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Best of 2009
Male
Player | Female
Player | Male
Performance | Female
Performance | Male
Coach | Female
Coach| Game
| Comeback
| Breakthrough
| Look | Mainstream
Moment | Fan
'09 Rewind: Billy Bitter, Male Performance of Year
On a 90-degree day in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tar Heel attackman Billy Bitter lit up the scoreboard.
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North Carolina attackman Billy Bitter, currently a senior and player of the year candidate, burst into the national spotlight with an eight-goal performance against UMBC in the 2009 NCAA tournament. © Kevin P. Tucker |
Bitter tied a school record and nearly missed equaling an NCAA
tournament mark when he exploded for eight goals to lead North
Carolina to a 15-13 win over UMBC in a May 9 quarterfinal.
Bitter, a sophomore from Stowe, Vt., scored on his first eight
shots and added an assist to help the Heels get past a potent
Retriever team. His eight goals tied a UNC record set by Mac Ford
in 1984 against Adelphi and equaled by Jason Wade in a ’96
game against Maryland. Bitter actually had a look at an open net in
the game’s closing minutes, but a UMBC double team blocked
his attempt for a ninth goal — which would’ve tied NCAA
postseason marks held by Syracuse’s Gary Gait (1988 vs. Navy)
and Brown’s Oliver Marti (1992 vs. Loyola).
Bitter finished with 46 goals on the season, second-most in UNC
history, and he became the Heels’ first first-team
All-American since Jed Prossner in 2005.
HONORABLE MENTION
Kenny Nims, Syracuse
Nims caused the key turnover and scored the game-tying goal in
SU's 10-9 OT win over Cornell for the NCAA title.
Brett Queener, Toronto Nationals
Despite a broken hand, he made 11 saves in the second half of the
10-9 win over Denver for the MLL crown.
Greg Cerar, C.W.
Post
Cerar (4g) got the best of Le Moyne's Drew Bezek in an epic NCAA
final matchup.
