WI Alumni Lacrosse Report: Players in Town for Big City Classic

East Rutherford, N.J. – It was clear that Ryan Flanagan was ticked during the postgame press conference at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday evening.

The fourth-ranked UNC Tar Heels (USILA Division I poll) were just edged by fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic on a late fourth-quarter goal from Lee Coppersmith after the Heels worked hard to erase a three-goal deficit in the second half. 

Sitting amongst some of his teammates and head coach, Flanagan, the co-National Defenseman of the Year in 2010 and anchor of an explosive defense, calmly answered questions about the game and what it meant to be back on the big stage in Jersey once again. 

“It’s definitely an honor to come back and play in the Big City Classic,” he said. “But obviously we would’ve liked a better performance.”

Flanagan and that vaunted UNC defense haven’t been getting off to the best starts lately.  It was their third-straight game they dug themselves at least a three-goal hole early on; this time spotting the Blue Jays four in the first five minutes.

"We just need to ajudst to the pace of play quicker," he said. 

But the Heels were able to rally back behind three-straight goals from fellow Long Islander Billy Bitter (Manhasset) to narrow the gap to 4-3 to end the first. 

The comeback was complete when UNC was able to tie the game at nine apiece with 2:41 left in the fourth.  Nicky Galasso found an open Duncan Hutchins who fired an 8-yard shot past Hopkins’ goalie Pierce Bassett.  

It was a rare off-game for Galasso, who leads the team in points with 37.  The star freshman never even attempted a shot on goal.

“I don’t think there was one particular guy to shut down Nick," Tar Heels head coach Joe Breschi said.  “Nick was probably pressing a little bit.  It’s tough to play in front of this crowd as a young guy.

“I think for him it was a combination of their whole defensive scheme.  Sometimes you’re not always going to play at that level.  It wasn’t going great for him, but he’s a terrific player, and he works well with these guys.”

After the press conference, Flanagan, heading toward the team bus, reinforced that there's plenty of season left and that the team is in fine shape.  He mentioned that he and Galasso heard there were four busloads of Long Island locals in attendence to catch their game. 

“It’s a lot of fun to get back here,” he said.  “The kids love it.  For the kids to hear stories and then finally put a face to the name, I wish we could have put out a better performance.  But it was a good game.”

Let's take a look at how other notable alumni fared this past week:

Justin Turri (Duke, RJr.)

Turri's streak of 23-straight games with a point ended on Sunday night against top-ranked Syracuse.  Also playing at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, the redshirt junior was unable to get on the board, with a few shots hitting pipe and barely missing. 

But Turri will be on hand this Saturday, April 9 at Bethpage High School when Duke take on Denver in a non-conference showdown at 2 p.m.

Lauren Spagnoletta (C.W. Post, Jr.)

Spagnoletta led all scorers with five goals in a 19-9 victory over Benley University on Sunday.  And that was after she netted six goals last Wednesday against Bridgeport. 

Peter Gonzalez (SUNY Cobleskill, So.)

The sophomore attackman had another solid outing on March 31.  In a tough 13-10 loss to Morrisville State, Gonzalez had two goals and four assists. 

Ian Braddish (Hofstra, So.)

A three-point performance from Braddish helped the eighth-ranked Pride get past Towson 12-5 on Saturday.  The sophomore transfer had a goal and two assists.