March 1, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The sixth-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team plays host to second-ranked Duke in the ACC-opener for both teams. The Terps and the Blue Devils are slated for a 7:30 p.m. face-off at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

• Adding even more significance to this game is that it will be Maryland's 900th men's lacrosse game. The Terps hold a 675-220-4 (.753) record all-time.

• The game will be broadcast live locally on WMAR Channel 2 in Baltimore. ESPNU will broadcast the game nationally on tape-delay at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Handling the play-by-play will be Scott Garceau, while four-time All-American Quint Kessenich will provide the analysis.

• The game can also be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. Every home game, plus the Navy contest, will be broadcast on TSRN. Stations carrying Maryland men's lacrosse this season are: WJFK AM 1300 - Baltimore, WTBO AM 1450 - Cumberland, WARK AM 1490- Hagerstown, WQMR 101.1FM - Ocean City. Calling the action will be a pair of Maryland alums: Steve Stofberg (`94) and former Terp All-American midfielder Brian Reese ('98).

Tickets and Game Promotions
• Click here for ticket information for all 2007 Maryland men's lacrosse home games.

• Click here for a complete list of game promotions for this season.

Top 5 Terp Tidbits
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Duke 54-15.

• The Terps' 54 wins over the Blue Devils are the most over any oppnent in Maryland's 81-year history.

• Maryland coach Dave Cottle is 7-1 against Duke coach John Danowski with all eight games coming while Cottle was at Loyola and Danowski was at Hofstra.

• Chris Feifs is the only Terp ever to hail from the state of North Carolina.

• Michael Phipps is the only current Terp to have have scored a goal vs. Duke in College Park. He scored two goals in Maryland's 10-8 loss to the Blue Devils.

Coaching Match-up
• Now in his 25th season as a head coach, Dave Cottle comes into the game with a 240-93 career record for a 72.1 win percentage, fourth-highest among active coaches. His win total is fifth among active coaches. He is 59-23 (72.0) in his six seasons at Maryland.

• Duke's John Danowski is in his 25th season as a head coach and is seventh among active Division I head coaches with 221 coaching victories. Danowski holds an all-time record of 221-139 (.614). He is in his first season at Duke and has a 2-0 record with the Blue Devils.

• Cottle has an 9-9 career record against Duke while coaching at Loyola and Maryland. He was 4-4 vs. Duke while at Loyola. He is 5-5 vs. the Blue Devils as the coach at Maryland and his Terp teams have outscored Duke 95-90 in the 10 games over the last five seasons.

• Cottle has a 7-1 lifetime record against Danowski, with all eight games coming while he was at Loyola and Danowski was at Hofstra. Danowski's Pride won the first game 13-12 in 1993 before Cottle's Greyhounds won the next seven meetings in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Series History Vs. Duke
• Maryland and Duke battle for the 70th time on Friday night. The Terps hold a 54-15 edge (.783) in the series that dates back to 1940. Maryland's 54 wins against the Blue Devils are the most against any opponent. Twelve of the last 30 games in the series have been decided by one goal; eight of the last 18, including four of the last 10 -- with Duke holding a 3-1 advantage in those four contests.

• Last season saw the rivalry escalate even more as the teams entered the game ranked first and second in the nation. The game more than lived up to the hype as the two squads battled and needed overtime to decide the victor. In that overtime, Xander Ritz sent the Terps home with the 8-7 win after scoring his fifth goal of the game with 1:14 remaining in the first extra period.

• In 2005 the two teams played three times with the Blue Devils winning two of the three games. It was the second time in the series the two squads played three times in a season. In 1992 the two teams played in early March, again in the ACC Tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland won all three games that season.

• In the 2005 NCAA Semifinals, Duke ended Maryland's season with a 18-9 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill McGlone gave the Terps a 1-0 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with nine unanswered goals and took a 10-3 lead into halftime. Joe Walters scored three times in the third quarter, but Maryland could not close the deficit.

• In 2005's ACC Final, Maryland turned in its finest defensive effort of the year. The Terps held Duke, the nation's highest scoring offense, scoreless for more than 40 minutes en route to a 9-5 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 1. ACC Tournament MVP Harry Alford made 15 saves on the afternoon, while freshman Will Dalton helped the Terps control the ball on face-offs, winning 7-of-10 draws. Offensively Maryland was led by All-American Joe Walters who scored his second straight hat trick vs. the Blue Devils, while adding an assist. Freshman attackman Max Ritz also chipped in a pair for goals in the victory.

• The 2005 regular season game saw Maryland dominate Duke at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, but the Blue Devils found a way to get out of College Park with a 10-8 victory. All-American Joe Walters scored a hat trick for the Terps, but Duke outscored Maryland 6-3 in the second half to secure the win. Michael Phipps scored two goals and added an assist for his second career three-point game.

• The Terps dominated the series from 1955 through 1988, winning all 27 meetings.

• The teams have met three times in the NCAA Tournament with Maryland winning 13-11 in 1992, Duke retaliating 14-9 in 1994, and the Blue Devils taking the 2005 match-up 18-9.

Individual Terps vs. Duke
• Senior Michael Phipps leads all current Terps in scoring against Duke with six points on three goals and three assists in three career games (all in the regular season).

• Overall, only three current players have scored goals vs. Duke with two others having assisted on scores.

• Michael Phipps posted his first career goal in the 2004 regular season win over Duke.

Opponent Connections
• Maryland and Duke have several former high school teammates suiting up for Friday's match-up.

• Notably, former Landon School products will square off as the Terps' Mike Griswold and Rob Morrison will face a quartet of Duke players in Peter Lamade, Gibbs Fogarty, Chris Tkac and John Walsh. All seven were coached by Rob Bordley, father of former Terp J.R. Bordley.

• The game with Duke is also a family affair for the Ward family as Maryland sophomore Nick is the younger brother of Michael, who is a senior for the Blue Devils.

• The connections don't stop there. Two players who have signed National Letters of Intent to play for Maryland next season have brothers on the Blue Devils' roster. Grant Catalino's older brother, Mike, is a sophomore midfielder and Ryan Young's older brother, Michael, is a junior midfielder.

Defense Ready To Meet Expectations
• On paper this year's Maryland defense shapes up as one of the nation's best. The unit features two preseason first team All-Americans in seniors Ray Megill and Steve Whittenberg and an honorable mention selection in junior Joe Cinosky. Add to that trio senior long pole Ryan Clarke and junior short-stick middie Jeff Reynolds, both two-year starters, and there is no question that the tools are there for defensive coordinator Dave Slafkosky.

• During the last three 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. In 2005 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. Last season the Terrapin defense did it 10 times in its 17 games. So far the 2007 Terp "D" has three 20+ minute scoring droughts to its credit.

• Versus Bellarmine in the season opener, the Knights took a 2-1 lead with 6:46 to go in the first quarter. Maryland's defense, lead by freshman goalie Brian Phipps, who totaled nine saves in his college debut in the 11-6 victory, didn't allow Bellarmine another goal until 11:47 in the third quarter, a total time of 24:59. Maryland's man-down unit was stellar on the afternoon, allowing only one goal (at 11:46 of the fourth quarter with Maryland holding a 9-5 lead) in six opportunities. The defense even got into the scoring column against the Knights as freshman long pole Brian Farrell scored twice in his college debut.

• The Catamounts of Vermont scored on three of their first four shots and were tied with the Terps at 3-3 after the first period. But the Maryland defense gave up just one goal in the next 36:09 and allowed the offense to go on an 8-1 run. The Terrapins held Vermont without a goal for 26 minutes, spanning the second, third and fourth quarters. Brian Phipps made 14 saves in the win. The defensive effort was even more impressive considering that All-American Ray Megill, Zach Hinton and Jimmy Borell did not play in the game.

• After a first half that saw Georgetown score six goals, the Maryland defense settled down and shutout the Hoyas in the third quarter, allowing the Terps to score five unanswered goals to tie the game at 6-6. During that 5-0 Terrapin scoring run, the Maryland defense held Georgetown scoreless for 25:14. Senior All-American Steve Whittenberg was magnificent, causing five Hoya turnovers and picking up three groundballs. Long pole All-America candidate Ryan Clarke had five groundballs to his credit and caused a pair of turnovers. Freshman short-stick Bryn Holmes, who saw his most significant playing time so far due to the loss of Jeff Reynolds for the season with a torn ACL, caused three turnovers and had one groundball.

Opponent Scoring Droughts
Feb. 17 vs. Bellarmine: 0 goals in 24:59
Feb. 20 vs. Vermont: 0 goals in 26:00
Feb. 24 vs. Georgetown: 0 goals in 25:14

Terp Opponents Below Season Scoring Average
Opponent | Scoring Avg. | vs. Md.
Bellarmine | 8.2 ('06) | 6
Vermont | 9.7 ('06) | 7
Georgetown | 9.6 ('06) | 8

Home Cooking
• A lot is made in sports about the home-field advantage, and for the Maryland men's lacrosse team that advantage has held true since Coach Cottle arrived in College Park. Since 2002, the Terps are 29-10 (.744) when playing on the Maryland campus. At Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium Maryland is 20-7 (.741) under Cottle, while the Terps have gone 8-3 (.727) at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex and 1-0 at Ludwig Field.

Three Terps Named To Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List
• Three defenders -- seniors Ray Megill and Steve Whittenberg along with junior Joe Cinosky -- were named to the preseason "Watch List" for the 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy. All three Terps are making their first appearance on the list.

• The Tewaaraton Trophy is awarded each year to the top male and female varsity lacrosse player, as chosen by the selection committee. The seventh 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.

Streaking Terps
• Three games into the 2007 season and so far and three Terps have modest scoring streaks.

• Michael Phipps has scored at least one goal in each of the three games so far and has a five-game goal scoring streak dating back to the NCAA Quarterfinals against Princeton last season.

• Max Ritz is currently on a four-game mult-point streak dating back to last year's NCAA Semis vs. UMass. So far this season he has had at least three points in each of the Terps' three games. Overall he has a five-game point scoring streak going.

• Brian Farrell's three-game point scoring streak might not be news-worthy except for the fact that he is a long pole. The freshman scored two goals in the season opener vs. Bellarmine, had his first-career assist vs. Vermont and then added another goal vs. No. 5 Georgetown.

A Family Affair
• Many school's refer to their sports programs as families, but under Coach Cottle the Maryland men's lacrosse program has really become a family affair. Since arriving in College Park in 2002, Cottle has had seven sets of brothers don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06

Earlier Than Ever
• Maryland's 11-6 win over Bellarmine on February 17 marked the earliest the Terps have opened a season in their 82-year history. The previous earliest start came on February 21, 1998 - an 18-5 win over Villanova.

Terps' 82nd Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 675-220-4 (.753), 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 81 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-5. 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 82-30 for a .732 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.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 78-3-1 (.957) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 14 openers and 22 of the last 23, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell 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.)

14 Straight In Season Openers
• Following their 11-6 win over Bellarmine last Saturday, the Terps have now won 14 straight season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary's, Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (three times) and Bellarmine. Over the 14-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 193-72 (an average score of 13.8-5.1) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 14 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.

2007 Captains: Borell, Feifs, Holmes, Megill
• Four players have been named team captains for the 2007 season. The quartet, which was voted on by the team during the preseason, consists of seniors Travis Holmes and Ray Megill.

Media Information
• Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland men's lacrosse news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email men's lacrosse contact Patrick Fischer with "Men's Lacrosse E-Mail" as the subject and you will receive every update.

• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.

• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2007 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.