Dave Pietramala joins UNC men’s lacrosse staff

Dave Pietramala joins UNC men’s lacrosse staff as DC, weeks after the program added Jon Thompson as the new OC.

According to Inside Lacrosse, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team has added Syracuses DC [autotag]Dave Pietramala[/autotag] to the staff.

The move comes weeks after the program added Jon Thompson as the new offensive coordinator to their coaching staff. According to reports, Pietramala will step in as the new defensive coordinator, while Kevin Unterstein shift his focus to the specialists.

Pietramala had been a key part of Syracuse’s identity the last two seasons, helping them form into a defensive juggernaut. Last season, Syracuse led the ACC in conference play with saves (89). They finished third in conference play for caused turnovers per game (51).

On the other hand, UNC had its fair share of struggles on the defensive side of the ball, finishing dead last in conference play for saves (56). The Tar Heels also finished a spot below Syracuse in conference play for caused turnovers per game (44).

The move should be fruitful for UNC as they look to rewrite last season’s failures. They finished last in the conference, going 1-5 in ACC play, so the retooling of the coaching staff has been promising.

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Two Tar Heels named to USILA All-America

Two UNC Lacrosse players were honored with All-America selections on Thursday.

Two North Carolina men’s lacrosse players are earning honors for the past season, being recognized by the USILA as All-Americans.

On Thursday, Chris Gray and Connor Maher were named to the All-America team. Gray earned first-team honors while Maher was named to the second team. In addition to that, Gray was also named the Col. JI Turnbull Award winner, which is awarded to the best attackman from that season.

Gray led UNC with 48 goals and 32 assists this past season and was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season while also earning All-ACC honors.

Maher, a team captain, also earned All-ACC honors as a short-stick defensive midfielder. He forced 8 turnovers and had 43 ground balls this past season for the Tar Heels.

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