March 20, 2006

College Park, Md. - The No. 4 Maryland men's lacrosse team (4-1) will look to avenge its stunning 7-6 loss to Dartmouth (3-2) Tuesday afternoon. The game is set for a 12 noon start at Ludwig Field. It will be Maryland's first game at Ludwig Field since Coach Dave Cottle took over the program in 2002.

• 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.

• Dartmouth enters the game with a 3-2 mark. After winning its first three games of the season on the road, the Big Green have dropped its last two games at neutral sites. Dartmouth does not play a home game until March 28.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Dartmouth 7-1.

• The Terps' are 4-0 vs. the Big Green in College Park.

• Of the Terps' 65 points (42 G, 23 A) in 2006, 51 (78.5%) have been produced by seniors, including 19 by Xander Ritz.

• Joe Walters leads current Terps in scoring vs. Dartmouth with four points on two goals and two assists.

• Maryland holds an all-time record of 90-16-1 vs. Ivy League schools.

Coaching Match-Up
• Head coach Dave Cottle is 1-1 all-time against Dartmouth, 1-0 while he served as the head coach at Loyola and 0-1 as Terp head coach. At Loyola, Cotte's Geryhounds beat the Big Green 14-2 in 1988. Last season, Dartmouth stunned the fourth-ranked Terrapins 7-6 in Florida. Overall, Cottle has a 230-88 record in 24 years at Maryland and Loyola. He is 49-18 with the Terps in four-plus seasons.

• Dartmouth's Bill Wilson is in his third season as a head coach and has led the Big Green to a 19-11 record during that span.

The Maryland-Dartmouth Series
• Maryland holds a 7-1 lifetime advantage in eight meetings with Dartmouth. Maryland has won the first seven games, before losing to the Big Green, 7-6, in Boca Raton, Fla., last season.

• Prior to last year's meeting the two schools hadn't played since 1999, a 9-4 Maryland win. That game ended a 21-year drought in the series.

• Last year, Dartmouth played the game it could win and executed its gameplan to perfection, topping #4 Maryland, 7-6, at St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, Fla. Joe Walters scored twice and added two assists, while Xander Ritz tacked on two goals of his own, but in the end it was the ball-control offense of the Big Green that came out on top. Dartmouth got two goals apiece from Nick Bonacci and Brad Heritage, but the game-winner came from Tim Danies off an assist from Jamie Coffin with 2:22 left in the fourth. Harry Alford finished the game with 12 saves for the Terps.

Dartmouth-Maryland Connections
• Just because Dartmouth is located in Hanover, N.H., does not mean that its players have no connection to the Maryland Terrapins. In fact, 16 former high school teammates will take the field Tuesday afternoon.

• Two pairs of high school teammates from the Empire State will be on opposing sidelines as Chaminade's Ryan Clarke will face fellow alum Ryan O'Connor, while Canandaigua Academy will be represented by Terp freshman Dan Groot and Big Green senior Sean Anthony.

• Maryland high schools have nine alums between the Maryland and Dartmouth rosters. Jay Feeley and Tyler McIntyre are each from Dulaney High, while Gilman School has freshmen Scott Tompkins and Pat Marshall. St. Mary's fields two Terps, Jason Carter and Will Dalton, and the Big Green's Nick Bonacci. St. Paul's also has a pair, Maryland senior Brent Hargest and Dartmouth freshman Kyle Lagatta.

• The Alford twins, Harry and Thomas, will meet up with fellow St. Albans graduate Martin Bernstein.

• Today's game will not just reunite high school teammate, but it will be a mini-reunion of CCBC-Essex lacrosse. Maryland's Jon Beard, the 2005 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year, will be reunited with former Knights Travis Begay, Dan Cormack, Evan Key, Josh Porcell and Billy Sadtler.

Individual Terps Vs. Dartmouth
• With only one game between the two schools in the past six years, there are only five current Terps have have scored points against the Big Green. Leading the was is All-American Joe Walters, who scored twice and added two assists in the 2005 meeting.

• Xander Ritz scored two goals against Dartmouth, while Jimmy Borell scored one and tacked on an assist. Bill McGlone is the only other current Terp to score a goal vs. the Big Green with one last season. Michael Phipps picked up an assist in the 7-6 loss.

• Goalie Harry Alford was solid in last year's game, stopping 12 Dartmouth shots and picking up a game-high five groundballs.

• Maryland's face-off men won 11 of 17 (64.7%) vs. Dartmouth last year. David Tamberrino led the way, winning 7 of 13, while Thomas Alford was a perfect 4-4.

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.

• 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 already done it three times in its first five games.

• At No. 7 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 No. 1 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.

• In their first home game of 2006 against No. 15 Towson, the Terps dominated the first half of play, holding the Tigers scoreless for a 4-0 Maryland advantage at the half. Towson didn't get on the board until the 8:28 mark of the third quarter, which ended its scoring drought to 36:32. The Terp defense caused 14 of the Tigers' 24 turnovers, including a career-best five CT's by Steve Whittenberg. Maryland also controlled the game on the ground, beating Towson in groundballs 40-21.

• Maryland may have lost its first game of 2006 to Bucknell, 7-6 in 2OT, but the Terrapin defense turned in another stellar effort, led by junior All-American Steve Whittenberg, who surpassed his Towson-effort by causing six Bison turnovers and picking up five groundballs. As a team, the Terps caused 15 of Bucknell's 23 turnovers and won the groundball battle, 37-22. Even though Bucknell scored twice in each of the first three quarters for a 6-3 lead heading into the fourth, Maryland's D shutout the Bison in the fourth, allowing the Terrapin offense to score three unanswered goals to tie the game. Overall the Terps held Bucknell scoreless for 27:47 before giving up the game-winning goal with nine seconds left in the second overtime.

• It didn't get to 20 scoreless minutes, but that's because the clock ran out during Maryland's dominating defensive performance in its 9-4 win at UMBC. The Terp defense gave up just the four goals and there was only one assist on the Retriever scores. Maryland held just a one-goal lead going into the fourth quater, but the defense shutout UMBC in the final period to allow the offense to score four unanswered goals. It was the sixth time this season that Maryland has not allowed a goal in a quarter.

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

• Joe Walters' point scoring streak is now at 38 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. Against Towson the senior came out firing and finished the game with three goals and an assist for a game-high four points. After scoring the game's first goal, Walters also dished out two assists for a three-point effort vs. Bucknell. Three fourth-quarter goals helped the Terps toa 9-4 win at UMBC.

• Xander Ritz now has a point scoring streak of 22 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. While Ritz didn't dominate Towson like he did the Hoyas and Blue Devils, he still managed a goal and an assist in Maryland's 9-6 win. Ritz continued his torrid scoring pace against Bucknell with two goals and two assists, his fourth multi-point game in four games this season. Ritz's fifth multi-point game of the season came with a three-goal effort at UMBC.

• 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.

• While not as long of a streak as Walters' or Ritz's, Bill McGlone has managed to score a goal in each of Maryland's five games this season.

In College Park Under Coach 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 2002 season, Maryland is 17-5 (.773) at Byrd Stadium. During the four-plus seasons, Maryland has had to play seven games (6-2) at the Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex. If you add those to Maryland's Byrd Stadium total, the Terrapins are 23-7 (.767) in games played in College Park since 2002. Tuesday's game will be the first for a Cottle-coached Terrapin team at Ludwig Field.

Terps As No. 1
• Maryland dropped out of the top spot in this week's Inside Lacrosse Media Poll after holding the position for two weeks. The fell to fourth in the country after dropping a 7-6 decision to Bucknell in double-overtime before beating UMBC on the road, 9-4.

• The Terps took over the top spot in Inside Lacrosse's Media Poll on March 6 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 23 games as the No. 1-ranked team and is 15-8 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.

Three on 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 665-215-4, 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 72-26 for a .735 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, seven of Maryland's opponents are ranked in the Top 20, including three of the top five and five of the top 10. In addition to those seven teams, Bucknell, Dartmouth and North Carolina are among others receiving votes and are also 2006 Terrapin opponents.

• Maryland has already played two Top 10 teams on the road and are 2-0 in those contests. Additionally Maryland topped No. 15 Towson in its home opener.

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.