UNC beats MD and is now 9-0 on the season

MD vs UNC

For people that do not like the game of lacrosse all I can say is: “you must not have watched the Terps and Heels go at it this afternoon”. What a game, sure it might not have been as high paced as some other games I have seen, but it was definitely a great game. Two Top 5 teams that were undefeated coming into the game, 2nd ranked North Carolina (8-0) and 4th ranked Maryland (6-0), got together at Fetzer Field and only one was going to come out a winner. It was UNC, defeating MD by the final score of 9 to 7, but man o man does the score give you nothing of what the game was. For the first time this year the Heels trailed in a game, their top offensive power, junior attackman Billy Bitter a last minute scratch, hadn’t not started 9-0 in a season in over a decade and a half. If you want to talk about pressure, this is all about pressure.

The Terrapins took the lead in the game, scoring with less than two minutes gone in the first quarter. But the this is where the Tar Heels would take over for the first time in the match up, as they scored three in a row. Off of a shot that was saved by the MD’s goalkeeper, frosh forward Marcus Holman grabbed the ball, passes it to sophomore attackman Thomas Wood, who put it into the back of the Terps’ net tieing up the game at 1 with just under 9 minutes to go. About five minutes later the Heels would strike again, this time off of a shot that sophomore middi Jimmy Dunster hit the post with and then recovered to pass to Holman, who this time scored for UNC, making it 2-1. The third goal by Carolina comes off another ground ball that is picked up by senior attackman Gavin Petracca, who once again finds Wood in the middle of the Maryland defense, making the score 3 to 1 with the quarter ending 2 minutes later.

The second 15 minutes began as the first ended, as North Carolina found a way to score once again as Dunster found the Maryland net once again. The would put the game at 4-1 for UNC with about 8 minutes to go in the half. This is where the Terps found a way to mount a come back using a lot more of their middies compared to the forwards. Between the 6 and a half (more or less) and the two minutes mark UNC would see it lead dwindle, finally going to the locker rooms with the score tied at four. And I have to say that in this stretch of the game I truly wondered if the Heels would lose because they didn’t have the services of Bitter.

But the Heels would come back out and attack well, with two assists by Wood UNC would score, one by senior midfielder Sean DeLaney (who was crushed as he shot) and then one by senior forward Petracca (on a man up play) put North Carolina up 6 to 4 with nine minutes left in the third. Freshman attackman Marcus Holman would put the finishing touch on the quarter, as he scored with 1 minute and a half to go in the third. About 2.5 minutes into the last period MD would score, on the insuing face off UNC would take the ball and Holman, thanks to an assist by junior Milton Lyles, would score right back, putting the score at 8 to 5. Halfway through the 4th it would be the Terps hit the scoreboard once again, making the score 8 to 6, which would last until the 2 and a half mark, where once again it would be Holman giving a cushion to this Heels. Senior defenseman Michael Jarvis would provide the spark to this goal thanks to the ground ball he was able to clear. WIth the score now 9 to 6 the last goal, coming with a handful seconds was by Maryland, but it was too little too late.

And while the Heels won this game, and I thought played good, the stats were not all in their favor. Maryland beat Carolina in both shots on goal and ground balls by the total of 33 to 28. Both teams made the best of the extra man when they had him, with the Terps going 3 for 4 and the Heels going 1 for 2. Face offs were won by UNC 11 to 8, while the Heels did give up more TOs in the game, 17 to 15, and had to make more saves, 11 to 7. But in the one number that truly counts, the score, it was Carolina outscoring Maryland 9 to 7 and now being 9 and 0 in the season (2-0 in the ACC).

Carolina will once again be on national television, ESPNU, as they head to Homewood Field next Saturday to meet #12 Johns Hopkins (4-4). The game is set to start at noon EST.

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