This weekend, I get to head over to Chapel Hill and see UMBC take on the UNC Tar Heels in the first round NCAA lacrosse tournament. All indications are that it should be a good matchup: While UNC is the better team in the rankings, I'm convinced that when firing on all cylinders, UMBC can play with anyone. It's just a matter of which UMBC team shows up--the one that laid waste to most of the back half of their schedule, or the one that fell to Hartford. The coaching matchup could be telling as well: Zimmerman and Breschi faced off the past few years in a few ways: as UMBC took on Breschi's previous Ohio State squad on the field, and even in competition for the job Breschi now holds.
I'm hoping to break a streak with this game. So far, alma maters of mine are 0-3 in the postseason in North Carolina since I've lived here. USF lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl to NC State back in 2005, UMBC lost in the first round of the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament to Georgetown, and USF was embarrassed by Wake Forest in the Elite Eight of the NCAA soccer tournament in 2008. Throw in 2007 when I saw UMBC lacrosse in Annapolis fall to Delaware, and my postseason record is pretty abysmal. But damned if I'm letting history keep me away from seeing my team. Expect to see me out early, flying the UMBC flag high and grilling up something with a buncha Old Bay. If I can get someone to bring me down some Natty Boh, I'll definitely get down Baltimore style in Chapel Hill.
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