Saturday's match-up between No. 5 Maryland (5-1) and No. 2 North Carolina (8-0) in the Pacific Coast Shootout in Santa Ana, Calif., could be a prequel to a potential clash in the NCAA tournament, but the Terps might be fine with just one meeting.
The Tar Heels' senior attack duo of Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter has tortured Maryland. In three games, Sankey has recorded nine goals and two assists, while Bitter has added three goals and five assists. North Carolina has won all three of those games.
This season, Bitter is tied for sixth in Division I with five points per game, and Sankey is ranked 16th at 4.4. The Tar Heels rank second in the country in scoring at 16.4 goals per game.
So one can see why Terps coach John Tillman might be happy to see Sankey and Bitter graduate in May.
"Those two guys are terrific," Tillman said Tuesday. "I think they give everybody problems. They're just so good, they're very well-rounded, they're talented, they're fast. So we're going to try to do what we do. We'll certainly try to make some adjustments and do some things to maybe help us put our kids in a better position to be successful, but I think the biggest thing for us is realizing that this is – top to bottom – the best team we will have played."
Maryland has allowed just 16 goals in four games since their 10-6 loss to No. 10 Yale on Feb. 21 and is leading the nation in fewest goals allowed per game (4.5). Redshirt junior goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr leads the country in goals-against average (4.46) and save percentage (.708).
But Tillman wasn't ready to make any declarations about the defense's success just yet.
"We're still trying to figure out a few things that we're doing," he said. "We're only six games in, so we're not ready to judge who we are yet."