Maryland at North Carolina: Three things to watch
These Atlantic Coast Conference rivals meet in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998 when Duke edged North Carolina, 16-14. Maryland (10-4) has won 15 of the last 19 meetings in this series, but eight of those contests have been decided by one goal, including the Terps’ 7-6 decision against the Tar Heels (10-5) in an ACC tournament semifinal on April 22. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sunday.
1) Drum up the O. Maryland’s final game of the regular season was a 10-8 setback to Colgate that probably cost the team a top-eight seed and a home contest in the first round. Part of the offense’s futility stemmed from the absences of senior attackman Grant Catalino (broken bone in hand) and junior midfielder Joe Cummings (right arm), both of whom are tied for the team lead in goals (24). Even if both players return, they might not be fully healthy, which will mean that other players will have to fill the void. Senior attackman Ryan Young is confident that they can fulfill the task. “Obviously, you’re going to miss running your offense without your two top goal scorers, but our team is, I feel, the deepest team in Division I with great backups at all the positions,” Young said. “Once we get them back, it’s just going to help us out even more.”
2) Solve the zone. The Terps rank 12th in Division I in scoring (11.1 goals per game), but their two lowest outputs of the season have occurred against North Carolina, which surrendered six goals in a five-goal victory on March 26 and seven in the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels have flustered Maryland by playing zone, shutting off the Terps opportunities on the inside and daring them to shoot from the outside. Maryland coach John Tillman said he wasn’t sure whether North Carolina would stick with that formula or go back to a more traditional, man-to-man scheme. “We’re prepared regardless,” he said. “We’ve seen zone in almost every game, and the way some people play, it’s very similar to man-to-man anyway. so you have a lot of the same principles. We’re just going to take it as it comes. … If they want to do that, we’ll just hold onto the ball longer, and that’s great.”
3) Rely – and help out – Holmes. The Terps and North Carolina have relied on sophomore Curtis Holmes and freshman R.G. Keenan, respectively, for faceoffs, and both have excelled. Holmes ranks ninth in the nation with a .612 percentage (172-of-181), while Keenan is 10th with a .611 percentage (185-of-303). They split 16 draws in the ACC tournament meeting, but in the regular-season meeting, Holmes went 15-of-20 and Keenan went 5-of-19 as Maryland’s players on the wings used their physicality to aid Holmes. Could a similar formula be in the playbook? “That will be a battle, obviously,” Tillman said. “Everything around them will be important, too. But after every goal, there will be a chance for a make-it, take-it situation, and that helps.”
Categories: Maryland, Three things to watch
