Maryland Faces Creighton In The Round of 16

Nov. 27, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The third-seeded Maryland Terrapins will face Creighton in the third round of the NCAA Tournament this Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ludwig Field. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and will take on either St. John's or UCLA in the next round.

After a bye in the first round, Maryland (16-5-1) defeated Hofstra, 4-0, Tuesday night in second round action. Domenic Mediate scored two goals and Chris Lancos added two assists to help the Terps to victory.

Creighton overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to rally for a 3-2 win over Northwestern in its first game of the tournament on Tuesday. Freshman Joan Carvajal scored a pair and Brian Biggerstaff scored the game-winner in the 86th minute to help the Blue Jays advance.

The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 1-1. The Terps and Blue Jays last met in 2001 when Creighton defeated the Terps 2-1 at the Maryland/FILA CIassic. Maryland, however, defeated Creighton in 1998 in the NCAA Quarterfinals played at Ludwig Field. The Terps won 3-2 and advanced to the College Cup that season.

Although the two teams did not play each other last season, the Terps made a trip to Omaha and the Blue Jays traveled to College Park in 2003. Maryland played in Creighton's annual tournament but did not face Creighton, and the Blue Jays played St. John's in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Ludwig Field because of the snowstorm in Jamaica, N.Y.

The Terps have a seven-game NCAA Tournament winning streak at Ludwig Field. The last time the Terps lost an NCAA Tournament game in College Park was Nov. 25, 2001 (a 1-0 loss to Loyola).

Maryland vs. Hofstra Postgame Notes

Domenic Mediate scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Terps scored four second-half goals to lead Maryland to a 4-0 win over Hofstra in NCAA Tournament action at Ludwig Field.

Mediate has scored six NCAA Tourney goals in his career, four of which have been game-winners.

Junior defender Chris Lancos continued his hot play with two more assists against Hofstra. Lancos has six assists in his last three games. He leads the team with 10 assists, which are tied for seventh-most in a single season at Maryland.

Stephen King added his seventh goal of the season against the Pride. It was his first score since Oct. 17 when he netted the game-winner against the Hokies in overtime on a penalty kick.

Jason Garey scored a goal for the fourth straight game against Hofstra. Maryland is 12-1-1 in games in which he has scored. Garey, who has 51 points on the year, is just the second player in Maryland history to have 50 or more points in a season (Cliff Krug scored 52 in 1960).

Noah Palmer made two saves for the Terps to record the shutout. It was his seventh of the season (including six out of the last nine), sixth in NCAA Tournament action and the 32nd of his career.

Maryland midfielder Maurice Edu returned to the Maryland lineup for the first time since Oct. 10 against North Carolina.

Maryland scored more than four goals for the seventh time this season.

Scouting Creighton

The Blue Jays (14-4-1) have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 13 seasons. Creighton is seeded 14th this year.

Julian Nash, a Hermann Trophy candidate, leads the team with six goals and nine assists for 21 points. Brian Biggerstaff is also a potent offensive threat scoring a team-high eight goals to go with four assists (20 pts.). Vince Odorisio comes out of the midfield to lead the team with seven assists.

Maryland will be the sixth ranked opponent for the Blue Jays this season. Creighton is 3-2 in those games.

The Blue Jays have won eight of their last 10 games.

Creighton is 4-3 in games played away from Morrison Stadium.

The Blue Jays have used a trio of goalkeepers this season with senior Andrew Brown seeming the majority of action. Brown has a 1.23 GAA, but freshman Matt Allen has also played well making 39 saves and posting a 0.83 GAA.

The "D" Is The Difference

In the last 10 games, the Terps are giving up just 0.60 goals per game. Maryland is forcing its opponents to make great individual efforts in those game, allowing just three assists during that span and Palmer has six shutouts during that span.

Protecting The House

The Terps have been nearly unbeatable at Ludwig Field over the past two-plus seasons. Maryland is 37-3-0 (including NCAA Tournament games), with the one loss coming to Bucknell last season and losses at home this year to Duke and Penn State.

Getting offensive

The Terps have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Terps own the second-highest scoring offense (2.76) in the country as of Nov. 2 and have five players with 16 points or more.

Maryland has 59 goals scored, the third-most in a single season.

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