April 20, 2005

College Park, Md. - After playing it's oldest rival last Saturday, the 10th-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team travels to the state of Connnecticut for its first-ever meeting with the Stags of Fairfield.

• The Terps, coming off hard-fought 11-6 loss to No. 1 Johns Hopkins last Saturday at Byrd Stadium, are lead by the third-winningest coach in college lacrosse, Dave Cottle, who boasts a career record of 220-86 (.719). He is in his fourth season at the helm of the Terrapin program and has led the Terps to a 39-16 (.709) record.

• Fairfield enters the game fresh off a 12-11 upset of then-No. 14 Notre Dame. The Stags, which are 9-2 on the season, are coached by Ted Spencer, who holds a record of 75-65 (.536) in 11 seasons as a head coach -- all at Fairfield.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• This will be Maryland's first-ever meeting with Fairfield.

• Four Terps (Hereth, Murphy, Urquhart, Wiggins) are natives of Connecticut.

• Of the Terps' 91 goals, 65 (71.4%) have come from juniors, including 23 by Joe Walters.

• Fourteen different Terps have scored goals through 10 games, with three having scored points in every game.

• Harry Alford is averaging 10.6 saves per game in the Terps' five road games this season.

Terps Set For Rematch With Cavaliers In ACC Semifinals
• Maryland will meet the fourth-rated Virginia Cavaliers in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on April 29 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Wahoos are the No. 2 seed, while the Terps sit at No. 3.

Maryland-Fairfield Connections
• Despite this being the team's first meeting, Maryland-Fairfield still have many notable connections, but none with the four Terps that hail from Connecticut.

• Six players on the Fairfield roster hail from the state of Maryland with several being teammates of current Terps.

• Calvert Hall High School alumni Joe Amoyal and Jeff Reynolds will battle former teammates Brian Gorman and Michael Krueger.

• Michael Phipps will meet up with former Severn teammate Ryan Brassel.

• New York is also a recruiting ground for each school. Senior midfielder Matt Aksionoff reunited with fellow Baldwin alumnus Jarrad Wilson. Northport High School will be represented by Maryland's Ryan Lang and Fairfield's Kyle Herman. Michael Hartofilis will take on former St. Anthony's teammate Charles Keinath.

• Senior captain Gavin Webb meets another Buckeye State native and fellow Upper Arlington alumnus Tom McShane.

• Dave Matz, who scored a goal and added an assist vs. Hopkins last week, will meet former Woddstock teammate Jake Olson.

Coaching Match-Up
• Maryland head coach Dave Cottle is currently the third winningest active coach in the country with a 71.9 win percentage with a record of 220-86. He is also 39-16 (70.9) as head coach of the Terps. Fairfield's Ted Spencer is 75-65 (.536) in 11 seasons as a head coach at Fairfield.

• Coach Dave Cottle owns a perfect 6-0 record against Fairfield, all of which came while coaching at Loyola. He led the Greyhounds to back-to-back wins against the Stags in 1994 (18-1) and 1995 (16-3). Against coach Ted Spencer, Cottle is 4-0, as his Loyola team beat the Stags four straight times from 1997-2000.

Terps Among ACC, NCAA Stat Leaders
• 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.

• On defense, Maryland is 20th in the nation in scoring defense (8.2), which is also third the ACC.

• Maryland is 17th in the nation in face-offs, winning 55.3% of its draws (2nd in the ACC).

• David Tamberrino ranks among the nation's best in face-off percentage (12th, .600), which also ranks him first in the conference. The junior is also among the ACC's groundball leaders, ranking fourth with 3.90 GBs per game.

• In goal, Harry Alford is ninth in the nation in save percentage at 60.4, which is second in the ACC. He is also 18th in country in goals against average with a 8.12 GAA, which is third in the ACC. Alford is also leading the ACC in saves per game at 12.20.

• Individually, Joe Walters is fifth in the conference in goals per game at 2.30, and is seventh in the conference in points per game at 3.30. The junior attackman is also eighth in the ACC in assists per game at 1.00. Walters is also second in the league in shots per game (8.80) and is tied for third with four man-up goals.

• Bill McGlone is ninth in the conference with 1.80 goals per game and is 10th in points per game at 2.30. The junior midfielder is seventh in the ACC with 5.70 shots per game.

• Checking other ACC stat charts, Xander Ritz is tenth in assists per game (0.90). Brendan Healy is fifth in shots per game (6.70) Andrew Schwartzman is tied for second with two game-winning goals. Along with Tamberrino, freshman Will Dalton is fifth in face-offs with a 50.0 winning pct.

Shooting Tells The Story
• Coach Dave Cottle is on record saying that good teams will shoot at least 30%. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season.

• In Maryland's five victories this season the Terrapins are shooting 31.6% (61 goals/193 shots). In their five losses the Terps are shooting just 15.9% (30 goals/189 shots).

• Maybe just as telling is the shots on goal percentage. Maryland has put 120 of its 193 shots on goal in its five wins, but just 95 of 189 shots were on net in three defeats.

• The Terps' shooting relates directly to their scoring. In five victories Maryland is averaging more than 12 points per game. In their five losses the Terps are scoring a mere six goals per game.

Home vs. Away
• A lot is made in sports about the home-field advantage and for the Maryland men's lacrosse team in 2005 it's with good reason. The Terps have played five games at home and five away from College Park (4 road, 1 neutral) and the numbers show a decided edge for Terps when they are on familiar ground.

• Maryland is averaging 10.4 goals per game in its five home games, but that number dips to 7.80 on the road.

• Shooting percentage, which is one of Coach Dave Cottle's key statistics, is another tell-tale stat. In College Park the Terps are shooting 27.7% (52/188), but on the road they are shooting 20.1% (39/194). Shots on goal percentage shows another advantage for home games, 59.0% to 53.6%.

• Joe Walters, the team's leading scorer overall, is also Maryland's leading scorer in both home and away games. The junior All-American has racked up 13 goals and six assists at home, while amassing 10 goals and four assists on the road.

• Harry Alford has been spectacular no matter where he's played this year. The Kelly Award candidate has made 69 saves in the team's five home games with a 8.28 GAA and a .627 save pct. On the road the super-Sophomore has racked up 53 saves in five games with a 7.94 GAA and a .576 save pct.

Harry Saves The Day
• In his first career start sophomore goalie Harry Alford stopped an amazing 25 Georgetown shots to help lead the Terps to a 13-6 victory over the No. 5 Hoyas. The 25 saves were the most by a Maryland goalie since the 2000 season when Pat McGinnis made 27 saves in a 11-6 loss to Virginia.

• Alford's 25-save performance is the highest total in season opener dating back to the 1997 season. The previous best for saves in a season opener since 1997 was 17 by Danny McCormick vs. Duke in 2003.

• For his efforts vs. the Hoyas, Alford collected Inside Lacrosse's National Player of the Week honors, as well being named the ACC player of the week.

• Alford turned in another 20-save performance one month later on March 26, in Maryland's 9-4 win over No. 19 North Carolina in College Park. Alford made 12 saves in the third quarter alone.

• For his efforts against the Tar Heels, in addition to stopping 12 shots in the Dartmouth game, Alford won his second ACC player of the week award, the first multi-time winner of 2005.

Defense Proves To Be Strong
• Heading into the 2005 season the big question mark surrounding the Terps was their defense. The entire starting close defense from 2004, consisting National Defensive Player of the Year Lee Zink and All-Americans Chris Passavia and Dave Wagner, Team MVP short-stick D-middie Paul Gillette, and All-America goalie Tim McGinnis were lost to graduation. Taking that group's place figured to be no easy task, but it's proving to be easier than previously imagined. Take a look at how this year's defense stacks up:

• Similar to last season, Maryland has held opponents scoreless for long stretches of game time. Through 10 games in 2004, the Terps kept opponents scoreless for stretches of 20 or more minutes six times. This year Maryland has done it on five occasions, and was just seconds away from keeping the high-powered Duke and Navy offenses off the board for more than 20 minutes.

• Against Georgetown, the Hoyas scored to take a 1-0 lead at the 10:02 mark of the first quarter. Maryland's defense, lead by sophomore goalie Harry Alford, who totaled 25 saves in the 13-6 victory, didn't allow the fifth-ranked Hoyas another goal until 4:34 in the second quarter, a total time of 20:26. Maryland kept Georgetown off the board for a 15-minute stretch following that goal, while the offense built an 11-2 lead. The Hoyas didn't register their third goal of the game until 4:32 in the third quarter, a span of 15:02.

• Maryland pitched a shutout for the first 19:34 of the Duke game, coming just 26 seconds short of the 20-minute mark.

• Against Towson, the Terps held the Tigers to five goals (they had been averaging 10.6 in their first three games) and held their starting attack to just one goal and one assist on a remarkable four shots. The Maryland defense turned up the intensity when Towson took a 3-2 lead at 12:48 of the second quarter. The Terrapin defense held the Tigers scoreless for the next 27:38, while the offense built a 6-3 lead. Towson pulled to within one goal, 6-5, at 11:55 of the fourth, but Maryland only allowed the Tigers two shots over the final 11:55 and finished with a 9-5 win over the ninth-ranked team in the country.

• At Bucknell, the Bison scored at the 12:50 mark of the second quarter and did not net another goal until 2:31 in the third, a span of 25:19.

• In the Dartmouth loss, the Big Green tied the game at 1-1 at the 3:22 mark of the first quarter. The Maryland "D" held strong for the remainder of the first half with Harry Alford only have to make one save in the second quarter. Dartmouth didn't get on the board again until 12:55 in the third, a span of 20:27.

• The Terrapin defense held the 19th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the Terps' 9-4 win. The four goals allowed was the lowest total for the Terps since limiting Virginia to two goals in Maryland's 11-2 win on April 3, 2004.

• Twice in the Terps 9-8 loss to Navy, Maryland held the Mids to just one goal in 19+ minutes of action. The second span, bridging the third and fourth quarters allowed the Terps to go on a 5-1 run to take a 8-7 lead.

• Sophomore Steve Whittenberg, a transfer from Air Force, has been the model of consistency for the Terps. A starter in all nine games, Whittenberg has picked up four, five, four, six, and three groundballs, respectively, in the team's first five games. On the season he has 29 groundballs and has caused nine turnovers.

• Short-stick defensive midfielders Travis Holmes and Ryan Lang have been stellar early on this season. They have sliced and diced their opponents, combining to force 11 turnovers in 10 games while scooping up 27 groundballs as well. The duo showed their offensive side in the Terps' 14-10 win at No. 18 Bucknell when Lang assisted Holmes' goal at the 1:14 mark of the third quarter. That goal sparked a 6-0 Maryland run that sealed the game for the Terrapins.

• Another factor in the Maryland defense has been the emergence of long-pole defensive midfielder Ryan Clarke, who leads the team with 10 caused turnovers and is second with 30 groundballs.

• In goal, Harry Alford has been stellar, stopping all manner of shots. He's played all but eight minutes for the Terps, making 122 saves with a save percentage of 60.4 and a 8.11 GAA.

Face-Off Turn Around
• Last year the face-off circle was not kind to the Terps, who were only able to control 46.4 percent of 362 draws. This season Maryland has turned things around, winning 104 of 186 attempts - a 55.9 winning percentage.

• Leading the way for Maryland is junior face-off specialist David Tamberrino. A reserve face-off guy last year (16-32/50%), Tamberrino has taken 120 face-offs through 10 games and has won 72 - a 60.0 winning percentage, which ranks first in the ACC and 12th in the nation.

• Thomas Alford is also enjoying a breakthrough season in the face-off circle. The sophomore, who won 42-89 draws in 2004, has won 31 of 64 (.484) this season.

• Freshman Will Dalton used his 6-5, 245-pound frame to his advantage in the Terps' 9-4 win over North Carolina, winning six of nine face-offs, all in the second half to help Maryland pull away from the Tar Heels. He is 11 of 22 (.500) this year, fifth-best in the ACC.

Streaking Terps
• Three Terps entered the Johns Hopkins game with scoring streaks and all three came out in tact.

• Joe Walters' goal and point scoring streak is now at 26 after scoring a goal and adding an assist vs. the Blue Jays -- the 34th multilpe-point of his career.

• Bill McGlone, who had his goal scoring streak (23 games) snapped at Virginia, extended his point scoring streak to 26 by scoring the game's final goal vs. Johns Hopkins.

• Xander Ritz extended his point scoring streak to 10 games with a goal and an assist vs. Hopkins.

Here's a breakdown of the Terps' current streaks:
• McGlone, who entered the season with a 16-game goal and point scoring streaks, didn't waste any time in 2005, scoring three goals vs. Georgetown in the season opener. In the Duke game McGlone again netted the first goal of the game to give the Terps a 1-0 lead. He would then pick up his first assist of the season on Michael Phipps' goal to up the lead to 2-0. McGlone would once again score the first Terp goal, for the third straight game, in the 9-5 win at No. 9 Towson. He would add two more for his fourth career hat trick. At Bucknell, McGlone didn't scored Maryland's first goal of the game, but the third to give the Terps a 3-1 lead at that point. He added another goal (man-up) in fourth quarter and assisted on two goals for his first four-point game of the season. The junior didn't waste anytime vs. UMBC, scoring two of the Terps' first three goals in the first three minutes of the game. He would go on to score a career high five goals vs. the Retrievers. The Dartmouth goal proved to be a different story, as McGlone came off the bench due to a minor injury. He only managed two shots, but put the first one past the Big Green goalie to extend his point and goal scoring streaks. Still nursing an injury, McGlone kept his streak alive in the UNC game by scoring a goal at the 8:35 mark of the third quarter. His goal scoring streak came to an end at 23 vs. Virginia, but he did pick up an assist on Joe Walters' man-up goal in the third quarter to extend his point scoring streak to 24. McGlone pushed his points streak to 25 with a single goal vs. Navy. A fourth-quarter goal vs. Hopkins extended his point scoring streak to 26.

• Walters, who also entered the season with a 16-game goal and point scoring streaks, kept his scoring streaks alive at 9:45 in the second quarter vs. Georgetown with an unassisted goal to give Maryland a 2-1 lead, a lead they would never surrender on the way to a 13-6 victory. Against Duke, Walters took a more aggressive approach and picked up his 19th career hat trick, including two man-up goals. A frustrating shooting day at Towson couldn't keep Walters out of the net. The national player of the year candidate scored twice and assisted on another goal for a three point afternoon. It was another three-point effort for Walters in the 14-10 win at No. 18 Bucknell to extend his goal and point scoring streaks. Walters picked up an assist on a Dave Matz goal midway through the second quarter, but didn't score a goal until 3:41 in the third to give Maryland a 7-4 lead. He would go on to score his second of the game in the fourth as part of a 6-0 Terps' run to put the game away. The UMBC game saw Walters tie career highs with six goals and one assist. In the loss to Dartmouth, Walters scored twice and added two assists for a four-point game. North Carolina tried to shut Walters down, but the All-American still managed to score two goals in the 9-4 win. Like the rest of the Maryland offense, Walters struggled in Maryland's 10-2 loss at Virginia, but he kept his streaks alive with a man-up goal in the third quarter. At Navy, Walters scored his 21st career hat trick to run his goal and point scoring streaks to 25. In the Hopkins game, Walters scored a goal and assisted Brendan Healy's man-up goal to push his streaks to 26.

• Xander Ritz is the only other Terp to score a least a point in each of the eight games. Ritz scored a goal in the Georgetown win and had an assist vs. Duke. He had his best game of the season in the Towson victory with two goals and two assists for his first four-point game of 2005. At Bucknell he assisted McGlone's first quarter goal to extend his point scoring streak to four. Against UMBC he assisted McGlone's third goal of the game and tallied another assist on Ian Healy's second goal of the season. He had another two-point game vs. Dartmouth, but this time those points came on goals, including the only man-up goal of the game and a goal at 1:22 of the fourth quarter to pull the Terps within a goal of the Big Green. Ritz kept his scoring streak alive in the UNC victory, assisting Michael Phipps' first quarter goal. In the Virginia loss, Ritz scored an unassisted goal in the fourth quarter to cut the Cavalier lead to 6-2. A goal and assist at Navy extended Ritz's scoring streak to nine games. Ritz had his 24th-career multi-point game to push his point scoring streak to 10 games with a goal and assist vs. Hopkins.

Terps' 80th Season of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 655-213-4, 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 79 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 13-3. The program reached the 650-win milestone with a 16-12 win over Army in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Byrd Stadium.

• Since 2000, Maryland is 63-24 for a .724 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.

McGlone And Walters Up For Tewaaraton Award
• Juniors Bill McGlone and Joe Walters were recently named to the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy 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.

• Walters, a semifinalist for the award as a sophomore, scored 46 goals and tallied 22 assists for 68 points in 2004 and was a USILA first team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year.

• McGlone, one of the top midfielders in the country, was second on the team in goals and points in 2004 with 25 and 36, respectively.

• The Tewaaraton Trophy is awarded each year to the top male and female varsity lacrosse player, as chosen by the selection committee. The fifth annual award will be given at a banquet on Thursday, June 2. Ten finalists (five male, five female) will be invited to the banquet for the announcement. The event will take place in Washington D.C. at the National Geographic Society headquarters.

2005 Captains: I. Healy, Hereth, McGlone, Webb
• Four players have been named team captains for the 2005 season. The quartet, which was voted on by the team during the fall season, consists of seniors Ian Healy, Tyler Hereth and Gavin Webb, along with junior Bill McGlone.