Sept. 17, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland men's lacrosse coach Dave Cottle has announced the hiring of Paul Cantabene as the Terps' new offensive coordinator. Cantabene is a veteran lacrosse coach and player having coached at Johns Hopkins and Towson and played at Loyola for Cottle and has been an all-star in indoor and outdoor professional leagues.

"We are excited about the addition of Paul to our staff at Maryland," said Cottle. "He is experienced in the face-off and offensive areas having coached at Johns Hopkins and Towson. We are hopeful he will add an infusion of goal scoring to our offense as he has done in his previous coaching jobs."

Cantabene comes to Maryland after serving as the offensive coordinator at Towson for the past four seasons. Cantabene was a key component in the Tigers' revival which saw them reach the 2001 NCAA semifinals with the highest scoring offense in the nation. He joined the Towson staff under the tutelage of head coach Tony Seaman, whom he had worked with at Johns Hopkins from 1996-98. Prior to his time at Towson, Cantabene served as the midfield coach for the Blue Jays. He helped Hopkins compile a 41-15 record and NCAA Tournament berths in each of the three seasons he spent on Charles Street.

He began his coaching career at the McDonogh School following his graduation from Loyola in 1993, where he worked with the attack and midfield units.

As a player Cantabene has been a star in the indoor, outdoor and club circuit for a decade. He is widely regarded as one of the elite face-off specialists in the sport. He recently captured the Major League Lacrosse World Championship with the Baltimore Bayhawks in his second season in the outdoor league. He served as the Bayhawks primary face-off specialist, taking 385 of the team?s 419 draws during the season and led the team with 86 groundballs. He also tallied nine goals and added six assists for 15 points in 2002 as he was an MLL All-Star for the second consecutive season.

In the indoor game, Cantabene has played 10 seasons in the National Lacrosse League with the Baltimore Thunder, Pittsburgh Crossfire and Washington Power. He notched 18 goals and 40 assists for 58 points this past indoor season and won more than 60 percent of his face-offs as well as leading the team?s field players in loose balls with 163. He was named the league's All-Star Game MVP in 1999 and the Thunder?s Team MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1994.

As a club player, Cantabene played six years for Mt. Washington Lacrosse Club (1995-2000) earning first-team All-Club five times and second-team once. He also played for the Maryland LC in 1994 earning his first first-team All-Club honor. He was named the 2000 Player of the Year in the Southern Division of the United States Club Lacrosse Association (USCLA) while playing for Mt. Washington LC. He was a first-team all-midfield, he led the league in face-offs, third in the league and first on the team with 20 goals.

Under Cottle at Loyola, Cantabene was a second-team All-American, team MVP and team captain his senior season at Loyola College in 1993 and earned a spot on the North-South All-Star Game squad. He helped the Greyhounds to NCAA Tournament bids in each of his four years and one in the NCAA championship game in 1990.

The 32-year-old native of Rochester, N.Y., was married this past Saturday, Sept. 14, to his longtime sweetheart Tracey. He is one of seven siblings and currently resides in Baltimore.