jdturtle02
03-19-2008, 10:26 PM
Don't try to tell the players on these teams this isn't the biggest game on the schedule this weekend. They won't hear you. The winner vaults right back into the Final Four discussion, the vanquished will have a much steeper mountain to climb. What grabs my attention is that in many ways, these squads look an awful lot like each other.
Coach John Haus is in his eighth season at UNC, hoping to lead the Tar Heels to their third NCAA Tournament in the last five seasons. Coach Dave Cottle is in his seventh year in College Park, drawing a bead on the Terps' sixth straight NCAA appearance. Both teams feature a slew of pre-season All-America players -- Carolina dresses six, four of whom made the AA cut in 2007. Maryland has six on the watch list as well, and also placed four on the 2007 list, though only one of them returned this season. UNC's Grant Zimmerman (.643 save percentage) is emerging as a solid bet to earn All America mention in cage in 2008; Brian Phipps (.596) earned ACC freshman of the year at that position for the Terps last year.
The comparisons get better from there. Carolina, loaded with an experienced attack and solid midfield, is averaging 10.14 goals per game. The Terps, with three freshmen on the first attack unit for most of the season and one of the nation's deepest midfields, is punching in 11.67. The teams are in a dead heat defensively, with both giving up 7 goals and change per game.
The Tar Heels are 3-1 against the top 20, the Terps are 2-2, but Maryland played three of those games on the road; Carolina got Cornell and Notre Dame at home. Both lost badly to Duke in Durham, the Tar Heels were blasted 19-9, the Terps humbled 15-7.
To me this shapes up as a struggle between proven and still young talent (UNC) and phenomenal potential (Maryland). Junior attackman Bart Wagner (12/10) is a nightmare in blue, a two-year scoring leader who is also currently fourth in ground balls for the Tar Heels. Junior Ben Hunt (10/5), a pre-season All America at midfield, is a scoring threat, as are Sean Delaney (So/M), Rob Driscoll (Sr/M), Michael B. Burns (Jr/A), and Gavin Petracca (So/A), among others. The underclassmen have experience playing together in big games for a full season. The Heels returned 35 lettermen this year, including all their starters on offense through the first midfield line. This is the team Carolina fans have been waiting for since the mid-1990s, and they are getting better.
Maryland's defense has been exciting to watch, and this will be a monumental challenge for All America candidate Joe Cinosky and Company. I especially like the poles. Sophomore Brian Farrell has scored four goals, is second on the team in ground balls (23) and has 11 caused turnovers. He's one of my top "madman" award candidates, and this is the kind of game that flips his switch. Fellow soph Dan Halayko is also a workhorse. Sophomore Bryn Holmes, SSDM, has 21 ground balls, has forced 7 turnovers, and has a .607 face-off win percentage.
I think the Terps' defense matches up well with the Tar Heel offense. Carolina averages 39 shots per game, but its scoring clip is .236 with a shots on goal percentage of .585. Maryland beats both marks, .305 shot percentage and .633 shots on goal log. In their defense, the Tar Heels have faced a couple of the nation's best defenses and net minders (Duke's Dan Loftus and the Irish's Joey Kemp), but that's still a notable difference.
On the flip side, Maryland is still developing the chemistry between its freshmen offensive weapons and its powerful midfield. At times the Terps seem conservative on offense, but their 39 shots per game average suggests otherwise. Seven Terps have scored six or more goals, and three of their four top guns are freshmen -- Travis Reed (14/3), Grant Catalino (12/4) and Ryan Young (6/14). A promising but less noticeable fact is that the Terps' offensive players pride themselves in caused turnovers and groundballs. This is a physical lineup. They're holding their own with the defense in those statistical categories. If the trend holds up in this game, that focus and intensity could well tip the scale in Maryland's favor.
This is going to be a war. Carolina's Fetzer Field is one tough venue, but the Terps handled the Tar Heels 14-8 last year, and they have the weapons to take this game to the wire.
North Carolina 11-10
Coach John Haus is in his eighth season at UNC, hoping to lead the Tar Heels to their third NCAA Tournament in the last five seasons. Coach Dave Cottle is in his seventh year in College Park, drawing a bead on the Terps' sixth straight NCAA appearance. Both teams feature a slew of pre-season All-America players -- Carolina dresses six, four of whom made the AA cut in 2007. Maryland has six on the watch list as well, and also placed four on the 2007 list, though only one of them returned this season. UNC's Grant Zimmerman (.643 save percentage) is emerging as a solid bet to earn All America mention in cage in 2008; Brian Phipps (.596) earned ACC freshman of the year at that position for the Terps last year.
The comparisons get better from there. Carolina, loaded with an experienced attack and solid midfield, is averaging 10.14 goals per game. The Terps, with three freshmen on the first attack unit for most of the season and one of the nation's deepest midfields, is punching in 11.67. The teams are in a dead heat defensively, with both giving up 7 goals and change per game.
The Tar Heels are 3-1 against the top 20, the Terps are 2-2, but Maryland played three of those games on the road; Carolina got Cornell and Notre Dame at home. Both lost badly to Duke in Durham, the Tar Heels were blasted 19-9, the Terps humbled 15-7.
To me this shapes up as a struggle between proven and still young talent (UNC) and phenomenal potential (Maryland). Junior attackman Bart Wagner (12/10) is a nightmare in blue, a two-year scoring leader who is also currently fourth in ground balls for the Tar Heels. Junior Ben Hunt (10/5), a pre-season All America at midfield, is a scoring threat, as are Sean Delaney (So/M), Rob Driscoll (Sr/M), Michael B. Burns (Jr/A), and Gavin Petracca (So/A), among others. The underclassmen have experience playing together in big games for a full season. The Heels returned 35 lettermen this year, including all their starters on offense through the first midfield line. This is the team Carolina fans have been waiting for since the mid-1990s, and they are getting better.
Maryland's defense has been exciting to watch, and this will be a monumental challenge for All America candidate Joe Cinosky and Company. I especially like the poles. Sophomore Brian Farrell has scored four goals, is second on the team in ground balls (23) and has 11 caused turnovers. He's one of my top "madman" award candidates, and this is the kind of game that flips his switch. Fellow soph Dan Halayko is also a workhorse. Sophomore Bryn Holmes, SSDM, has 21 ground balls, has forced 7 turnovers, and has a .607 face-off win percentage.
I think the Terps' defense matches up well with the Tar Heel offense. Carolina averages 39 shots per game, but its scoring clip is .236 with a shots on goal percentage of .585. Maryland beats both marks, .305 shot percentage and .633 shots on goal log. In their defense, the Tar Heels have faced a couple of the nation's best defenses and net minders (Duke's Dan Loftus and the Irish's Joey Kemp), but that's still a notable difference.
On the flip side, Maryland is still developing the chemistry between its freshmen offensive weapons and its powerful midfield. At times the Terps seem conservative on offense, but their 39 shots per game average suggests otherwise. Seven Terps have scored six or more goals, and three of their four top guns are freshmen -- Travis Reed (14/3), Grant Catalino (12/4) and Ryan Young (6/14). A promising but less noticeable fact is that the Terps' offensive players pride themselves in caused turnovers and groundballs. This is a physical lineup. They're holding their own with the defense in those statistical categories. If the trend holds up in this game, that focus and intensity could well tip the scale in Maryland's favor.
This is going to be a war. Carolina's Fetzer Field is one tough venue, but the Terps handled the Tar Heels 14-8 last year, and they have the weapons to take this game to the wire.
North Carolina 11-10