Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/10/16
No. 6/5 North Carolina sweeps the season’s first set of weekly honors, as senior attackman Steve Pontrello (St. Augustine Prep) is the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, and teammate senior short-stick defensive midfielder is the ACC Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week.
A three-year starter in the midfield, Pontrello opened his senior year with his first-ever starting assignment on attack and excelled with four goals and one assist for five points in the Tar Heels’ 20-10 victory over Michigan. Pontrello scored four times on six shots. His four goals were a career high (previous was three) and his five points were also a career high (previous was four).
Matthai led the Tar Heels defensively in the season-opening victory over the Wolverines. He helped limit the Michigan midfield corps to just three goals in the game, led Carolina in a 13-for-14 clearing effort, and had a team high five ground balls as the Tar Heels dominated the ground ball game 44-24. He also scored his first goal of the season in the fourth quarter to finish off a strong offensive effort by Carolina.