March 9, 2006

College Park, Md. - The No. 1 Maryland men's lacrosse team (2-0) renews its intra-state rivalry with the 15th-ranked Towson Tigers (1-1) on Saturday, March 11 at Byrd Stadium in the Terps' 2006 home opener. The game will be broadcast live locally on WMAR Channel 2 in Baltimore as well as nationally on ESPNU. (Game Notes - PDF)

• The game willl also mark the debut of Maryland men's lacrosse on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. Every home game, as well as the Johns Hopkins and postseason contests, will be broadcast on TSRN. Stations carrying Maryland men's lacrosse this season are: ESPN Radio 1300 AM (WJFK), Baltimore (Flagship); WTBO AM 1450, Cumberland (tape delay); WARK AM 1490, Hagerstown; WQMR FM 101.1, Ocean City (tape delay); WAMD AM 970, Aberdeen. Calling the action will be a pair of Maryland alums: Steve Stofberg ('94) on play-by-play and former Terp defenseman Dan Radebaugh, who was a first team All-American in 1995.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits • Maryland leads the all-time series with Towson 22-5.

• The Terps' are 10-4 vs. the Tigers in games played in College Park.

• Maryland has won 11 straight regular season games vs. Towson. The last game the Tigers won in the series was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

• Of the Terps' 30 points (18G, 12A) in 2006, 21 (70.0%) have been produced by seniors, including 10 by Xander Ritz.

• Joe Walters and Xander Ritz lead current Terps in scoring vs. Towson with nine points apiece. Walters has scored seven goals and two assists, while Ritz has scored three and assisted on six.

Terps As No. 1
• The Terps took over the top spot in Inside Lacrosse's Media Poll this week after beating former No. 1 Duke, 8-7 in OT last Saturday in Durham, N.C. This marks the eighth time Maryland has earned the No. 1 ranking since 1986.

• Overall, Maryland has played 20 games as the No. 1-ranked team and is 13-7 in those games.

• The last time the Terps were the nation's top team was in April of 2004. Maryland's two-week run at the top of the polls ended with a 9-6 loss to No. 4 Navy in College Park.

• The ranking is also the earliest the Terps have achieved the No. 1 ranking in a season. Previous to this week, the earliest Maryland was ranked No. 1 was March 26, 2001.

• The longest Maryland has held on to the No. 1 ranking was seven weeks in 1987. That streak came to an end with a 13-8 loss to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Semifinals.

Coaching Match-Up
• Coach Dave Cottle has a 15-9 career record against Towson while coaching at Loyola and Maryland. He was 11-9 vs. the Tigers while at Loyola. He is 4-0 vs. Towson as the coach at Maryland, winning 15-10 in 2002, 12-8 in 2003, 8-6 in 2004 and 9-5 last season Overall, Cottle has a 228-88 record in 24 years at Maryland and Loyola. He is 47-17 with the Terps in four-plus seasons.

• Towson's Tony Seaman is in his eighth year Towson with a 225-117 record in 25 years at Towson, Johns Hopkins, Penn and C.W. Post. He is 61-44 in eight-plus years with the Tigers starting in 1999.

The Maryland-Towson Series
• In games against Towson, Maryland holds a 22-5 (.815) all-time record in the series that dates to 1971. The Terps have won the last 11 regular-season meetings, including last season's 9-5 win in Unitas Stadium.

• Maryland led 8-1 through three quarters, but Towson rallied for five fourth-quarter goals in the last meeting between the two schools at Byrd Stadium in College Park on March 13, 2004. The Terps held on for an 8-6 victory largely on the performance of goalie Tim McGinnis, who made 15 saves.

• In the 2003 game at Towson, the Terps got a dynamic performance from then-freshman Joe Walters, who scored the first four goals of his career and added an assist for his first five-point game as a Terp to lead Maryland to a 12-8 victory. Ian Healy, the only other current Terp to score at Towson, added a goal and an assist in the win.

• The two schools first played in 1971, a 22-6 Maryland win on April 3. The teams did not meet again until 1981 and have met at least once per season since.

• The Tigers have never beaten Maryland in Towson. The Terps are a perfect 11-0 at Towson, although Towson has won three times in the regular season in College Park: Towson, 14-7 (4/12/94), Towson, 13-9 (3/14/92) and Towson, 8-7 (3/17/90).

• Towson has won the only two meetings between the two schools in the postseason. The Tigers beat the Terps 15-11, in the NCAA Semifinals at Syracuse on May 25, 1991. Towson also upset Maryland in College Park in the 2001 NCAA Quarterfinals 12-11.

Towson-Maryland Connections
• Of course when two schools are located less than an hour away from each other there are many connections with the teams. Here are a few:

• Towson offensive assistant coach Andrew "Buggs" Combs is in his fourth year on the sidelines after a standout playing career at Maryland. Combs was a 2001 Terp lacrosse All-American, who became the second player in the storied history of Maryland lacrosse to score 50 goals in a season, which he did five years ago. Combs is also the son of Towson football coach Gordy Combs.

• Former Maryland coach Dick Edell, who retired from the school on Sept. 3, 2001, is a 1968 Towson graduate and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1980.

• Maryland's Jacob Baxter is the brother of recent Towson grad and All-American Adam Baxter. Jacob is a sophomore this season with the Terps.

• Many Terps and Tigers have been high school teammates as well. Former Severn School teammates Michael Phipps will oppose Todd MacMullan and Michael Houser. Jay Feeley and Kyle Batton will face each other after graduating from Dulaney. Terp sophomore Jeff Reynolds will be facing fellow Calvert Hall grads Phil Blevins, Matt Eckerl and Nick Williams. Former Boy's Latin (Md.) teammates Scott Slosson, Bobby Griebe and Adam Hagelin will reunite, while St. Mary's high school will be represented by Will Dalton and Jason Carter on the Maryland side and Mike Raszewski, Justin Schneider and Ted Turnblacer from Towson. Loyola Blakefield will have Terp senior face-off specialist David Tamberrino and Towson's Matt Antol and Phil Grillo. Maryland freshman Nick Ward and the Tigers' Andrew Maurer and Ryan Preuss will meet for the first time in college after being teammates at Ward Melville in New York. Another pair of freshmen will reunite on Saturday as Friends School's Will Harrington and Randall Cooper meet for the first time since graduating in 2005.

Individual Terps Vs. Towson
• Only five players on the current Maryland roster have recorded points against Towson.

• Joe Walters scored the first four goals of his collegiate career in the 12-8 win at Towson in 2003 and added a goal in 2004's 8-6 victory. Last season he scored two and assisted Bill McGlone's fourth-quarter goal.

• Xander Ritz put up a three-point game vs. the Tigers in 2004 and topped that last season with a two-goal, two assist effort.

• Senior midfielders Brendan Healy and Bill McGlone have each scored four points vs. Towson in their careers. Healy has totaled his four on two goals and two assists, while McGlone's four have all come on goals.

• The fifth current Terps to score vs. Towson is junior attackman Michael Phipps, who scored a goal and added a career-best three assists in 2005.

• Junior goalie Harry Alford allowed only five goals, while stopping 12 Tiger shots in last season's 9-5 Terrapin victory.

Defense Proves To Be Strong Again
• 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 proved to be easier than previously imagined. With nearly the entire 2005 defense returning for 2006 take a look at how this year's defense stacks up to the previous two:

• During the last two seasons, Maryland held its' opponents scoreless for long stretches of game time. The 2004 Terps kept opponents scoreless for stretches of 20 or more minutes eight times. Last year Maryland did it on seven occasions, and was just seconds away from keeping the high-powered Duke (1st meeting) and Navy offenses off the board for more than 20 minutes. This season the Terrapin defense has done it in its' only game of the season.

• At Georgetown in the season opener, the Hoyas took a 2-1 lead with 0:13 left in the first quarter. Maryland's defense, lead by sophomore goalie Harry Alford, who totaled 14 saves in the 10-4 victory, didn't allow the seventh-ranked Hoyas another goal until 7:09 in the fourth quarter, a total time of 38:05. Of the Hoyas' four goals, two were scored during a Maryland penalty.

• Even though the Terp defense did not hold Duke scoreless for any 20-minute stretch, it did hold one of the nation's most prolific offenses to the Blue Devils' lowest scoring output of the season. Prior to scoring just seven goals vs. Maryland, Duke had put up 20 on Butler, 13 on Villanova and 16 on Bellarmine for an average of 16.3 goals per game.

Terps Among ACC Stat Leaders
• The Terps are off to a 2-0 start and have several players near the top the ACC stat charts.

• Xander Ritz is the conference's leading scorer in points and goals per game. The senior midfielder/attackman's average of 4.5 goals per game is two better than Duke's Kyle Dowd and Zack Greer who are averaging 2.5 gpg. He also is the ACC leader in points per game with a 5.0 average. Ritz is also ranked first in man-up goals per game (2.5) game-winning goals (2) and shots per game (9.5).

• Joe Walters has been quiet as a goal scorer so far in 2006 with just one goal, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been a factor in the Terp offense. The senior attackman is tied for first in the ACC in assists per game (2.5) with Duke's Dan Flannery. Walters is tied for seventh in points per game (3.0) and is fourth in shots per game (8.0).

• Max Ritz is also among the ACC's leaders in goals per game, tying for sixth with 2.0 gpg. The sophomore attackman is also second in man-up goals per game with 1.0.

• David Tamberrino is ranked sixth in face-off percentage (20/31, .645), but that average is second among players with more than 30 face-offs taken.

• In goal, Harry Alford is first in saves per game (13.0) and second in save percentage (70.3) and goals against average (5.48 GAA).

At Byrd Stadium Under Cottle
• Home field advantage is a big factor in college men's lacrosse and it's no different for the Maryland Terrapins under Coach Dave Cottle. Since Cottle took over the reigns of the Terps' program prior to the 2003 season, Maryland is 16-5 (.762) at Byrd Stadium. During those four seasons, Maryland has had to play seven games (6-1) at the Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex. If you add those to Maryland's Byrd Stadium total, the Terrapins are 22-6 (.786) in games played in College Park since 2003.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland is now 77-3-1 (.957) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 13 openers and 21 of the last 22, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when it fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

13 Straight In Season Openers
• Following their 10-4 win at No. 7 Georgetown, the Terps will enter the 2007 with a 13-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last eight over Denver, Mount St. Mary's, Air Force, Hobart, Duke and Georgetown (three times). Over the 13-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 182-66 (an average score of 14.0-5.1) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 13 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

Streaking Terps
• Two Terps entered the 2006 season game with point-scoring streaks and both emerged from the Duke game in tact.

• Joe Walters' point scoring streak is now at 35 games. He tallied three assists vs. the Hoyas in the '06 season opener. He followed that up with a one-goal, two-assist effort at Duke.

• Xander Ritz now has a point scoring streak of 19 games. After scoring a then-career-best four goals at Georgetown, the senior midfielder/attackman scored five goals to re-set his career high and added an assist at Duke.

• The last time Walters did not score a point in a game was May 24, 2003 in the NCAA Semifinals vs. eventual National Champion Virginia. For Ritz, he was last held scoreless in the 2004 NCAA Quarterfinal game vs. Princeton.

Three Terps Named To Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List
• Seniors Joe Walters and Bill McGlone are joined by junior Harry Alford on the preseason "Watch List" for the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy. Walters is a two-time semifinalist for the award and McGlone was on the preseason watch list in 2005. For Alford, this is his first appearance on the watch list.

• The Tewaaraton Trophy is awarded each year to the top male and female varsity lacrosse player, as chosen by the selection committee. The sixth annual award will be given at a banquet in June. The event will take place in Washington D.C. at the National Geographic Society headquarters.

Terps' 81st Season of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 663-214-4, 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 80 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 11-6. The program reached the 650-win milestone with a 16-12 win over Army in the first round of the 2004 NCAA tournament at Byrd Stadium.

• Since 2000, Maryland is 70-25 for a .737 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.

Terps Second In Strength Of Schedule
• According to Face-Off Magazine, Maryland's 2006 schedule is ranked as the second toughest in the NCAA behind only North Carolina.

• The Terps are scheduled to play eight teams ranked in the preseason Inside Lacrosse media poll and two other opponents that received votes. In the latest IL Media Poll, nine of Maryland's opponents are ranked in the Top 20, including three of the top four and five of the top 10. In addition to those nine teams, the top school among others receiving votes is Penn, which is also a 2006 Terrapin opponent.

• Maryland has already played two Top 10 teams on the road and are 2-0 in those contests.

2006 Captains: Healy, Lang, McGlone, X. Ritz
• Four players have been named team captains for the 2006 season. The quartet, which was voted on by the team during the fall season, consists of seniors Brendan Healy, Ryan Lang, Bill McGlone and Xander Ritz.