April 28, 2005

College Park, Md. - • Head coach Dave Cottle leads the No. 10 Maryland men's lacrosse team into the 2005 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 2 seed Virginia. The teams face-off in the second men's semifinal game at 8:30 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Friday's first men's semifinal pits No. 1 seed Duke against No. 4 seed North Carolina at approximately 6:00 p.m.

• This year marks the first time that the Terps and the Cavaliers will meet in the semifinals since 2001. In that game Maryland, the top seed, defeated fourth-seeded Virginia, 12-8. The Terps are 3-2 against the Wahoos all-time in ACC semifinal games.

• Maryland is the host school for this year's tournament. The last time the Terps hosted the ACC tournament was 2000. Maryland, the third seed, upset No. 2 seed Duke, 7-6, in the semis before falling to top-seeded Virginia, 11-7, in the finals.

• The championship game takes place on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with the winners of Friday's semifinals meeting for the ACC crown. That game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South and the Sunshine Network. Live stats for all of Maryland's games will available over the internet at www.umterps.com and www.theacc.com.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Virginia 43-30.

• The Terps have a 4-1 record on artificial turf this season.

• Of the Terps' 100 goals, 69 (69.0%) have come from juniors, including 24 by Joe Walters.

• Fourteen different Terps have scored goals through 11 games, with two having scored points in every game.

• Harry Alford is allowing just 7.63 goals per game in the Terps' six road games this season.

The Maryland-Virginia Rivalry
• The Maryland-Virginia rivalry is the third-longest in Terrapin lacrosse history with Maryland holding a 43-30 advantage, dating to the first game -- a Terps' 10-1 victory on April 24, 1926. The 43 wins are the third-highest number of victories Maryland has against any team. The Terps have defeated Duke 52 times and Navy 48 times.

• The rivals met twice every year for six years in a row from 1996 to 2001 before the streak ended in 2002. They continued with the double meetings in 2003 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. The two teams met twice again last season as Maryland dominated Virginia 11-2 in College Park on April 3. They met again in the ACC Championship game with the Terps coming out on top, 12-11, in Chapel Hill, N.C., on April 23. This will be their second meeting this year making it eight of the last nine years the two team's will have met twice.

• Earlier this season, Virginia dominated the Terps en route to a 10-2 victory in Charlottesville. The two goals scored were the fewest by a Maryland team since a 7-2 loss at Virginia in 2001. Joe Walters and Xander Ritz were the only Terrapins to find the net, while sophomore goalie Harry Alford did his best to keep Maryland in the game with 13 saves.

• The Terps have now won two ACC Tournament titles with both championship victories coming over Virginia. Maryland captured its first 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.

• Last year's regular season meeting between Maryland and Virginia saw the Terps enter the game as the No. 1 team in the country, the first time Maryland had earned the top ranking since 2001. Maryland lived up to its billing, humiliating the Cavaliers 11-2 in College Park. Xander Ritz scored three goals and assisted on another three, while Joe Walters added a goal and three assists to pace the Terrapin offense. The game was never really in doubt as the Terps opened the game with a 5-0 run. The Maryland defense was stellar all afternoon, holding Virginia's top seven scorers without a single point.

• The Cavaliers would not go so quietly in the 2004 ACC title game. The Terps built a 12-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, behind a career-high six goals from Joe Walters, who would be named Tournament MVP. But the Wahoos scored four goals in the fourth and shutdown the Maryland offense to close the gap to 12-11. Virginia's comeback ran short giving the Terps just their second ACC Tournament championship.

• In the 2003 regular-season game, the last time the two schools played in Charlottesville, 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.

• 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.

• The Cavaliers hold a 6-4 record over the Terps in the 2000 decade. Virginia won the first three meetings of this decade, but Maryland has rallied to win three of the last five games between the two schools.

Coaching Match-Up
• Maryland head coach Dave Cottle is currently the third winningest active coach in the country with a 72.0 win percentage with a record of 221-86. He is also 40-16 as head coach of the Terps. Starsia has won 71.0 percent of his games at Brown and Virginia (240-98 overall record) and is fourth on the list. In the total wins among active coaches Starsia is fifth and Cottle is ninth.

• Cottle has a 6-8 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 3-3t 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 nine 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 the 2003 season.

Individual Terps vs. Virginia
• Seven Terps have posted points against Virginia over their careers. Joe Walters leads the way with 16 points on 11 goals and five assists, including a six-goal, one-assist effort in last year's 12-11 win in the ACC Tournament finals.

• Walters is riding a 27-game goal and point scoring streak. The last time he did not score a goal in a game was on May 24, 2003 vs. Virginia in the NCAA semifinals in Baltimore.

• Xander Ritz had an amazing three-goal, three-assist effort in the 2004 regular season meeting. He followed that up by scoring twice to help the Terps win the 2004 ACC Tournament title. This season he scored a goal in Maryland's 10-2 loss at Virginia.

• Just looking at the score would not tell the effort goal Harry Alford turned in during this year's 10-2 loss at Virginia. The sophomore Kelly Award candidate kept the Terps in the game through three quarters with 11 saves and allowing just six goals. He finished the game with 13 saves.

• In addition to the seven Terps who have scored points, Thomas Alford and David Tamberrino have taken face-offs vs. the Cavaliers, while back-up goalie Teddy Murphy saw late time in the 2003 NCAA semifinal meeting between the two schools. Thomas Alford won nine of 14 draws in this season's 10-2 loss at Virginia.

• Bill McGlone had his 23-game goal scoring streak ended in this year's game at Virginia, but picked up an assist to extend his point scoring streak to 24 games. That streak came to an end last week at Fairfield at 26 games. Prior to the game vs. the Stags, the last time he did not score a point in a game was on May 24, 2003 vs. Virginia in the NCAA semifinals in Baltimore.

Individual Terps In The ACC Tournament
• Eight Terps have scored points in ACC Tournament games during their careers.

• Leading the way is 2004 ACC Tournament MVP Joe Walters with 11 goals and one assists, including a six-goal, one-assist effort in last year's 12-11 win over Virginia in the ACC Tournament finals.

• Brendan Healy, Bill McGlone and Xander Ritz scored points in each of the Terps' two games in the 2004 tournament.

• In addition to the eight players who have scored points in the ACC tournament, two Terrapins saw face-off action last year. Thomas Alford won four of 10 face-offs vs. Duke in the semifinals and took five of 11 from Virginia in the finals. David Tamberrino took one draw in the finals against the Cavaliers. He also took one face-off in the 2003 semifinals against the Blue Devils.

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 up five spots from a week ago to 15th in the nation in scoring defense (8.0), which is also third the ACC.

• Maryland is 20th in the nation in face-offs, winning 53.8% of its draws (2nd in the ACC).

• In goal, Harry Alford is eighth in the nation in save percentage at 60.0, which is second in the ACC. He is also 16th in country in goals against average with a 7.93 GAA, which is third in the ACC. Alford is also leading the ACC in saves per game at 11.73.

• David Tamberrino ranks among the nation's best in face-off percentage (17th, .579), which also ranks him second in the conference. The junior is also among the ACC's groundball leaders, tying for fourth with 3.91 GBs per game.

• Individually, Joe Walters is seventh in the conference in goals per game at 2.18 and in points per game at 3.09. The junior attackman is also tied for ninth in the ACC in assists per game at 0.91. Walters is also tied for first in the league in shots per game (8.91) and is tied for third with four man-up goals.

• Bill McGlone is ninth in the conference with 1.64 goals per game and is seventh eighth with 5.55 shots per game.

• Checking other ACC stat charts, Xander Ritz is tied for ninth in assists per game (0.91). Brendan Healy is fourth in shots per game (6.91) Andrew Schwartzman is tied for second with two game-winning goals.

Maryland-Virginia Connections
• Both Maryland and Virginia are among the elite programs in all of college lacrosse, so it is not surprising that there are many connections between the two teams.

• Cavalier sophomore midfielder Drew Thompson is the son of former Terp Andrew Thompson (1972-75), who was a member of Maryland's 1975 National Championship team.

• James King, a redshirt-freshman defender for the Wahoos, is the younger brother of Carrington King, who was a short-stick midfielder for Maryland from 1999-2002.

• Nine players on the Virginia roster hail from the state of Maryland with several being teammates of current Terps, while Maryland has six Virginia natives on it's roster. Maryland and Virginia have 19 players who were teammates at 11 different high schools.

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 six victories this season the Terrapins are shooting 29.0% (70 goals/241 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 144 of its 241 shots on goal in its six wins, but just 95 of 189 shots were on net in three defeats.

• The Terps' shooting relates directly to their scoring. In six victories Maryland is averaging slightly less 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 (5 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 8.00 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 19.8% (48/242). Shots on goal percentage shows another advantage for home games, 59.0% to 52.9%.

• 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 11 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 60 saves in six games with a 7.63 GAA and a .571 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.

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.

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.

• For the first time since 2002, the Maryland defense shut out an opponent for an entire half, holding Fairfield scoreless in the second half in the Terps' 9-6 victory. The last time a Maryland team held an opponent scoreless for a half was Feb. 26, 2002 when the Terps shutout Mount St. Mary's 18-0. The last time the Terps held an opponent scoreless for two consecutive quarters was also in 2002, on March 23 against North Carolina. Maryland kept the Tar Heels off the board in the second and third quarters en route to a 7-5 win.

• 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 31 groundballs and has caused a team-best 12 turnovers this season.

• Another sophomore defender who has made his presence felt is Ray Megill. The native of Clark, N.J., was a starter during the preseason, but an ankle injury forced him to the bench and limited his minutes during the early part of the season. He got his chance to start when Sean Sullivan went down with an injury following the Dartmouth game and has made the most of it. Since joining the starting close defense unit in the North Carolina game, Megill has 11 groundballs and seven caused turnovers in five games. Overall this season he has 14 groundballs and 11 caused 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 11 games while scooping up 28 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. Freshman Jeff Reynolds has seen increased playing time over the past several games as a short-stick D-middie and has picked up six groundballs and caused one turnover.

• Another factor in the Maryland defense has been the emergence of long-pole defensive midfielder Ryan Clarke, who is tied for second on the team with 11 caused turnovers and is also tied for second with 31 groundballs.

• In goal, Harry Alford has been stellar, stopping all manner of shots. He's played all but nine minutes for the Terps, making 129 saves with a save percentage of 60.0 and a 7.92 GAA.

Terps Tops In Strength Of Schedule
• According to the Wobus computer rankings, Maryland has played the toughest schedule in all of college lacrosse this season.

• The Terps have played each of the teams in the top five of this week's USILA Geico/STX Coaches' Poll.

• Of Maryland's 11 games so far this season only two have been against an unranked opponent (UMBC on March 19 and Dartmouth on March 22). Dartmouth is now ranked 11th.

Streaking Terps
• Three Terps entered the Fairfield game with scoring streaks, but only two came out in tact.

• Joe Walters' goal and point scoring streak is now at 27 after scoring a goal vs. the Stags.

• Xander Ritz extended his point scoring streak to 11 games with a goal and an assist vs. Fairfield.

• Bill McGlone, who had his goal scoring streak (23 games) snapped at Virginia on April 2, had his point scoring streak stopped at 26 vs. Fairfield. The last time McGlone was held without a point in a game was May 24, 2003 in the NCAA Semifinals vs. Virginia.

Here's a breakdown of the Terps' current streaks:
• 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. The streaks reached 27 with a goal in Maryland's 9-6 win at Fairfield.

• Xander Ritz is the only other Terp to score a least a point in each of the 11 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. He had another multi-point game with a goal and an assist in the 9-6 win at Fairfield.

Terps' 80th Season of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 656-213-4, 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 64-24 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.

Walters Makes Tewaaraton Semifinal List
• Junior attackman Joe Walters is among 16 players on the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy semifinal list as announced by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation on April 25. The 16 nominees, who represent 14 schools, will be trimmed to five finalists for the award, which will be presented on June 2.

• 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. This season he leads the team with 24 goals, 10 assists and 34 points. Earlier this season, he became just the 14th player in the history of Maryland lacrosse to score 100 goals during his career. He is currently tied for ninth on the all-time goal scoring list with 103 goals.

• Bill McGlone, one of the top midfielders in the country, was on the preseason "Watch List" but was not among the 16 to make the semifinalist list.

• 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. 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.