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#14 ARMY (10-4) at #3 MARYLAND (12-2)
Saturday, May 15, 2004 * 7:30 p.m.
BYRD STADIUM (48,055/Grass), COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Live Audio: WMUCSports.com
Live Stats: umterps.com

No. 3 Terps Host Army In NCAA First Round At Byrd

* The Terps are making their 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history. ACC Champion Maryland returns to the event after a trip to the NCAA Semifinals last season. Army is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament earning an at-large berth out of the Patriot League.

* The winner of the Maryland/Army game will take on the winner of the No. 6 Princeton (9-3)/Rutgers (8-5) game on Saturday, May 22 at Virginia's Scott Stadium. The Tigers and Scarlet Knights play in Princeton, also on Saturday, May 15 at noon at Class of '52 Stadium. The other game at Scott Stadium will pit the winners of No. 1 Johns Hopkins (11-1)/Providence (9-7) against No. 8 North Carolina (9-4)/Ohio State (12-3). The times of the games will be announced on Monday, May 17. All NCAA Quarterfinal games will be telecast on ESPN Regional television, which be aired in the Baltimore/Washington area on Comcast SportsNet.

* This game marks the first time Maryland and Army will play since the 1993 NCAA First Round when the Black Knights downed the Terps 15-11 at West Point, 11 years ago to the day of this year's game on May 15. Overall, the series is tied at 19-19 with all of the games prior to 1993 coming between 1924-1976.

Top 9 Terp Tidbits * Maryland has won 12 games in a season for the sixth time in history -- all in the last 17 years. The 12 wins tie for the second most in the regular-season (1987). They won 13 in 2001. * Joe Walters has the most career goals for any second-year player in Maryland history with 75. He broke Roger Goss' mark of 70 in 1958-59 with three goals vs. Notre Dame. Overall, he is the 32nd Terp to post 100 career points. * Joe Walters has at least three goals in 11 games this season and has scored a goal in 28 of 30 career games. * Paul Gillette is fifth all-time at Maryland in groundballs with 217. * Of the Terps' 162 goals, 96 have come from sophomores (59 percent), including a team-high 42 by the nation's top goal scorer Joe Walters. The Terps' top four scorers are all sophomores. * Of the Terps' 162 goals, a sophomore has either scored or assisted 123 of them (76 percent). * Twenty different Terps have scored goals this season, including 12 different players vs. Butler and 11 at Duke. Overall, 25 players have points. * Senior All-American defensemen Chris Passavia and Lee Zink have combined for 83 caused turnovers and 94 groundballs. * Both All-American defensemen Chris Passavia and Lee Zink and attacker Joe Walters have been named nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation's top lacrosse player.

Quick Game Capsule
* Saturday's NCAA First Round game will showcase some of the nation's top offensive weapons as four of the top nine scorers in the country will be on display. Two of the six highest scoring teams will be in action as Army averages 12.21 goals per game and Maryland scores 11.57 per outing.

* Maryland is led by the nation's top goal scorer in ACC Player of the Year Joe Walters (Rochester, N.Y.), who comes into the tournament with 42 goals and 60 points (third in the nation). Walters has at least three goals in 11 of 14 games this season including the Terps' last four in a row. The Terps have won four games in a row coming into the tournament including a pair of wins to capture their first ACC Championship since 1998. Walters set a conference-tournament record with nine goals as Maryland beat Duke 10-7 and Virginia 12-11 to claim the title. Maryland closed the regular-season with a 9-8 double-overtime win over Notre Dame on May 1 and a 13-5 win over Penn on Senior Day last Saturday. In the win over Penn, sophomore Bill McGlone (Swarthmore, Pa.) had a career-high seven points on two goals and five assists. The Terps' defense has been rock solid, led by senior All-Americans and Tewaaraton Trophy nominees Chris Passavia (Stony Brook, N.Y.) and Lee Zink (Rowayton, Conn.). Maryland has a 7.36 goals against average (seventh in the nation) as goalie Tim McGinnis (Ellicott City, Md.) is fourth in the NCAA in save percentage (63.5) and seventh in goals against average (7.24).

* Army's high-flying offense is led by a trio of attackmen all in the top nine in the nation in scoring: Jim Wagner (41-17=58), John Walker (33-20=53) and Jeff Bryan (14-36=50). Wagner is second to the Terps' Walters in goals while Bryan is second nationally in assists per game (3.00). Following the three 50-point scorers, Army only has three other players with more than nine points on the season. Overall, the starting attack has 88 goals (51.4 percent of the team's 171) and 161 points (58.1 percent of the team's points). Face-off man Erik Mineo ranks 10th nationally, winning 60.2 percent of his draws (118-of-196). In goal, Matt Darak has a 10.62 goals against average in 14 starts. The Black Knights come into the tournament off a 13-7 win over Duke last weekend at West Point. They have won six of their last eight games. They picked up early season key wins over NCAA Tournament bound teams Penn (12-7 on March 13) and Rutgers (12-11 on March 20).

The Maryland/Army Series History
* Saturday's game will be just the 39th all-time meeting between Maryland and Army - two of the oldest lacrosse programs in the nation. The teams have split the previous games 19-19.

* They last met in the 1993 NCAA First Round as the Black Knights beat the Terps, 15-11, at West Point. Maryland was led by Brian McElheny who had three goals, while Matt Parks and Jay Pasko had two goals apiece. Terp All-American goalie Brian Dougherty made 20 saves in his first NCAA appearance as the Terps finished the season at 6-6. Army's top scorer was Dan Brostek who had four goals as the Cadets reached the quarterfinals before falling to North Carolina.

* Prior to the NCAA meeting, the Terps and Black Knights had not played since 1976. This will be the first game between the teams at Byrd Stadium since May 10, 1975, a 21-8 Maryland win. The teams played every season from 1959-1976 with Maryland winning the last four regular-season games in the series. They also played every year from 1940-56 with the exception of World War II years (1944 and 1945). The teams first played in 1924 - the Terps' first varsity season - with Army winning 3-0.

TERPS IN THE NCAA's 1971 (National Finalists) First Round/QF: #3 Maryland 10, #6 Air Force 1 Semifinals: #3 Maryland 10, #2 Navy 7 Championship: #1 Cornell 12, #3 Maryland 6 1972 (Semifinals) First Round/QF: #1 Maryland 9, #8 Rutgers 3 Semifinals: #4 Johns Hopkins 9, #1 Maryland 6 1973 (NATIONAL CHAMPIONS) First Round/QF: #1 Maryland 16, #8 Brown 4 Semifinals: #1 Maryland 18, #4 Wash. & Lee 5 Championship: #1 Maryland 10, #2 J. Hopkins 9, 2OT 1974 (National Finalists) First Round/QF: #1 Maryland 12, #8 Rutgers 6 Semifinals: #1 Maryland 19, #4 Cornell 10 Championship: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #1 Maryland 12 1975 (NATIONAL CHAMPIONS) First Round/QF: #3 Maryland 19, #6 Hofstra 11 Semifinals: #3 Maryland 15, #7 Wash. & Lee 5 Championship: #3 Maryland 20, #4 Navy 13 1976 (National Finalists) First Round/QF: #1 Maryland 17, #8 Brown 8 Semifinals: #1 Maryland 22, #4 Navy 11 Championship: #2 Cornell 16, #1 Maryland 13, OT 1977 (Semifinals) First Round/QF: #3 Maryland 14, #6 Wash. & Lee 8 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 16, #3 Maryland 9 1978 (Semifinals) First Round/QF: #3 Maryland 15, #6 Virginia 10 Semifinals: #2 Johns Hopkins 17, #3 Maryland 11 1979 (National Finalists) First Round/QF: #2 Maryland 16, #7 Syracuse 13 Semifinals: #2 Maryland 15, #3 Navy 10 Championship: #1 Johns Hopkins 15, #2 Maryland 9 1981 (First Round) First Round/QF: #1 Johns Hopkins 19, #8 Maryland 14 1982 (First Round) First Round/QF: #2 Johns Hopkins 14, #7 Maryland 9 1983 (Semifinals) First Round/QF: #6 Maryland 13, #3 Virginia 4 Semifinals: #2 Syracuse 12, #6 Maryland 5 1986 (Quarterfinals) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals: #5 North Carolina 12, #4 Maryland 10 1987 (Semifinals) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals: #1 Maryland 12, #8 Penn 8 Semifinals: #4 Johns Hopkins 13, #1 Maryland 8 1989 (Semifinals) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals: #4 Maryland 12, #5 Adelphi 11, OT Semifinals: #1 Syracuse 18, #4 Maryland 8 1991 (Semifinals) First Round: #7 Maryland 13, Rutgers 7 Quarterfinals: #7 Maryland 16, #2 Brown 13 Semifinals: Towson State 15, #7 Maryland 11 1992 (Quarterfinals) First Round: #6 Maryland 13, Duke 11 Quarterfinals: #3 Princeton 11, #6 Maryland 10 1993 (First Round) First Round: #8 Army 15, Maryland 11 1994 (First Round) First Round: #8 Duke 14, Maryland 9 1995 (National Finalists) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals: #4 Maryland 14, Notre Dame 11 Semifinals: #4 Maryland 16, #1 Johns Hopkins 8 Championship: #3 Syracuse 13, #4 Maryland 9 1996 (Quarterfinals) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals: #7 Johns Hopkins 9, #2 Maryland 7 1997 (National Finalists) First Round: Maryland 14, #7 Georgetown 10 Quarterfinals: Maryland 10, #2 Virginia 9 Semifinals: Maryland 18, #3 Syracuse 17 Championship: #1 Princeton 19, Maryland 7 1998 (National Finalists) First Round: #5 Maryland 18, Butler 10 Quarterfinals: #5 Maryland 11, #4 Johns Hopkins 10, OT Semifinals: #5 Maryland 19, #1 Loyola 8 Championship: #2 Princeton 15, #5 Maryland 5 2000 (Quarterfinals) First Round: #6 Maryland 14, Hofstra 12 Quarterfinals #3 Princeton 10, #6 Maryland 7 2001 (Quarterfinals) First Round: Bye Quarterfinals #6 Towson 12, #3 Maryland 11 2003 (Semifinals) First Round: #3 Maryland 8, Ohio State 5 Quarterfinals: #3 Maryland 13, Massachusetts 7 Semifinals: #2 Virginia 14, #3 Maryland 4 All-Time Record: 26 appearances - 34-24 (.586)

Coaching Match-up
* Saturday's NCAA Tournament game pits two of the legendary and winningest coaches in lacrosse history as Maryland's Dave Cottle faces Army's Jack Emmer. It will be the first-ever meeting among the two coaches that combine for more than 57 years of head coaching experience combined.

* Now in his 22nd season as a head coach, Dave Cottle comes into the game with a 214-80 career record for a 72.8 win percentage, third-highest among active coaches. His win total is eighth among active coaches. He is 33-10 (76.7) in his third season at Maryland.

* Army's Emmer is the all-time winningest coach in college lacrosse history with a 315-177 record in 35 years at Cortland, Washington & Lee and Army. He has a 175-124 record in 21 years at Army, leading the Cadets to seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

* Cottle has never faced Army during his time at both Loyola and Maryland. Emmer won his only game against Maryland while at Army - that 1993 NCAA Tournament playoff game. Emmer lost all three of his games coaching against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament while he was at Washington & Lee, falling to Maryland in 1973 (18-5), 1975 (15-5) and 1977 (14-8). The 1973 and 1975 games were national semifinals on the Terps' way to their only NCAA Championships.

Maryland-Army Connections
* Longtime Maryland assistant coach Dave Slafkosky served as an assistant coach at Army from 1975-83 where he worked with best friend and head coach Dick Edell from 1977-83. When Edell left to come to Maryland in 1983, he brought Slafkosky with him. They coached on the sidelines in College Park from 1984 through 2001, when Edell was forced to retire due to health issues.

* When Edell left Army to come to Maryland, he was replaced by current Army coach Jack Emmer, who had been a successful coach at Washington & Lee from 1973-83.

* Once Edell came to Maryland, he did not schedule Army because of his close ties to the program.

* On the current rosters, only a limited number of players were high school teammates due to locations of the schools. Army's roster features just one player from the state of Maryland in sophomore Mike Obringer, who played with Terp freshman Jay Feeley at Dulaney High School.

* Other high school teammates in Saturday's game will be Maryland sophomore Xander Ritz, who played with Army's Andrew Yakulis at Radnor High School in Pennsylvania. Terps Ryan Lang and Bret Caretsky along with Cadet E.J. Behrendt played at Long Island power Northport High School. Maryland's Michael Hartofilis will face former St. Anthony's mate Erik Mineo as well.

Maryland's 27th Time At NCAA's
* Maryland is making its 27th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. The Terps have played in the second-most tournaments since the event began in 1971. Only Hopkins has played in more with 33. Army is making its 14th NCAA appearance.

* Providence is the only team making its NCAA Tournament debut while Albany and Ohio State are in their second events in as many years.

* The Terps have captured two NCAA championships, 1973 and 1975, and reached the NCAA Semifinals 18 times including last season.

Maryland Record In NCAA's
* The Terps have won the third-most Division I NCAA Tournament games, compiling a 34-24 overall record in 58 games. Only Johns Hopkins (50-25) and Syracuse (44-16) have won more Division I games.

* Maryland is fifth by percentage (.586) among all teams ever to play in the tournament (Princeton, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Cornell are ahead).

* The Terps have captured two titles. Only six other schools have ever won the NCAA Championship: Syracuse (8), Johns Hopkins (7), Princeton (6), North Carolina (4), Cornell (3), Virginia (3).

Maryland As The No. 3 Seed
* Maryland is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time ever and third time in four years. Maryland was previously a No. 3 seed in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 2001 and 2003.

* The last time Maryland won the NCAA championship in 1975, the Terps were seeded No. 3. In 14 games as the No. 3 seed, Maryland has a 9-5 record, following its 2-1 record in last season's tournament.

* No. 3 Maryland beat Ohio State, 8-5, in the first round last season and then UMass, 13-7, in the quarterfinals at Syracuse before falling to eventual champion Virginia in the semifinals, 14-4.

* Prior to last year, in its last tournament as the No. 3 seed, Maryland fell to No. 6 seed Towson, 12-11 at Byrd Stadium in 2001. That game was the finale for coach Dick Edell, who retired the following fall due to health problems.

Against The 2004 Field
* Maryland is 4-2 against teams which qualified for the 2004 NCAA Tournament with victories coming against No. 5 seed Georgetown (14-5 on Feb. 28), No. 8 seed North Carolina (10-9 on March 27), Towson (8-6 on March 13) and Pennsylvania (13-5 on May 8). The Terps' only losses came to No. 1 Johns Hopkins (14-10 on April 17) and No. 2 Navy (9-6 on April 10).

* The Terps have a 66.7 win percentage against teams in the field, fourth-best among all teams in the field. Also, the 4-2 record against the field marks the fourth most by any team in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

* Army is 2-3 against the field with wins over Pennsylvania (12-7 on March 13) and Rutgers (12-11 on March 20). They fell to No. 2 seed Navy (18-10 on March 27), No. 4 seed Syracuse (19-15 on Feb. 28) and Hobart (14-8 on April 24).

Cottle In The NCAA Tournament
* This is Dave Cottle's second NCAA Tournament appearance as the head coach of Maryland. He is coaching his 16th team to the NCAA Tournament, with the first 14 coming during his stint at Loyola. All 14 of his appearances with the Greyhounds came consecutively starting with the 1988 season and going through the 2001 campaign. Overall, Cottle is 10-15 in NCAA Tournament games, which ranks him fourth among all coaches in the 2004 Tournament in wins. Only Princeton's Bill Tierney (26-8), Syracuse's John Desko (13-2) , and Towson's Tony Seaman (12-16) have more tournament wins to their credit.

* With his 16th tournament appearance, Cottle now ranks tied for fourth all-time in most NCAA Tournament Division I appearances as a head coach behind only Syracuse's Roy Simmons Jr. (19), former Maryland coach Dick Edell (17) and Towson's Tony Seaman (17). With his streak of 14-consecutive tournaments while at Loyola, Cottle is second only to Simmons Jr. (19), for the longest-consecutive steak.

* Cottle has led his teams to the NCAA Quarterfinals on 13 occasions and to the NCAA semifinals twice prior to last season making an appearance in the 1990 championship game where Loyola fell to Syracuse, 21-9. He also reached the NCAA semifinals as the No. 1 seed with Loyola, but lost to Maryland, 19-8, at Byrd Stadium on May 23, 1998.

Current Individual Terps In The NCAA Tournament
* Heading into the Army NCAA first round game, only 18 current members of the Maryland roster had ever played in an NCAA Tournament game. Included in that group is graduate goalie Tim McGinnis, who led Gettysburg College to two NCAA Division III Championships games and has played in a total of seven tournament contests.

* McGinnis led the Bullets to the title games in 2001 and 2002 as a sophomore and junior. In seven games, overall, he has 92 saves and has allowed 66 goals for a 58.2 save percentage and a 9.45 goals against average. In 2001, he made 26 saves in three games, including six in the title game loss to Middlebury and 11 in a semifinal win over Denison. In 2002, he led the Bullets back to the finals, making 66 saves in four games. He made 15 saves in that title game loss to Middlebury following a 20-save performance against Washington & Lee in the semifinals.

* Joe Walters leads all Terps in career NCAA scoring with two goals and five assists for seven points. He had a goal and two assists in last season's first-round win over Ohio State and followed that up with a goal and three assists vs. UMass in the quarterfinals.

* Paul Gillette has assists in two NCAA Tournament games with one in 2001 vs. Towson and one vs. Virginia in 2003.

* Sophomores Brendan Healy and Bill McGlone also scored goals in last season's NCAA Tournament. Healy's goal was the first of his career, coming in the NCAA Semifinal vs. Virginia.

ACC Honors All Around for Terps
* The ACC Champion Terps are the most decorated team in the ACC this season, cleaning up the honors. Sophomore attacker Joe Walters was named ACC Player of the Year as he leads the league in points (60) and goals (42). He is ranked fourth in the nation in points per game (4.29) and is first in goals per game (3.0). Walters is just the sixth Terp to be named ACC Player of the Year and first since Kevin Healy in 1998.

* Maryland head coach Dave Cottle was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Terps to the league title and a perfect 5-0 record in games against ACC teams. The last and only other Terp coach to be honored by the league was Dick Edell in 1989, 92 and 98.

* With his huge performance in the ACC Tournament, Joe Walters was named MVP of the event. He posted a career-high six goals in the championship game and added an assist to his career-best for points with seven. Overall, he had nine goals in the two-game event, to set a new ACC Tournament record. Walters is the first Terp to earn Tournament MVP since Scott Hochstadt, who set the event record for goals in a game with seven - one more than Walters - in 1998.

* Joining Walters on the ACC All-Tournament team were five other Terps: senior attacker J.R. Bordley, senior midfielder Paul Gillette, graduate goalie Tim McGinnis, senior defenseman Chris Passavia and senior defenseman Lee Zink.

* At the ACC Tournament banquet on April 22, three Terps were named to the All-ACC Team. Chris Passavia was named to the team for the third time. Joe Walters and Lee Zink both earned honors for the first time. All three are also among 15 final nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy as lacrosse's top player.

Terps At Top of ACC, NCAA Stat Lists
* Maryland was the final undefeated team in the nation prior to its loss to Navy (Apr. 10). The Terps as a team are ranked among the nation's best in several statistics and have several players at the top the ACC stat charts as well.

* The Terps lead the ACC in goal-scoring average and are sixth in the nation, piling up 11.57 goals per game. The Terps' 162 goals is sixth nationally. On defense, Maryland also leads the league, allowing just 7.36 goals per game -- seventh in the nation.

* The Terps are also third in the country in goal-scoring margin at +4.21 per game.

* Individually, Joe Walters leads the ACC in scoring with 60 points as well as in points per game at 4.29. His total points ranks fourth in the nation while the points per game mark is also fourth overall.

* Walters is also first in the ACC and for first in the nation in total goals with 42 and goals per game (3.00). Syracuse's Michael Powell also scores 3.0 goals per game.

* In goal, Tim McGinnis is seventh in the nation in goals against average with a 7.24 GAA. He is also fourth in country in save percentage at 63.5, both marks are the best in the ACC.

* Checking other ACC stat charts, Joe Walters leads in game-winning goals with five. Xander Ritz and Walters rank tied for third in the league in assists (18) and assists per game (1.29).

* Paul Gillette is second in the ACC in groundballs per game at 4.79 and second on total groundballs with 67.

Walters Off to Best Two-Year Start in Maryland History
* ACC Player of the Year Joe Walters has been tearing up the lacrosse world in just his second season, leading the nation in goals with 42 and ranking among the top five scorers in total points all season. Walters is in the midst of one of the best starts to a career for an offensive player in the storied history of Maryland men's lacrosse. By the end of his career, Walters will surely threaten the school records for points of 219, set by Bob Boneillo (1977-80) and goals - 149 set by Matt Hahn (1995-98).

* With his 75 career goals in just his second season, Walters has already set the record for most goals by a Terrapin in his first two years of action. Walters broke the previous record of 70 set by Roger Goss, who scored 70 goals in 1958-59 as a sophomore and junior. Prior to 1972, freshmen were not eligible to play on varsity teams. Walters also broke the record for goals prior to the end of a sophomore season as Maryland all-time leading goal scorer Matt Hahn had 69 goals in 1995-96.

* Walters became just the seven Terp to break the 100-point barrier in his second year of action as well, accomplishing it against Notre Dame on May 1. Goss holds that record for 132 points in 58-59. Among four-year players, Hall of Famer Frank Urso had 112 points in his first two years in 1973-74.

* With his 42 goals this season, Walters now has the ninth-best single-season goal total in Maryland history. He is just one goal shy of eighth and two goals shy of seventh.

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