March 31, 2006

College Park, Md. - ACC supremacy is on the line when No. 3 Maryland hosts No. 1 Virginia Saturday afternoon, April 1, at Byrd Stadium. The Terps clinch the regular season conference title and the top seed in the ACC tournament with a victory. For the Cavaliers the game marks the first of three-straight ACC contests. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. face-off and can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network.

• Headlining the game will be two of the most dynamic scoring duos in the country. Joe Walters and Xander Ritz are first and third, respectfully, in the ACC in points per game, while the Cavalier tandem of Ben Rubeor and Matt Ward are second and fourth, respectfully.

• While offense might draw the headlines, this game could come down to which team's defense rises to the occasion. The Terps, led by Schmeisser Cup candidate Steve Whittenberg and Kelly Award candidate Harry Alford, are tops in the ACC in goals allowed per game at 5.03. Virginia is not too far off of that, giving up just 6.78 goals per game.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Virginia 44-30.

• The Terps' are 23-13 all-time vs. the Cavaliers in College Park.

• Of the Terps' 104 points (65 G, 39 A) in 2006, 75 (72.1%) have been produced by seniors, including 28 by Joe Walters and 27 by Xander Ritz.

• Harry Alford averaged 12.5 saves per game in Maryland's two meetings with UVa in 2005.

• In the Terps' las three games (since the Bucknell loss), Joe Walters has scored 12 goals and added three assists for 15 points.

Terps vs. No. 1
• Since 1978 (the first year rankings were recorded in the Terp media guide), Maryland has played a No. 1-ranked team on 22 occasions and has pulled off the upset five times.

• It hasn't been too long since the Terps have beaten the No. 1 team. One only has to go back a month to Maryland's thrilling 8-7 overtime victory at then-No. 1 Duke. Xander Ritz scored five goals vs. the Blue Devils, including the game-winner for the Terrapins.

• Prior to this season's win over Duke, the last time the Terps defeated the nation's top team was on May 23, 1998 vs. Loyola in the NCAA Semifinals at Piscataway, N.J. Maryland's all-time leading goal scorer Matt Hahn scored five goals to help the Terrapins to a dominating 19-8 win over the Greyhounds, who were coached by current Maryland head coach Dave Cottle.

• Coincidentally, the last time the Terps upset the No.1 team at Byrd Stadium was a 13-11 win over Virginia on March 30, 1996.

• Maryland has never defeated two No. 1 ranked teams in the same season.

Coaching Match-Up
• Maryland head coach Dave Cottle is currently the third winningest active coach in the country with a 72.5 win percentage with a record of 232-88. He is also 51-18 as head coach of the Terps. Starsia has won 71.6 percent of his games at Brown and Virginia (251-100) overall record) and is fourth on the list. In the total wins among active coaches Starsia is third and Cottle is sixth.

• Cottle has a 7-8 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 4-3 against the Wahoos while at Maryland, including last season's 8-7 overtime-win in the ACC semifinals. 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 11 times with Starsia winning six 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.

The Maryland-Virginia Rivalry
• The Maryland-Virginia rivalry is the third-longest in Terrapin lacrosse history with Maryland holding a 44-30 advantage, dating to the first game -- a Terps' 10-1 victory on April 24, 1926. The 44 wins are the third-highest number of victories Maryland has against any team. The Terps have defeated Duke 53 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 in 2004 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. The two squads double-dipped again last season with the Wahoos thumping the Terps 10-2 at Klockner Stadium on April 2. Maryland got its revenge in the ACC Semifinal game with a 8-7 win in overtime thanks to a Max Ritz put-back goal.

• The Terps have now won three ACC Tournament titles with the first two 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 season's regular season game was a lesson in humilty for the fourth-ranked Terps as they were handed a 10-2 loss at #3 Virginia on April 2. The Cavaliers held Maryland scoreless until the 4:51 mark of the third quarter when Joe Walters scored. It was the first time Maryland had been held without a goal in a half since a 7-2 loss at Virginia in 2001. Xander Ritz tacked on the second Terp goal in the fourth.

• Things were a little different in the rematch. Brendan Healy gave Maryland a 1-0 lead in the first, but the 'Hoos scored three unanswered to take a 3-1 lead. But the Terps stormed back with a 3-0 run of their own on goals from Max Ritz, Healy and Xander Ritz to take a 4-3 lead into the half. The Cavaliers took a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter, but Andrew Schwartzman and Bill McGlone scored the final to goals in regulation to send the game into sudden death. In the overtime period, freshman Max Ritz proved to be the hero for Maryland, but putting back a rebound off of a Mcglone shot to sent the Terps into the ACC finals with an 8-7 win.

• The 2004 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, pounding 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.

• 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 5-6 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 four games between the two schools.

Individual Terps vs. Virginia
• Seven Terps have posted points against Virginia over their careers.

• Joe Walters leads the way with 17 points on 11 goals and six assists, including a six-goal, one-assist effort in 2004's 12-11 win in the ACC Tournament finals. Last season, the senior All-American scored just one goal and added only one assist in two meetings with the Cavaliers.

• Walters is riding 40-game goal and point scoring streaks. The last time, and only time in his career, he did not score a point 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. Last season the Wayne, Pa., native, scored twice and added two assists in the teams' two meetings.

• Short-stick defensive middie Jeff Reynolds picked up the lone point of his career in the 2005 ACC semifinals when he assisted Max Ritz's second-quarter goal.

• In addition to the seven Terps who have scored points, Thomas Alford and David Tamberrino have taken face-offs vs. the Cavaliers with some success, but it was Will Dalton's 7-of-11 performance in the 2005 ACC tournament that helped the Terps control the game.

• In goal, Harry Alford struggled in last season's 10-2 regular season loss, but he bounced back with a stellar 12-save performance in the ACC tournament. Back-up goalie Teddy Murphy saw late time vs. Virginia in the 2003 NCAA semifinal meeting and last year's regular season game.

Maryland-Virginia Connections
• There are 26 players combined from the Maryland and Virginia rosters that will face high school teammates in Saturday's game.

• Four schools from Maryland will be represented by both teams, including Landon which has five alumni in the game (3 Terps, 2 Cavaliers). Leading the Landon contingent for each school will be All-Americans - Brendan Healy for Maryland and Matt Ward for Virginia.

• Only one high school from Virginia has players on both sidelines - Lake Braddock. Maryland juniors Jimmy Borell and Steve Whittenberg will meet former teammate Patrick Buchanan. UVa.'s Mark Wade is also a Lake Braddock grad.

• Two former teammates that will most certainly run into each other will be Severn alums Michael Phipps, a Terp attackman, and Kip Turner, the Cavaliers' starting goalie.

• Eight players on the Virginia roster hail from the state of Maryland, while only four Terps hail from the Old Dominion state.

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 five times in its first seven 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.

• It will be hard to top the Terrapin defense's effort in the 14-2 thrashing of Dartmouth. While it is impressive that the Terps held the Big Green scoreless for the first 53:32 of the game, it is even more impressive that Dartmouth did not even get off a shot until the 6:56 mark of the second quarter. The Big Green comitted 25 turnovers in the game with 19 of those caused by a Maryland player, including four by Ryan Clarke and three each by Joe Cinosky and Ray Megill.

• Maryland turned in another impressive defensive performance in its 9-6 win at North Carolina to raise the Terps' record to 6-1. For the fifth time this season, Maryland held an opponent scoreless for more than 20 minutes - this time 21:26, bridging the third and fourth quarters, during which the Terrapin offense was able to score five unanswered goals. Ryan Clarke and Jimmy Borell were impressive in the defensive midfield, combining for eight groundballs and two caused turnovers.

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

• Joe Walters' point scoring streak is now at 40 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. The streak was never in jeopardy vs. Dartmouth as Walters picked up an assist on the game's first goal. In total, Walters tied his career-best with seven points vs. the Big Green on four goals and three assists. At North Carolina Walters extended his steak to 40 and did something he had never done before - score five goals in a game. He has two six-goal games and seven four-goal games during his amazing career.

• Xander Ritz now has a point scoring streak of 24 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. Rtiz not only kept up his point-scoring streak with five points on three goals and two assists vs. Dartmouth, but it was also the sixth-straight multi-point game for the Terrapin senior. He kept the point-streak alive, but the multi-point streak came to an end at Carolina with just one assist vs. the Tar Heels.

• 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 seven games this season.

Home vs. Away
• A lot is made in sports about the home-field advantage, but for the Maryland men's lacrosse team it has been just as good away from home as it has been in College Park. The Terps have played three games at home and four on the road and the numbers show just a slight edge for Terps when they are on familiar ground.

• Maryland is averaging 9.3 goals per game in its home games and that number dips to just 8.9 on the road.

• Shooting percentage, which is one of Coach Dave Cottle's key statistics, is another tell-tale stat, but it shows that Maryland is actually shooting nearly the same no matter where it plays. In College Park the Terps are shooting 25.9% (29/112) and on the road they are shooting 26.7% (36/135). Shots on goal percentage shows a clear advantage for road games, 61.5% to 56.2%.

• Player of the year candidate Joe Walters, the team's leading scorer overall, is also the Terps' top scorer on the road with nine goals and five assist for 14 points. Xander Ritz also has 14 points in road games on 12 goals and two assists. Walters also leads the squad in scoring at home with eight goals and six assists for 14 points. Ritz is second in home scoring, totaling 11 points on six goals and five assists.

• The Maryland defense has been dominating no matter where it has played this season. As a team, the Terps are allowing opponents just 4.8 goals per game at home and that rises to just 5.2 gpg on the road. Junior All-American Steve Whittenberg leads Maryland with 12 caused turnovers at home and is two behind junior long pole Ryan Clarke's eight CT's in road games. In goal, Harry Alford, a Kelly Award candidate, has made 25 saves in the team's home games with a 4.94 GAA and a .658 save pct. On the road the junior has racked up 42 saves with a 5.25 GAA and a .667 save pct.

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 24-7 (.774) in games played in College Park since 2002. The Dartmouth game was the first for a Cottle-coached Terrapin team at Ludwig Field (a 14-2 Terp victory).

Ritz Addition Gives Terps Four On Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List
• Seniors Joe Walters and Bill McGlone were 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.

• Senior attackman/midfielder Xander Ritz was one of three players added to the list on March 27 after scoring 18 goals and adding seven assists in Maryland's first seven games of the season.

• 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 667-215-4, 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 74-26 for a .740 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.

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.