May 11, 2006

College Park, Md. - The No. 2 seeded Maryland men's lacrosse team hosts No. 12 Denver in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Saturday at Byrd Stadium. Face-off is set for 2:00 p.m., as the Terps (10-4 overall) battle the Pioneers (12-4) for the first time since 2001. Live audio of the game will be available via WMUCSports.com, Maryland's student radio station.

• The Terps are making their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history. Maryland returns to the event after a trip to the NCAA Semifinals last season. Denver is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, earning an automatic bid for winning the Great Western Lacrosse League.

• The winner of the Maryland/Denver game will take on the winner of the No. 7 seed Princeton (10-4)/UMBC (10-4) game on Sunday, May 14 at Towson's Unitas Stadium. The Tigers and Retrievers play in Princeton, N.J., on Saturday, May 14 at noon at Class of 1952 Stadium. The other quarterfinal at Unitas Stadium will pit the winner of the No. 1 Virginia (13-0)/Notre Dame (10-4) game against the winner of the No. 8 Georgetown (10-2)/Navy (11-3) game.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Denver 2-0.

• Maryland's seniors are accounting for 75.0% (99 goals) of the teams's 132 goals.

• 67.9% (148) of the Terps' 218 points (132 G, 86 A) in 2006 have been produced by seniors, including 50 by Joe Walters and 40 by Xander Ritz.

• Fifteen different Terps have scored goals in 2006, including five who have scored more than 10 each.

• The Terps are 8-2 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland has also received six byes into the second round.

Maryland's 29th Time At NCAA's
• Maryland is making its 29th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. The Terps have played in the second-most tournaments since the event began in 1971. Only Hopkins has played in more with 34. Denver is making its first-ever NCAA appearance, the only team in this year's field to be making its tourney debut.

• In the first round of the tournament, the Terrapins have an 8-2 (.800) record overall. Maryland has also received six byes into the second round.

• The Terps have captured two NCAA championships, 1973 and 1975, and reached the NCAA Semifinals 19 times, including last season. Maryland's Record In Ncaa's

• The Terps have won the third-most Division I NCAA Tournament games, compiling a 37-26 overall record in 60 games. Only Johns Hopkins (56-26) and Syracuse (48-17) have won more Division I games.

• Maryland is fifth by percentage (.587) among all teams ever to play in the tournament (Princeton, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Cornell are ahead).

• The Terps have captured two titles. Only six other schools have ever won the NCAA Championship: Syracuse (9), Johns Hopkins (8), Princeton (6), North Carolina (4), Cornell (3), Virginia (3). Maryland As The No. 2 Seed

• This marks the third time that Maryland has earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Maryland was previously a No. 2 seed in 1979 and 1996. In 1979, the Terps reached the national championship game, but lost to No. 1 seed Johns Hopkins, 15-9. In 1996 Maryland lost to Hopkins again in the quarterfinal round, 9-7.

Cottle In The NCAA Tournament
• This is Dave Cottle's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance as the head coach of Maryland. He is coaching his 18th team to the NCAA Tournament, with the first 14 coming during his stint at Loyola. All 14 of his appearances with the Greyhounds came consecutively starting with the 1988 season and going through the 2001 campaign.

• Overall, Cottle is 13-17 in NCAA Tournament games, which ranks him fourth among all coaches in the 2006 tournament in wins. Only Princeton's Bill Tierney (28-9), Virginia's Dom Starsia (19-15) and Syracuse's John Desko (17-2) have more tournament wins to their credit among this year's crop.

• With his 18th tournament appearance, Cottle is tied for second place on the all-time list for most NCAA Tournament Division I appearances as a head coach behind only Syracuse's Roy Simmons Jr. (19). Cottle is tied with Virginia coach Dom Starsia and Towson's Tony Seaman with 18 appearances. With his streak of 14-consecutive tournaments while at Loyola, Cottle is second only to Simmons Jr. (19), for the longest-consecutive steak.

• Cottle has led his teams to the NCAA Quarterfinals on 15 occasions and to the NCAA semifinals four times, making an appearance in the 1990 championship game where Loyola fell to Syracuse, 21-9. He also reached the NCAA semifinals as the No. 1 seed with Loyola, but lost to Maryland, 19-8, at Byrd Stadium on May 23, 1998. At Maryland he has now lead the Terps to two semifinal berths, falling to eventual champion Virginia, 14-4, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 24, 2003 and last year to No. 2 seed Duke, 18-9, on May 28.

Coaching Match-Up
• Maryland head coach Dave Cottle is currently the third winningest active coach in the country with a 72.2 win percentage with a record of 236-91. He is also 55-21 as head coach of the Terps.

• Denver's Jamie Munroe is 64-47 (57.7) in his eighth college head coaching season, all of which have been at the head of the Pioneers' program.

• Cottle has never faced Denver in his 24 years as a head coach. Munroe is 0-2 all-time vs. Maryland. The Maryland/Denver Series

• Saturday's game will be just the third meeting between Maryland and Denver -- with the Terps having won both meetings.

• The first time the two programs faced each other was in the 1999 season opener in College Park. The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead early in the second quarter, but the Terps ran off seven consecutive scores to build an 8-2 lead and put the game out of reach. Five Terrapin players scored two goals each in the 13-5 victory.

• The rematch came two years later when Maryland traveled West to play in the Pioneer Face-Off Classic. The brother duo of Mike and Dan LaMonica combined to score five goals and add three assists in the 10-7 Terrapin win. Andrew Combs scored a hat trick in the victory for the Terps.

Maryland-Denver Connections
• Denver features four players who played high school lacrosse with two current Terrapins.

• The Pioneer roster features three players, Adam Goodwin, Adam Miller and Ryan Shaughnessy, from Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Ohio, who played with current Terp Chris Rhine.

• The only other school with a pair of teammates is Darien High School in Darien, Conn. Maryland sophomore Charlie Wiggins and Denver junior Jeb Hollingsworth are Blue Wave alums.

Individual Terps vs. Denver
• While no current Terps have played against the Pioneers as members of the Maryland men's lacrosse team, junior defenders Jimmy Borell and Steve Whittenberg each played against Denver when the pair were at the Air Force Academy. Borell scored a pair of goals in the 2003 meeting between the Falcons and the Pioneers.

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 a toss-up as to where the Terrapins play better. The Terps have played seven games at home (4-3) and seven away from College Park (6-1: 5-0 Away, 1-1 Neutral) and the numbers show a slight edge for the Terps when they are on campus in College Park.

• After putting up 12 goals on Penn at Byrd Stadium on May 6, Maryland is now averaging 9.82 goals per game in its home games, which is about a goal better than the 8.83 goals the Terps average on the road.

• Shooting percentage, which is one of Coach Dave Cottle's key statistics, is another tell-tale stat, and it shows that Maryland is shooting slightly better on the road. In College Park the Terps are shooting 24.2% (70/289) and on the road they are shooting 24.5% (62/253). Shots on goal percentage is nearly the same, 56.4% at home vs. 56.9% on the road.

• Joe Walters, the team's leading scorer overall, is also the Terps' top scorer on the road with 16 goals and seven assists for 23 points. Xander Ritz has 19 points in road games on 16 goals and three assists. Walters also leads the squad in scoring at home with 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points. Ritz is second in home scoring, totaling 21 points on 13 goals and eight assists.

• The Maryland defense has been dominating no matter where it has played this season. As a team, the Terps are allowing opponents 6.03 goals per game at home and just 6.41 gpg on the road. In goal, Harry Alford, a Kelly Award candidate, has made 52 saves in the team's home games with a 6.27 GAA and a .634 save pct. On the road the junior has racked up 76 saves with a 6.47 GAA and a .628 save pct. Shooting Tells The Story

• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple - when the Terps shoot well they win. 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 10 victories this season the Terrapins are shooting nearly 30% (28.6%, 110 goals/384 shots). In their four losses the Terps' shooting percentage is cut in half to 13.9% (22 goals/158 shots).

• Maybe just as telling is the shots on goal percentage. Maryland has put 229 of its 384 shots on goal in its 10 wins (59.6%), but just 78 of 158 shots were on net in four defeats (49.4%).

• Sometime things are not always black and white. The Terps are actually averaging more groundballs per game in their four losses (38.0) than in their 10 wins (33.9). Maryland is also facing-off slightly better in defeat, winning 56.4% as opposed to 56.2% in victories.

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 already done it nine times in its first 14 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.

• After struggling during the first half against Navy, the Terp defense turned things around by allowing just two goals in the final 30 minutes to allow the offense to get back on track and erase a 5-1 deficit. Maryland allowed a goal at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter and did not allow another goal until eight seconds left in the fourth, a span of 20:40. Back-up goalie Jason Carter made seven saves in the game after subbing in for Alford midway through the first period. The sophomore also caused three turnovers and picked up three groundballs. Junior All-American Ray Megill set a career-high with four caused turnovers vs. the Mids.

• Against Johns Hopkins, Maryland turned in one of its most dominating performances of the season against one of the nation's elite programs. The Terps held the Blue Jays to four goals (tying their season low) - more than six goals below their season average. Harry Alford made nine saves in goal for Maryland and picked up two groundballs. Other defensive standouts for the Terps include junior All-American Ray Megill, who caused three Hopkins' turnovers and picked up a career-high five groundballs. All-American Steve Whittenberg caused two turnovers and picked up four groundballs. Maryland's third starting defenseman, sophomore Joe Cinosky, finished the game with a career-best four groundballs. The Terps held the Blue Jays to just one goal in the first 27 minutes of the game and allowed the offense to build a 5-1 lead that was never surrendered.

• Much like the Dartmouth game, the Pioneers of Sacred Heart were smothered by the Terp defense en route to an 18-2 Maryland victory. The Terps shutout Sacred Heart in the first half and allowed the Pioneers' two goals in a 1:30 span in the third quarter before shutting Sacred Heart out for the final 22:18. The Terrapin defense didn't just play defense against SHU as three defenders got into the scoring column as well. Sophomores Ryne Adolph and Jacob Baxter tallied their first career assists, while junior long-pole Ryan Clarke picked up his third assist of the season.

• The defense started out slow in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament against North Carolina, which jumped out to a 6-1 lead midway through the second quarter. The Tar Heels took that lead into halftime, but in the game's final 30 minutes the Terp defense allowed just three more Carolina goals to allow the offense to get on track and come back for a 10-9 win. Maryland's "D" held Carolina to one goal from the 6:54 mark of the second to 12:55 of the fourth quarter, a span of 23:59.

• While the Terps lost the ACC title game, 11-5, to No. 1 Virginia, their defense played tough, hard-nosed team defense in holding the Cavaliers, the nation's top scoring offense, to their second lowest goal total of the season. Virginia enterd the game scoring 16.0 goals per game in its previous 12 games.

• The Terp D stood strong against No. 10 Penn in a 12-4 Maryland victory in the regular season finale. The Quakers entered the game averaging more than 10 goals per game in 2006, but could only manage four goals on a stingy Maryland defense that held them scoreless for more than 30 minutes from 9:14 in the first quarter to 9:04 in the third. Harry Alford was solid again in net, stopping nine Penn shots. Steve Whittenberg and Ryan Lang each caused two turnovers, while Joe Cinosky picked up three groundballs.

Terp Opponent Scoring Droughts
Feb. 25 at GTown: 0 goals in 37:05
Mar. 4 at Duke: 2 goals in 26:19
Mar. 11 vs. Towson: 0 goals in 36:32
Mar. 14 vs. Bucknell: 0 goals in 27:47
Mar. 18 at UMBC: 1 goal in 27:20
Mar. 21 vs. Dartmouth: 0 goals in 53:32
Mar. 25 at UNC: 0 goals in 21:26
Apr. 8 vs. Navy: 0 goals in 20:40
Apr. 16 at Hopkins: 1 goal in 27:39
Apr. 18 vs. S. Heart: 0 goals in 35:44
Apr. 18 vs. S. Heart: 0 goals in 22:18
Apr. 28 vs. UNC: 1 goal in 23:59
May 6 vs. Penn: 0 goals in 30:10

Goal No. 150
• With this shot, Joe Walters became Maryland's career leader in goals scored.

Streaking Terps
• Two Terps entered the 2006 season game with point-scoring streaks, but both came to an end in Maryland's 11-5 loss to No. 1 Virginia in the ACC tournament final.

• Joe Walters' point scoring streak ended at 45 games, while Xander Ritz's streak of 29 consecutive games with a point came to an end as well.

• 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.

• Bill McGlone now holds the longest scoring streak for the Terps. The senior All-American has managed to score a goal in each of Maryland's 14 games this season - the only Terp to score a goal in every game. Dating back to last season, McGlone's point and goal-scoring streaks are now at 15 games.

Healy Named NSCA All-American
• Brendan Healy has been named a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American, team strength and conditioning coach Marc Heinecke announced on April 3, 2006.

• Healy, a 2005 third team USILA All-American, was selected as a 2006 NSCA All-American after turning in the following performances during the team's winter conditioning program:

Bench Press: 320 lbs.
Squat: 570 lbs.
Power Clean: 280 lbs.
Vertical Jump: 31.5"
40-yard Dash: 4.6 sec.
Pro Agility: 4.25 sec.

• The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is an international nonprofit educational association founded in 1978. Evolving from a membership of 76, the association now serves nearly 30,000 members in 52 countries. Drawing upon its vast network of members, the NSCA develops and presents the most advanced information regarding strength training and conditioning practices, injury prevention, and research findings.

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 19-7 (.731) at Byrd Stadium. During the four-plus seasons, Maryland has had to play seven games (6-2) at the Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex. The Dartmouth game this season was the first for a Cottle-coached Terrapin team at Ludwig Field (a 14-2 Terp victory). If you add those to Maryland's Byrd Stadium total, the Terrapins are 26-9 (.743) in games played in College Park since 2002.

Walters & Ritz Among Top Scoring Tandems
• The senior duo of Joe Walters and Xander Ritz are fourth among top goal scoring tandems in the NCAA this season. Walters leads the Terps with an average of 2.36 goals per game, while Ritz is scoring 2.07 per game.

1. Athan Ianucci (3.35), Chris Unterstein (2.24), Hofstra - 5.59 gpg
2. Frank Resetarits (3.0), Merrick Thomson (2.07), Albany - 5.07 gpg
3. David Mitchell (3.08), Joe Boulukos (1.78), Cornell - 4.86 gpg
4. Joe Walters (2.36), Xander Ritz (2.07), Maryland - 4.43 gpg
5. Matt Poskay (2.23), Matt Ward (2.0), Virginia - 4.23 gpg

• Ritz has scored 29 goals so far this season, which is already 12 better than his previous season-best of 17 as a freshman at Delaware. Walters, who overtook Ritz for the team lead with his six-goal outing at Hopkins on April 15, has 33 on the year. The duo has combined for 62 goals in 14 games. That total represents 47.0% of Maryland's team total of 132 goals.

Walters Named 2006 ACC Player Of The Year
• Joe Walters became the first Maryland player to be named the ACC Player of the Year twice in his career when he was announced as the 2006 winner at the league's annual awards banquet on April 27. He previously won the award in 2004 and was also the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003. The Rochester, N.Y., native is also one of two current players in the conference to be named to the All-ACC team three times.

• A three time All-American Walters leads the league in points with 44 and goals with 28 this season. Those totals have put him within reach of the school's all-time points and goals scored records. Walters has 211 points in his career and needs just nine points to break Bob Boniello's school record of 219. Matt Hahn's career record of 149 goals is also within Walters' sights as he is just four goals shy of that mark. Walters currently has 145 goals in his career, which ties him for 25th on the NCAA's all-time list with Marist's Paul Donahue. A preseason first team All-American, Walters is one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation's top lacrosse player.

Five Terps Earn All-ACC Honors
• In addition to being named player of the year Walters was also on the All-ACC team. He was joined by four of his teammates: senior midfielders Bill McGlone and Xander Ritz and junior defenders Ray Megill and Steve Whittenberg.

2006 All-ACC Men's Lacrosse Team
Mike Culver, Defense, Virginia
Kyle Dixon, Midfield, Virginia
Stephen McElduff, Defense, North Carolina
Bill McGlone, Midfield, Maryland
Ray Megill, Defense, Maryland
Xander Ritz, Midfield, Maryland
Ben Rubeo, Attack, Virginia
Drew Thompson, Midfield, Virginia
Joe Walters, Attack, Maryland
Matt Ward, Attack, Virginia
Steve Whittenberg, Defense, Maryland

Ritz & Walters Make Tewaaraton Trophy Cut
• Seniors Joe Walters and Xander were among 23 players on the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy nominee list announced by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation today. The 23 nominees will be trimmed to five finalists for the award, which will be presented on June 1.

• Walters, a three-time nominee, was on the preseason "Watch List," while Ritz was one of three players added to the list on March 27 as a midseason addition to the list.

• Senior Bill McGlone and junior Harry Alford were on the preseason "Watch List," but did not make the official nominee 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 on June 1. The event will take place in Washington D.C. at the National Geographic Society headquarters.

Super Seniors
• Maryland's foursome of Super Seniors - Joe Walters, Xander Ritz, Bill McGlone and Brendan Healy - could be the most productive group of seniors to ever come through College Park. While Walters' exploits are well know and widely reported, the other three have put up some lofty numbers of their own.

• With his three-point game vs. Virginia in the ACC finals, McGlone eclipsed the 100-point mark for his career and now sits at 101 points on 74 goals and 27 assists.

• Ritz reached the 100-point milestone for his Maryland career (100 points on 56 goals and 44 assists) with three goals and an assist vs. UNC in the ACC semifinals. He now stands at 104 points as a Terp. He passed that milestone last season for his collegiate career. His career totals are 75 goals and 69 assists for 144 points, including his freshman season at Delaware.

• Healy has struggled at times, but has turned things on at just the right time. He led all scorers with five goals and three assists in the ACC tournament. He followed that up with a hat trick vs. Penn and now has 80 points on 54 goals and 26 assists.

• Combined the quartet has 354 goals and 191 assists for 542 points.

Terps' 81st Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 671-217-4 (.754), 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 78-28 for a .736 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.