Feb. 3, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Heading into his 17th year as the head coach of the Maryland lacrosse program, Dick Edell has a point to prove. Last season, the Terps were not selected to the NCAA Tournament, ending an eight-year run of postseason appearances. The Terps, who played in the 1995, 1997 and 1998 championship games are striving to get back to the top of the lacrosse world. The Terps (9-5 in 1999), are ranked No. 8 in the preseason coaches' poll.

Attack

Maryland lacrosse is expected to get a major shot in the arm when redshirt freshman Mike Mollot makes his Terrapin debut in the 2000 season. After missing the entire 1999 season with broken leg and torn ligaments, the high school sensation will be the key for the Maryland attack. In just two seasons at Sachem High School, Mollot shattered the record book with 209 points (94 goals and 115 assists). He has also been selected as a preseason honorable mention All-American by Face-Off Magazine.

"Going into the season, I am very excited about the presence of Mike Mollot," said Edell. "He has outstanding vision of the field. He is going to bring a great deal of success to our offense with his variety of skills, in particular, his ability to feed and his ability to find the open man. "

With sophomore Beau Pich, a year older and with a year of experience behind him, he has a chance to form a great combination with Mollot. Redshirt junior Andrew "Buggs" Combs, a man-up specialist last season, will push Pich, which should make Maryland better at the left-handed attack spot.

On the right side, senior Marcus LaChapelle is in as good a health as he has been in a while after suffering stress reactions throughout much of last year. LaChapelle is Maryland's second leading returning scorer from 1999. He led the club in assists last season with 18 and finished with 27 points after moving from midfield.

Junior Jon Kemezis will come off the bench as the fourth attackman and come into the midfield for advantageous matchups. Kemezis is Maryland's third leading returning scorer from 1999, with 11 goals and 20 points. Sophomore Matt Urlock is also expected to be utilized in sets that include a crease presence.

Midfield

Senior captain Brian Zeller will lead the midfield unit in his fifth and final year with the program. Zeller is the Terps' top returning scorer from a season ago when he tallied 24 goals and handed out six assists for 30 points. He led the club in man-up goals with 10. A big season is expected for the 1998 second-team All-American and All-ACC selection.

"We are looking for Brian Zeller to regain his sophomore season form," said Edell. "He started strong last year but fell off and he has come out to prove he is as good as any midfielder in the nation in his senior year."

He has been chosen as a preseason second team All-American by College Lacrosse USA and third team All-American by Face-Off Magazine.

Junior Chris Malone, a preseason honorable mention All-American by Face-Off Magazine, is expected to have a huge impact this season. Edell is very high on Malone because of his confidence and leadership qualities. Two seasons ago, he earned the team's Most Outstanding Freshman Award and he has continued to build on that over the past two years.

Sophomore Mike LaMonica, fresh off winning the Under-19 World Championships with fellow sophomore Nate Watkins in Australia this past summer, completes Maryland's first midfield heading into the season. LaMonica led all freshmen in scoring last season and is expected to make heavy contributions this season with his great ability to dodge opponents.

"The first line has a great complement of a natural left-hander in LaMonica, an unselfish, feeder-type player with Malone and potential goal-scorer in Brian Zeller," said Edell. Watkins leads the second midfield line. The winner of the team's Most Outstanding Freshman Award for 1999, Watkins has continued to improve according to Edell.

"He can be a major contributor for us on both ends of the field this year with his impressive size and speed," said the coach.

Two other sophomores compose the second midfield with Watkins, Matt Brock and Alex Poole. Both players came on late in the season to make contributions.

"Both players ran on the second line for the latter half of 1999 and they have worked very hard to keep those positions," Edell said. "Brock possesses great speed and quickness and Poole had to be the surprise of last season."

Edell is also excited about his third midfield, entirely made up of freshmen. Ricky Sears, Willy Passavia and Jamie Daue will be kept together at the start of the season to see how they progress. "I think the freshman line can be pretty good in years to come," said the coach.

Defensive Midfield

Maryland features perhaps the nation's top defensive midfielder in senior short-pole Jeff Shirk. Named the "Nastiest Hitter " in the nation by the Baltimore Sun, Shirk has been selected as a preseason first team All-American by Face-Off Magazine. Edell calls Shirk that nation's best at his position. Last season he was named the team's top midfielder and shutdown the opponent's top attackers game after game.

"He has made key plays for us ever since he suited up for the first time as a freshman," said Edell. "He is the toughest warrior and I don't think anyone is better than him at his position." Adding to his responsibilities, Shirk is expected to handle many of the Terps' face-offs this season.

Sophomore Brian Carroll will back up Shirk after gaining experience over the past year. Carroll will also see time as a face-off man.

"We might not have as much experience as we've had on face-offs over the past few years," said Edell. "But, these two players are very athletic and I think we are going to surprise some people."

Along with Shirk, senior long-pole Geoff Burnham is a four-year performer as well. One of the fastest players on the team, Edell looks for Burnham to continue his tough and physical style of play, which includes full-field rushes to the goal.

Freshman Brett Harper and junior Brian Kingsbury will see time behind Burnham.

Defense

Defense is perhaps Maryland's strongest position, and the Terps return two senior captains in College Lacrosse USA preseason second-team All-American Casey Connor and preseason honorable mention All-American Jason Carrier. Both players have played regularly since their freshman seasons and have been starters for the last two.

Impact freshman Michael Howley is expected to come in and replace departed All-American Chris Lamy.

"We have a wonderful defense," said Edell. "We won't miss a beat with Howley in place of Chris Lamy. Connor is just an outstanding defenseman and Carrier is a wonderful leader and an intelligent unsung hero."

Maryland is deeper on defense than in the past as well, according to Edell. Juniors David Rose and Kevin Necessary along with sophomore Carrington King will come off the bench to provide Maryland with a solid close defense.

Goal

The goalie position is Maryland's biggest question mark heading into the season. With the departure of All-American Kevin Healy, junior Pat McGinnis is being counted upon to step up in his first significant playing time on the collegiate level. McGinnis has played in just 11 games over his first two seasons at Maryland, allowing just 6.13 goals per game in 88 minutes of action.

"I am very confident in Pat's ability to stop the ball," said Edell. "He is quicker than Healy in terms of hand speed and reaction to the ball. He is working on his clearing situations and improving his outlet passes."

Redshirt freshman Dan McCormick begins the year as the backup to McGinnis after sitting out last season. He has worked hard and could see some time.

"McCormick is a youngster who is going to play a lot of lacrosse for us here at Maryland in the future," said Edell. "He is building on some experiences from this past fall, but he is one injury or one bruise away from being in the cage. We have accelerated his development because of that."

Schedule

As usual, the No. 8 Terps face one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2000 taking on six teams ranked in the top 12 of the preseason coaches' poll. Maryland faces defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Virginia, No. 3 Johns Hopkins, No. 5 Duke, No. 10 North Carolina, No. 11 UMBC and No. 12 Navy.

The Terps also face three other teams ranked in the top 20: No. 17 Delaware, No. 18 Cornell and No. 19 Towson. Overall, they face nine of the nation's top 20 teams.

In the final polls of the 1999 season, Maryland was ranked 11th in the final STX/USILA Coaches' Poll and ninth in the final media poll conducted by Face-Off Magazine. Nine of Maryland's 2000 opponents were ranked in the final polls of 1999.

The Terps will also play host to the 2000 ACC Men's Lacrosse Tournament on April 21-23. Duke, North Carolina and Virginia will come to College Park for the conference tournament for the first time since 1993.

The lacrosse universe will also once again center in on Byrd Stadium as Maryland hosts the NCAA Championships, and 29 for a record 10th time since the championships started in 1972.

Outlook

As the Terps look to return to the NCAA Tournament and the road to the NCAA Championships, which will be played in Byrd Stadium for the seventh time in eight years, Edell is very hopeful.

"Overall, I feel pretty good about our team," said the coach. "We have to keep the group we have together, which means minimizing injury and playing with the fervor that all Maryland lacrosse teams do."