April 24, 2004

#1 seed/#3 MARYLAND (9-2) vs. #3 seed/#14 VIRGINIA (5-6)
SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2004 * 3:30 p.m.
FETZER FIELD (5,700/Grass), CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
TV: Comcast SportsNet, FOX Sports South, Sunshine Network
Live Stats: umterps.com, theacc.com, Live Audio: virginiasports.com

Top-Seeded Terps Go For First ACC Title Since '98

* Head coach Dave Cottle leads the No. 3 Maryland men's lacrosse team into the 2004 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship Game as the No. 1 seed and will take on the No. 3 seed Virginia on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South and the Sunshine Network. Play-by-play will be handled by ACC veteran announcer Bob Rathbun with legendary former Maryland coach Dick Edell handling the color commentary. Jenn Hildreth will be the crew's sideline reporter. Live stats for the game will available over the internet at www.umterps.com. WMUCSports will not broadcast the games.

* Maryland (9-2 overall) captured the regular-season ACC title with a 3-0 record in league play for the first time since 1998 - also the last time the Terps won the ACC Tournament. Virginia is now 5-6 overall after beating No. 2 seed North Carolina in the semifinal round on Friday. The Cavaliers went 1-2 in the regular-season vs. the conference. The defending national champion Cavaliers are playing for their NCAA Tournament lives as they need to win the Maryland game and their final regular-season game vs. Penn State.

* Maryland advanced to the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2001 with a 10-7 win over Duke on Friday night. The win broke a three-year hex which the Blue Devils had on Maryland -- knocking the Terps out of three straight ACC Tournaments. All-ACC selection Joe Walters notched his eighth hat trick of the season in the win. Freshman Mike Brown netted his first career hat trick in the win -- with all three goals coming in the third quarter. Senior defensive midfielder Paul Gillette was awarded the game ball by coach Dave Cottle after he scooped up a career-high 10 groundballs in the win. The Terps scored the games final three goals to break a 7-7 tie as Justin Smith, Walters and Brendan Healy scored in the final 9:10. Graduate goalie Tim McGinnis made 10 saves in the victory.

Top 8 Terp Tidbits * This year Maryland won its first outright ACC regular-season title since 1998 with a perfect 3-0 record. 1998 was also the last tim the Terps won the ACC Tournament -- when they beat Virginia. * Maryland is 4-3 all-time against Virginia in the ACC Tournament, beating them 12-8 in the last meeting in 2001 at Orlando, Fla. * Of the Terps' 128 goals, 75 goals have come from sophomores (59 percent), including a team-high 30 by ACC leading scorer Joe Walters. * The Terps' top four scorers are sophomores: Joe Walters (44 pts.), Xander Ritz (28 pts.), Bill McGlone (21 pts.), Brendan Healy (18 pts.). The fifth scorer is freshman Mike Brown. * Of the Terps' 128 goals, 98 of them have been scored or assisted by a sophomore (77 pct.). * Joe Walters has at least three goals in eight of 11 games this season and has scored a goal in 25 of 27 career games. * Paul Gillette has 117 groundballs over the last two seasons after a career-high 10 vs. Duke in the ACC Semfinals. He is seventh all-time in UM history in groundballs with 201. * Both All-American defensemen Chris Passavia and Lee Zink are on the Tewaaraton Trophy "Watch List" for the nation's top lacrosse player award. Tim McGinnis was added to the list in April.

Terps' ACC Tourney History * The Terps are in their 16th ACC Tournament since its inception in 1989 -- winning once in 1989. Maryland has lost in the championship game in two of the last four seasons. The Terps fell in the title game of the 2000 tournament losing to Virginia, 11-7, at Byrd Stadium on April 23, 2000. In 2001, No. 1 seeded Maryland lost to No. 2 seed Duke, 10-6, at the ACC Springfest held in Orlando, Fla., in the title game on April 22.

* Prior to the win over Duke on Friday, Duke had ended the Terps' ACC Tournament run in each of the last three seasons including heartbreaking one-goal losses in each of the last two seasons.

* After being the only conference school without a tournament title, Maryland finally got the monkey off its back in 1998 by claiming its first ACC Tournament championship since the event started in 1989 with a 14-11 win over Virginia in Charlotttesville. Overall, the Terps have a 8-14 record in tournament games.

* The Terps have now advanced to the championship game seven times since the tournament started (1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003). In the first three seasons, Maryland was defeated in the championship game by North Carolina. In both '98 and '00, Maryland battled Virginia. The 2001 title game was the first Maryland-Duke final.

Maryland As No. 1 Seed
* This season marks the fifth time Maryland has entered the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The first three years (1989, 1998 and 2001), Maryland was the regular-season champion. This marks just the third time since 1989 that Maryland went 3-0 in regular-season league play - which they also did in 1989 and 1998. Last year, the Terps received the berth after a blind-draw due to a three-way tie with Virginia and North Carolina, all at 2-1.

* As a No. 1 seed, the Terps have recorded a 4-3 record, capturing its only ACC Tournament championship in 1998.

* The first time Maryland was a No. 1 seed was in the first ACC Tournament in 1989. The Terps were upset by No. 4 seed Duke, 7-6.

* Overall, the No. 1 seeds are 12-4 in the semifinals and 6-5 in the title games.

Terps In The Semis and Finals
* Maryland has a record of 7-9 in ACC semifinal games and 1-5 in championship games. 1998 was the first and only season Maryland won both the semifinal and title games.

Maryland/Virginia Series History
* The Maryland-Virginia rivalry is the third-longest in Terrapin lacrosse history with Maryland holding a 42-29 advantage, dating to the first game - a Terps' 10-1 victory on April 24, 1926. The 42 wins are the third-highest number of victories Maryland has against any team. The Terps have defeated Duke 52 times and Navy 47 times.

* Maryland gained a measure of revenge in this year's regular-season game with an 11-2 beating of Virginia on April 3. Virginia knocked the Terps out of the NCAA Semifinals last May with a 14-4 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* In the regular-season game, Maryland held Virginia to its fewest goals in any game since 1984 when they lost to North Carolina, by the same 11-2, score in the NCAA tournament. The two goals scored by Virginia represented the fewest goals in the series since Maryland shut out the Wahoos, 18-0 in 1955.

* Xander Ritz rolled up three goals and three assists. Joe Walters had a goal and three assists while Mike Brown had two goals in the game. Goalie Tim McGinnis foiled the Cavalier offense, making a Maryland career-high 17 saves. Virginia's top seven scorers were held pointless including All-Americans John Christmas, Kyle Dixon, Matt Ward and Joe Yevoli.

* The rivals met twice every year for six years in a row from 1996 to 2001 before the streak ended in 2002. Last season they continued with the double meetings as the Terps won in Charlottesville on March 29, 8-7. Virginia returned the favor beating the Terps 14-4 in the NCAA Semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 24.

* In 2003's regular-season game, No. 7 Maryland scored seven consecutive goals and kept Virginia scoreless for a span of 33:06 on its way to the 8-7 victory over the No. 2 Cavaliers. Maryland won at Klockner Stadium for the first time since the 1998 ACC Championship game which it defeated the host Cavaliers, 14-11. It was also the Terps' first regular-season win at Klockner Stadium and first in Charlottesville, Va. since 1989. The Terps held off a furious comeback as Virginia scored the final three goals of the game including two in the final 1:39 to come within one as Joe Yevoli scored with 1:23 left. But goalie Danny McCormick was tremendous in the final minute of action as he stopped Virginia's leading goal scorer John Christmas on a point- blank shot with 49 seconds left and started a Maryland clear as the Terps preserved the win. Attacker Joe Walters racked up a hat trick and added an assist for a team-high four points.

* In the 2003 NCAA Semifinals, goalie Tillman Johnson made spectacular save after spectacular save en route to a 14-4 victory over No. 3 Maryland in front of a record crowd of 37,823 and a national television audience on ESPN2. Johnson recorded a career-high 18 saves and a stifling Cavalier defense kept the Terrapin offense off the scoreboard for much of the day. Although Terrapin defenders Michael Howley and Brett Harper held Virginia's top two scorers, John Christmas and Chris Rotelli scoreless, Matt Ward paced the Virginia attack with four goals and an assist. Joe Yevoli also tallied five points on three goals and two assists. Four Terrapins scored one goal apiece, including All-American Mike Mollot, and then-freshman Brendan Healy (Great Falls, Va.), who scored his first career goal in the loss.

* Prior to last season's NCAA Semifinal, Maryland won all three meetings in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps topped the Cavaliers in a pair of first round games in 1978 and 1983 and won a 1997 quarterfinal game, 10-9, played at Byrd Stadium. In that last NCAA meeting, All-Americans Andrew Whipple and Frank Radin each scored twice as the Terps outshot Virginia 64-27.

* The Terps captured their first and only ACC Tournament championship defeating Virginia, 14-11, in Charlottesville on April 19, 1998, the same year Maryland won its last regular-season title with a win over Virginia, 14-9, on March 28.

* During the 1990s, Virginia won nine of the 16 meetings. Half of those games were decided by one goal with each team winning four of the cliff-hangers.

Coaching Match-Up
* Maryland head coach Dave Cottle is currently the third winningest active coach in the country with a 72.5 win percentage with a record of 211-80. He is also 30-10 as head coach of the Terps. Starsia has won 71.1 percent of his games at Brown and Virginia (231-94 overall record) and is fourth on the list. In the total wins among active coaches Starsia is fifth and Cottle is eighth.

* Cottle has a 5-7 record vs. Virginia. He went 3-5 vs. Virginia while he was the coach at Loyola, but none of the games came against a Dom Starsia-led team. Cottle is 1-2 against the Wahoos while at Maryland. Prior to 2002, the last time Cottle coached against Virginia came in 1991, finishing a run of eight games in a nine-year span.

* Both Starsia and Cottle began their head coaching careers in 1983, Cottle at Loyola and Starsia at Brown. Despite both coaches running major programs for the last 20 years, they have only coached against each other seven times with Starsia winning five of the games, including his last game at Brown, a 19-12 win in the NCAA Tournament first round in 1992 - the only other time they have coached against each other in the NCAA Tournament prior to last season.

Terrific Terps
* Maryland's 8-0 start was its best since that 1998 season when they won the ACC title -- also the last season that Maryland reached the NCAA Championship game.

* The Terps are seeking their 10th win of the season against Virginia. They have won 10 or more games in 20 seasons including three of the last four years. They went 12-4 last season. The Maryland school record for wins in a season when it went 14-3 in 1998.

* Maryland had three played named to the All-ACC team on Thursday night. Senior defensmen Chris Passavia and Joe Walters were joined by freshman Joe Walters on the team. For Passavia, it marked the third year in a row he was named to the All-ACC Team. He joined former teammate and All-American Michael Howley as the most recent three-time honoree. Prior to Howley (2001-03), Tom Worstell (1986-88) was the last three-time honoree. Overall, Passavia is the sixth Terp to be a three-time All-ACC selections.

* Joe Walters had his eighth hat trick in 11 games this season vs. Duke in the ACC Semifinals. Overall, has 14 career hat tricks in 27 games. He also has multiple points in 21 of 27 career games. He has 63 goals and 27 assists for 90 career points. Walters and Bill McGlone are the only Terps to score in each game this season -- both have 11-game point/goal scoring streaks.

* Xander Ritz continues to add to his team-high assist total with a pair of helpers against Duke. He now has 18 assists -- most in the ACC. Ritz has a 14-game point-scoring streak dating to his freshman season at Delaware. In two seasons, he now has 27 goals and 41 assists for 68 points in 26 collegiate games.

* Paul Gillette had one of his top career performances with 1* 0 groundballs against Duke. Gillette surpassed the 200-career groundball plateau on Friday. He is only the seventh player in Maryland history to break the 200-groundball barrier. He enters the Virginia game with 201, next on the list is Chris O'Brien (1982-85) with 203 and Kevin O'Leary (1981-84) with 205.

* Freshman Mike Brown has been one of the ACC's top freshman in limited action. He has 13 goals after his first-career hat trick vs. Duke on Friday. Brown had a four-game run of scoring two goals in each game coming against UMBC, Butler, North Carolina and Virginia. Six of his 13 goals have come in the fourth quarter and 10 of the 13 have come in the second half of games. He leads the team in shooting percentage with 13 goals in 24 shots (54.2 percent).

Terps' 79th Season of Lacrosse
* The Terps have an all-time record of 646-207-4, dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 78 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-4. The program's 600th win came against Duke on April 21, 2000, 7-6 in the ACC Semifinals at Byrd Stadium.

* Since 2000, Maryland is 48-16 for a .750 win percentage. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland recorded its most wins in any decade with a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland's win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage.

Passavia & Zink Up For Tewaaraton
* Maryland All-American defensemen Chris Passavia and Lee Zink are among the 26 men named to the 2004 Tewaaraton Watch List. This preseason list highlights the players to watch, as all NCAA Division I, II and III players vie for the most coveted and prestigious award in varsity lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Trophy.

* The Tewaaraton Trophy is presented annually following the collegiate season to the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse players in the United States. The trophy will be presented in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2004, at a banquet honoring the finalists and trophy winners. The ceremony will be held at the National Geographic Society Auditorium and will be broadcast by CSTV. Former Maryland coach Dick Edell is serving as the Chair of the committee which presents the award. Scholarship money is given to the recipient's college or university general scholarship fund. The Foundation committee honors Native American heritage with the name "Tewaaraton," the name the Mohawk nation gave to their game and the progenitor of present day lacrosse which has received approval from the Mohawk Council of Elders.

Four Terps Named Preseason All-Americans
* The Terps placed two players on the Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-American list. Maryland will be led by its pair of preseason first-team All-American defenseman, Chris Passavia and Lee Zink . Both Passavia (second team) and Zink (third team) were USILA All-Americans last season. The Terps also feature two preseason Honorable Mention All-Americans in attacker Joe Walters and midfielder Justin Smith.

2004 Team Captains: Gillette, Passavia, Wagner, Zink
* The Terps have named a quartet of captains for the 2004 season. They will be led by seniors: midfielder Paul Gillette (Millersville, Md.), defenseman Chris Passavia (Stony Brook, N.Y.), defenseman David Wagner (Severna Park, Md.) and defenseman Lee Zink (Rowayton, Conn.). All four players are defensive standouts for the team and were voted captains by their teammates during the fall season.