How do we match up with the Terps? I only recently saw them play. Thanks.
Maryland is one of the few schools that plays man defense, which will be a change and advantange for UNC after a healthy dose of zone from Clemson, Stanford and Syracuse. As annoying as the Zone is..i actually think it's the best way to defend this UNC offense. Earlier season games vs CUSE and Clemson they really clogged the passing lanes and had active sticks that knocked down a decent amount of passes. Took UNC some time to solve it
Maryland has a good offense by committee. No elite attackers. Kori Edmondson is a spark plug in midfield. She's a north to south middie who'll look to drive to the cage first, pass second and has elite speed. Kayla Gilmore is a great 2 way middie that does everything for them, including taking most of the draws. She's tall and athletic, causes turnovers and plays great defense. Doesn't score often but she's capable when necessary.
They are are in the same tier as the Michigans and Stanfords of the world so definitely not the Maryland of old but can give UNC a tough game and shouldn't be taken lightly.
I like UNC's attackers 1 v 1 dodging ability vs their defense. Patillo, Osburn, Levy and Chloe are all elite dodgers. I expect to see a few iso set plays for Chloe where she can take on her defender and go to goal or dish it out similar to the Florida final Four game from last year (this will not be that lopsided of a game)
Key will be to start fast and get out ahead of them. They don't have the offense to keep up and it'll add pressure on them and kill confidence. No one can go on 3 to 4 goal runs in 1 or 2 minutes quite like UNC and teams can't really prepare for that
This used to be the premiere rivalry in the sport before Cathy Reese decided to start ducking UNC.. for about 6 years now. Maybe this will re-ignite the rivalry