March 16, 2007
When it rains, it pours.
We've all heard that cliché when bad things happen and more bad things happen after that. Well it that cliché holds true, for the University of Maryland men's lacrosse team it was pouring cats and dogs during much of the early part of the 2007 season.
It seems every time the coaches or athletic training staff turned around another player was missing from the field because of sickness, minor injury or even a few season-ending injuries.
"I've been coaching for a long time now and I've never seen anything like this," said Dave Cottle, who is in his 25th season as a Division I head coach.
All athletic teams have injuries, but this season the Terps have had more than their fair share. From torn ligaments to broken bones to food poisoning and everything in between, Maryland men's lacrosse student-athletes have missed games this season at what seems like a record pace.
Not counting the Terps' four preseason scrimmages and valuable practice time, no fewer than 16 Terps have missed a total of 55 games due to injury or illness: Ryne Adolph (2 games), Harry Alford (6), Paul Andrews (1), Jimmy Borell (2), Jason Carter (6), Chris Feifs (1), Dean Hart (2), Travis Holmes (3), Patrick Hutchinson (6), Ray Megill (1), Rob Morrison (6), Jeff Reynolds (4), Chris Rhine (2), Kevin Slafkosky (6), Scott Tompkins (4), Matt Trautman (3).
"We're healthier now than we've been all season," said Cottle, "but there's really no way we can make-up the time we missed by not having our guys together. The time we missed in practice, having guys playing together and getting to know one another, hurts the most right now.
"There were times that we didn't have our starting attack for a week or we would have to juggle our midfields because someone was always out. We lost a lot of our offense from last season, so we really needed that time together."
The most visible of the injuries has been to the goalie position.
All-American Harry Alford underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season and was expected to miss the first few weeks of the season. That should not have been a big problem, because junior Jason Carter has proven to be a capable net-minder and was ready to step in until Alford returned. Maryland also had the No. 1 goalie recruit in the nation, Brian Phipps, as its third-string goalie, so the situation was still pretty solid.
The situation went from solid to shaky on Friday, Feb. 9 when Carter broke his collarbone in practice. That left Phipps as the starter and lone healthy goalie on the roster, but all he's done since taking over is lead the ACC in save percentage and saves per game through March 10.
"Brian has really been amazing through all of this," said Cottle. "We knew what he was capable of on the field. But it's been more than that. He's a tremendous young man. He has conducted himself with a lot of class and character."
But that still left the Terps with just one healthy goalie, which had Cottle turning to the University's club team for help.
Enter Ellicott City's Nick Kellinger. The 2004 Centennial High graduate was given a tryout and earned a roster spot as the team's back-up goalie.
Kellinger saw his first varsity action in the Terps' 13-4 win over Lafayette on March 13, playing the final five minutes of the game and making one save.
But goalie isn't the only position that has been hit with the injury bug. Every position on the field has been affected at some point.
The attack saw Max Ritz and Michael Phipps miss time during the preseason with illnesses. The missed time not only hurt Ritz and Phipps, who were going to have to assume control of the offense after being role players the previous two seasons, but also the corps of young attackmen who would have to gel with Ritz and Phipps on the field. Scott Tompkins, a sophomore who was showing a lot of promise, is another attackman that missed valuable field time due to injury.
The first two lines of the offensive midfield were relatively healthy during the preseason, but since the start of the season the bug has caught up to this unit.
Senior Chris Feifs missed the first game with food poisoning, forcing junior Will Dalton to step-in with the first midfield.
The next major blow came when senior co-captain Travis Holmes was diagnosed with mononucleosis and sidelined for four weeks. That left an opening on the second line, but it also provided an opportunity.
That's when freshman Adam Sear stepped to the forefront. Sear arrived at Maryland just before the spring semester and the Australian import has gone from just getting used to his surroundings to making an impact on the field. Since taking over for Holmes, the 2006 Australian Lacrosse League All-Star has a three-game point-scoring streak with two goals and two assists to his credit.
While the offensive midfield has had its share of setbacks, it has been the defensive midfield that suffered the biggest blow.
Entering the season, many experts pointed to the Terps' pair of short-sticks, Jimmy Borell and Jeff Reynolds, as the top tandem in the sport. But those two haven't suited up together and won't for the remainder of the season.
Borell missed the first two games of the season with an injury suffered in the Delaware scrimmage. He returned to action against Georgetown, but when he did Reynolds wasn't there to join him.
Midway through Maryland's victory over Vermont on Feb. 20, Reynolds went down to the turf and stayed there. The junior from Bel Air, Md., tore his ACL on the play and was lost for the season.
Another hole in the line-up presented itself and another freshman was there to step-in. This time it was Marriottsville, Md., native Bryn Holmes.
During the preseason, Holmes was was penciled in as a face-off wingman and facing-off some himself, but was now asked to be much more than that. And he's risen to the occasion and is now one of Maryland's top two short-stick defensive middies. He's currently fourth on the squad with 17 groundballs and is third with nine caused turnovers, many of which have been caused by the bone-jarring hits that have become Holmes' signature on the field.
Graduate student Paul Andrews and sophomore Spencer McAllister has also played valuable minutes for the Terps in the defensive midfield, but depth was still a problem. That problem has forced several players to trade in their long poles for short sticks.
Juniors Ryne Adolph and Zach Hinton, along with sophomore Chris Rhine have all pitched in as short-stick defensive midfielders.
Moving some experienced long poles created another opening, which has been filled beyond all expectations by freshman Brian Farrell.
Farrell was expected to see some playing time this season but not this much this soon. The Boy's Latin graduate came to College Park with a reputation as a playmaker and he's lived up to that billing. Through six games Farrell is tied for fifth on the team with six points on four goals and two assists. He's also been a solid defender and is third on the team with 18 groundballs and fifth with seven caused turnovers.
The close defense has been the least affected unit, but even it wasn't immune. Senior All-American Ray Megill was forced to miss the Vermont game with food poisoning.
"It has been a challenge so far that's for sure," said Cottle. "Fortunately we have some quality back-ups that are now proving to be quality starting players."
The season will go on and Maryland's remaining schedule still boasts six opponents ranked among the Top 20. But hopefully the rain has finally come to an end for the Terps and they can get back to preparing for the challenges ahead.
