Lacrosse team prevails through injuries

Sean DeLaney wanted only to know if he scored.

After injuring his shoulder on a goal at the beginning of the third quarter, midfielder DeLaney lay on the field immobilized. But he was more worried about whether his shot went in.

“DeLaney’s such a tough kid. He finished that shot and got up and was like, ‘Did I score?,’” freshman Marcus Holman said.

But DeLaney’s coaches and fellow players were much more worried about something else as they saw UNC’s leading goal-scorer on his back — the fact that the Tar Heels would be without their top two players for the rest of the game against ACC rival Maryland.

With All-America Billy Bitter confined to the sideline after sustaining a leg injury earlier in the week, No. 3 UNC (9-0, 2-0 ACC) was forced to make adjustments to compensate for the loss of its two stars in its 9-7 victory against No. 4 Maryland (6-1, 1-1) on Saturday.

“Losing DeLaney is so big, but we always have someone else,” sophomore midfielder Jimmy Dunster said.

“We have so much depth and so much talent that we can interchange people.”

Though the Tar Heels were unable to utilize their entire lineup, coach Joe Breschi said every player whose number was called transitioned seamlessly into the crippled offense.

“We were playing guys in different spots they haven’t played. Some guys hadn’t played all year, and they were stepping in and making plays,” Breschi said. “They didn’t flinch. The next guy just stepped in and made a play.”

Breschi was forced to make a number of risky changes throughout the game, including moving midfielder Dunster to attack. Dunster, who said he played attack in high school, recorded one goal and one assist.

But it was Holman who stepped up the most, scoring four goals on five shots and recording an assist.

“Marcus played great today,” Dunster said. “That’s what we need from everybody — when your number’s called, go out and play 110 percent — and that’s exactly what he did today.”

Holman added three groundballs to a performance that led North Carolina to its first 9-0 record since 1993.

Despite their newfound producer in Holman, the Tar Heels are anxious to have Bitter and DeLaney back in the starting lineup.

The status of DeLaney’s injury is unknown, while Breschi said Bitter is day-to-day. The coaches chose not to play him Saturday because they didn’t want to risk further injury.

“He kind of felt better, and we just didn’t want to take a chance,” Breschi said. “It was just the right thing to do, for Billy’s sake and for him getting better for next week.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.