University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host No. 4 Maryland Saturday
March 25, 2006 | Men's Lacrosse
March 25, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team will play the seventh of nine succesive games against teams ranked in the Top 14 in this week's U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll when the Tar Heels play host to Maryland Saturday afternoon.
The game will begin with the opening face-off at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Maryland (5-1) is ranked fourth in this week's polls conducted by the USILA and Inside Lacrosse while North Carolina (2-6) is unranked.
The Tar Heels will be seeking their first win over Maryland in Chapel Hill since 1996 when Jason Wade scored eight goals on eight shots in a 17-16 Tar Heel win over the Terps. UNC's only win over Maryland since then came in 2003 when the Tar Heels pulled off a 10-6 upset at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md.
Maryland is the seventh North Carolina opponent of nine straight foes ranked in the Top 14 the Tar Heels are facing between February 26 and April 8 of this season.
North Carolina needs a win in a big way to not only right its own ship after six successive losses but to give the Tar Heels continued hope for claiming an NCAA Tournament berth in 2006. North Carolina must go a minimum 6-1 in its final seven games of the season in order to finish with at a minimum with an 8-7 record that would make the Tar Heels eligible for selection to the 16-team NCAA Tournament field. The Tar Heels have five regular-season matches remaining and could also play two more games in the 2006 ACC Tournament.
The Tar Heels have dropped six games in a row to nationally-ranked teams, but with three more successive games coming up against nationally-ranked teams UNC is still in a position where it can plays itself back into tournament contention. Carolina is playing one of the most difficult schedules in the nation with 11 of a possible 15 regular season games being played against USILA Top 14 teams from the March 20, 2006 poll. That total includes a possible two games in the ACC Tournament which would be played against the current No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 teams nationally.
After opening the season with wins over Ohio State 14-5 and Air Force 8-6, the Tar Heels have dropped consecutive games against No. 12 Denver 11-8 on the road, followed by home losses to No. 8 Navy 11-3 and to No. 14 Pennsylvania 13-4. In its most recent three match road trip, UNC fell at No. 11 Notre Dame 9-7, at No.5 Hofstra 6-5 and at No. 2 Duke 11-8.
Maryland heads into the match with a record of 5-1. The Terps have wins over No. 2 Duke in overtime and also against No. 5 Georgetown. Maryland has also beaten Towson, UMBC and Dartmouth. Maryland's only loss was a double overtime setback at home against Bucknell.
So far this season UNC is 2-0 against unranked teams and 0-6 against ranked teams. With the next three games scheduled against ranked teams, the Tar Heels must lift their level of play quickly in order to achieve a successful season.
