IVY season and therefore had two grad years eligible.
Next year, 2025, will be the last year and only IVY league and perhaps NESCAC(?) will have grad year eligibility. Of course injured players or disgruntled players with their undergrad institutions can transfer out to greener pastures but the total number of transfer candidates should be far less than the last two years. Also some players who lost a year at non IVY schools were allowed a fifth year to do a graduate year allowing 4 years of lax in a five year window. i believe none of those fifth year non ivy players have any potential fifth year opportunities in 2025…..i think i got that right

[GaitsRightHand]

"This will be the first year these teams can't reload using 5th years/grad students. There are some Ivy players that will get an extra year, but 2024 was it for the Covid impact."

I think I got this right--only Ivys get the extra year in 2025, and not too many of them. And I did reference the Princeton goalie--he may be biggest 'get.'

There's about 25 in right now and likely more to come. D 2 and D3 guys also have another year but yes the regular D1 guys the last of the covid extra years are done.

D2 guys unfortunately did not get the extra 2021 covid year. D3 did though. I expect to see some more D3 to D1 transfers this year.

[Finster]

Am I the only one who thinks UNC just might pull the upset this weekend versus Duke? Even without Duffy?

Anyone with me here?

[LaxPundit07]

Am I the only one who thinks UNC just might pull the upset this weekend versus Duke? Even without Duffy?

Anyone with me here?

Yes. Yes.
No.

[GaitsRightHand]

Am I the only one who thinks UNC just might pull the upset this weekend versus Duke? Even without Duffy?

Anyone with me here?

Yes. Yes.
No.

Probably not...
But I'm throwing a couple bucks on UNC ML just in case.

[Laxfan23]

Anything can happen……UNC has played very well at times hanging with some top teams and narrowly losing to Army/ Syracuse, etc. just not sure how much is left in the tank??? Any result ranging from a narrow shocking victory to a blowout defeat would not surprise me. Here is hoping for the former!

[thegman]

Anything can happen……UNC has played very well at times hanging with some top teams and narrowly losing to Army/ Syracuse, etc. just not sure how much is left in the tank??? Any result ranging from a narrow shocking victory to a blowout defeat would not surprise me. Here is hoping for the former!

Would love to see the Seniors get the W, and just maybe a little of the bad taste out of their mouths from this season's tough Ls. No Duffy, Barton, Schwarz (?) makes the odds long but hoping there's big fight in the undersized dog. GTHdook!!!