May 7, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's lacrosse team returns to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament for the 24th time -- second most of any Division I team to Johns Hopkins -- as the No. 6 seed Terps will play Hofstra on Sunday, May 14, at UMBC in Catonsville, Md. The game will be the second in a doubleheader following the Loyola (No. 5 seed) vs. Notre Dame game which will face-off at noon.

The winner of the Maryland-Hofstra game will play No. 3 seed Princeton on Saturday, May 20 at Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J.

The Terps, 10-4 overall, were an at-large selection by the NCAA Tournament committee. They have now qualified for nine of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. Maryland is led by freshman attacker Mike Mollot, who has 40 points and junior goalie Pat McGinnis, who ranks among the national leaders in goals against average (8.18) and save percentage (.625).

Hofstra, which is unseeded, was an automatic qualifier after winning the America East Conference with a 14-4 win over Delaware last Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen are 11-4 and riding a six-game winning streak. They are led by sophomore Tom Kessler, who has 44 goals and 13 assists for a team-high 57 points. Face-off man Doug Shanahan is among the national leaders in groundballs with 130 and a 63.3 face-off win percentage.

Maryland and Hofstra have played eight times all-time with the Terps holding a 7-1 advantage in the series. The teams have not played since 1987, when the Terps beat Hofstra, 15-1 in Hempstead, N.Y. The teams have played once in the NCAA Tournament with Maryland topping Hofstra, 19-11, in a 1975 first round match-up in College Park on May 21, 1975.