There is a very real possibility that No. 3 North Carolina will visit No. 12 Johns Hopkins without its best attackman and midfielder.
Junior Billy Bitter, who leads the Tar Heels (9-0) in assists (16) and is tied for second in points (27), did not play in last Saturday's 9-7 victory over No. 5 Maryland because of a leg injury suffered in a 12-11 win against No. 4 Princeton on March 16. Senior Sean DeLaney, who leads the team in goals (20) and is tied for second in points (27), injured his left shoulder in the third quarter of the game against the Terps and did not return.
Both Bitter and DeLaney – whom coach Joe Breschi termed as "day-to-day" – have yet to practice, and Breschi said both players need to practice before they could get cleared to play in a game.
If Bitter can't play against the Blue Jays (4-4), freshman Marcus Holman, a Baltimore native and Gilman graduate, would start alongside senior Gavin Petracca and sophomore Thomas Wood. Replacing DeLaney, who has started alongside senior Jimmy Dunster and senior Cryder DiPietro, could be more difficult as no other player on the roster has scored more than three goals this season.
Breschi didn't dispute the assertion that the absence of Bitter and DeLaney would affect the offense.
"If some guys can't play – and specifically, your best attackman and your best middie – everybody's got to play five to 10 percent better than they've been playing to make up for that loss," Breschi said. "We just put it as a challenge in front of our guys. … The younger guys on offense need to step up and make plays."
But Breschi emphasized that the team will be cautious with Bitter and DeLaney, opting to ensure long-term availability over immediate dividends.
"Hopefully, we get them back, but it's not something that we want to rush," Breschi said. "We're trying to look at the long-term implications for the team and for them. Their health is our No. 1 priority."