It’s been a repeated saying for the past few years: North Carolina looks like a team that can make it to Championship Weekend, but then falls short. And it happened yet again on Sunday on the campus of the Naval Academy, as Maryland dominated North Carolina 14-7.
Entering the day, North Carolina had one of the best offenses in the entire country, which included attackmen Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey. But Maryland’s offense stole the show. Junior midfielder Bryan Cole had a game high five points with four goals and an assist, while senior Joe LoCascio was not far behind with four points (one goal, three assists). The Terps scored nine times on twenty shots in a dominant first half.
On defense, Matt Dunn, Mac Pons, and Casey Ikeda controlled Joey Sankey, Jimmy Bitter, and Luke Goldstock respectively to five goals and three assists altogether, but managed to stop UNC to only two goals on fifteen shots and caused seven turnovers in the first half. Midfielders Steve Pontrello and Chad Tutton were the only other players to record points in the game.
In the cage, it was another spectacular day for Kyle Bernlohr as he recorded twelve saves on the day. The redshirt junior transfer from UMBC has been one of the most impressive players in all of college lacrosse this season, replacing mainstay Niko Amato in net. A big concern lately was the health of face off specialist Charlie Raffa. He went 12-for-19 on the day at the “x” over North Carolina’s Stephen Kelly. Wing play had a major role in Raffa’s success on the day.
With how Maryland played Sunday, they look like they can end their forty plus year drought of an NCAA Lacrosse Championship. With the best defense in the country, a potent offense, and Raffa getting back to normal, they look like the best team in the country. They’ll play archrival Johns Hopkins in a Maryland battle on Saturday at 3:30, following Denver-Notre Dame at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Hopkins defeated Syracuse in a 16-15 affair before Maryland’s victory. The Blue Jays also defeated Maryland 15-12 in the last game of the regular season in College Park. Hopkins played very well against Syracuse, but now they face a huge test with a Terrapin defense that has been the best in the nation all year, and also with revenge on their mind as well.
