Bitter Truth: Hopkins Falls Again; UNC Now 10-0
by Gary Lambrecht | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | Game Blog
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UNC midfielder Jimmy Dunster dodges during the third-ranked Tar Heels' 11-7 win Saturday at No. 14 Johns Hopkins. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
BALTIMORE - Third-ranked North Carolina was
missing two key offensive players once again Saturday, but Tar
Heels junior attackman Billy Bitter was back in his element at
Homewood Field. A week after sitting out with a strained left calf,
and watching his teammates keep the Tar Heels undefeated by beating
Maryland, Bitter was back to his old, lightning-quick,
sharp-shooting self against struggling Johns Hopkins.
Bitter put 14th-ranked Hopkins on the ropes early with a
first-half hat trick, the finished off the Blue Jays with a
fourth-quarter goal, as No. 3 Carolina flexed its depth, size and
athleticism to the tune of an 11-7 victory before 4,012.
Carolina improved to 10-0 for the first time since 1991, the last
year the Tar Heels won a national championship. The Tar Heels also
dropped Hopkins to 4-5, and dealt the Blue Jays another major blow
in the process. Unless Hopkins gains a quality win over Maryland on
April 17, and avoids a damaging loss during the rest of the regular
season, the Blue Jays could miss the NCAA tournament for the first
time in 39 years.
Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, searching for a winning
combination, started four freshmen and gave six of them significant
playing time. It didn’t matter, as Carolina -- despite
missing their top two scorers in attackman Thomas Wood (19 goals)
and midfielder Sean Delaney -- controlled the game with stretches
of great transition, rugged defense and plenty of Bitter.
The Tar Heels led for the game’s final 36 minutes.
“Playing without Delaney [team-high 20 goals] is a big deal.
[The Tar Heels] are a deeper team than people think,”
Pietramala said. “We’re playing the freshmen because
they are the guys that have earned the right to play in practice.
We’ve got to get production from our older people. With us,
it’s a failed clear at the most inopportune time, or a missed
layup at the most inopportune time. We need a win to breathe some
life back into ourselves.”
The Tar Heels had plenty of life. Their defense, which is ranked
No. 1 in the NCAA and features a huge back line led by 6-foot-6
senior Ryan Flanagan, smothered the Blue Jays by shutting out
senior midfielder Michael Kimmel and holding senior attackman
Steven Boyle to one goal. Junior attackman Kyle Wharton gave
Hopkins a spark with a team-high three goals.
But the Carolina defense hunkered down in the second half and
overcame eight turnovers. Junior goalie Chris Madalon had nine
saves.
Bitter set the tone, and gave the Hopkins defense a handful all
afternoon, both with excellent, change-of-direction moves and speed
in transition. By the end of the first quarter, Bitter had a hat
trick, and his third goal was a beauty. After Hopkins freshman
midfielder John Greeley hit the left post, Bitter scooped up the
carom at midfield, sprinted down the middle and nailed a running,
10-yarder.
“We were crossing our fingers and hoping [Bitter] could get
through the whole day. We were wondering during the week if he
would only be able to go on extra man,” Carolina coach Joe
Breschi said. “He changes the game’s complexion.
He’s a difference-maker.”
Bitter controlled the action in more ways than one. He put the Tar
Heels in position to score both of their extra-man goals by drawing
one-minute penalties. Freshman attackman Marcus Holman gave
Carolina a 6-4 lead late in the second quarter on the first one.
Then, four minutes into the second half, senior attackman Gavin
Petracca made it 8-5 by converting an extra-man chance after Bitter
drew a body check foul on defenseman Matt Drenan, who chased Bitter
all day.
Bitter essentially ended Hopkins’ day with 6:46 left in the
fourth quarter, when he sliced through the defense off a re-start,
circled the net and hit a 10-foot, fadeaway to give the Tar Heels a
10-6 lead.
