March 20, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The No. 9 Maryland men's lacrosse team (5-2) travels down Tobacco Road for the second time this season for a key ACC game. This time the opponent will be fifth-ranked North Carolina (6-1), which is coming off of a 12-3 win over Marist on Tuesday. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start on Saturday, March 22 at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
• The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Rob Simmelkjaer handling the play-by-play, while Matt Ward will provide color commentary.
• Maryland is 5-2 on the season after topping Air Force 16-4 last Sunday at Ludwig Field. Eight Terps had multiple points vs. the Falcons, including freshman attackman Ryan Young, who had his second four-assist game of the season. Senior All-America candidate Joe Cinosky was brilliant defensively for the Terrapins, causing three Falcon turnovers and picking-up a career-best five groundballs.
• Carolina enters the game with a 6-1 record after rebounding from a 19-9 loss to No. 1 Duke with a convincing 12-3 win over Marist. Bart Wagner led the Tar Heels with a career-high six points vs. the Red Foxes and now leads UNC with 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. Defensively, Carolina goalie Grant Zimmerman has been lights out so far in 2008 with .643 save percentage and a goals-against average on 7.13.
| Tale
of the Tape |
Maryland |
Category |
North Carolina |
11.7 |
Goals/Game |
10.1 |
7.4 |
Opp.
Goals/Game |
7.0 |
39.3 |
Shots/Game |
38.6 |
30.5 |
Shot
Pct. |
26.3 |
24.9 |
Shots
on Goal/Game |
22.6 |
63.3 |
Shots
on Goal Pct. |
58.5 |
9.6 |
Saves/Game |
12.4 |
55.8 |
Save
Pct. |
64.0 |
39.3 |
Groundballs/Game |
39.1 |
29.4 |
Opp.
Groundballs/Game |
33.0 |
19.7 |
Turnovers/Game |
12.0 |
14.0 |
Caused
Turnovers/Game |
4.6 |
54.9 |
Face-Off
Pct. |
54.7 |
82.7 |
Clear
Pct. |
77.3 |
78.4 |
Opp.
Clear Pct. |
83.6 |
3.1 |
Penalties/Game |
5.4 |
2.7 |
Penalty
Minutes/Game |
6.0 |
32.0 |
Man-Up
Conversion Pct. |
43.2 |
20.0 |
Opp.
Man-Up Conversion Pct. |
36.4 |
Coaching Match-Up
• Now in his 26th season as a head coach,
Dave Cottle enters today's game with a 253-101 career record for a 71.7 win percentage, sixth-highest among active coaches with at least 100 career wins. His win total is fourth among active coaches. He is 72-30 (70.6) in his seven seasons at Maryland.
• Head coach Dave Cottle has a 13-10 record vs. North Carolina, winning five of his last six games vs. the Heels. Against UNC coach John Haus, Cottle has a 7-2 record. Cottle led Loyola to a 14-5 over Haus-led Johns Hopkins in 1999 and beat him again in 2002, 2004, 2005 and twice in 2006 while with Maryland.
• Carolina's John Haus is in his eighth year at his alma mater has a 66-57 (.537). Overall in 14 seasons, he has a 123-75 (.621) record at Washington College, Hopkins and UNC.
Series History vs. North Carolina
• Since Maryland and North Carolina began their series in 1964, Maryland holds a 35-18 (.654) advantage. The Terps have won 11 of the last 12, with the lone loss coming in 2003, a 10-6 UNC victory at Byrd Stadium on March 22. Maryland has not lost to North Carolina in Chapel Hill since 1996, a 17-16 Tar Heel win.
• Last season saw the Maryland midfield dominate the game to lead the Terps to an impressive 14-8 win over a rising Carolina teat at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Sophomore midfielder Dan Groot led the Terrapin attack with three goals for his second career hat trick. Freshman goalie Brian Phipps was stellar in the cage for Maryland, stopping 15 Tar Heel shots, while allowing just seven goals.
• The Tar Heels led for nearly the entire game in the 2006 ACC semifinals, but Xander Ritz scored off a brilliant cross-crease pass from Michael Phipps with just 1:25 left in the fourth quarter to give the third-ranked Terps their first lead of the game and the 10-9 victory. Brendan Healy scored three goals and added a pair of assists for Maryland, while Ritz finished with a hat trick and Bill McGlone scored two and assisted on another two scores.
• In the 2006 regular season meeting Joe Walters scored five goals to lead the No. 4 Terps to a 9-6 win at North Carolina on March 25. Sophomore attackman Max Ritz added two goals, while Bill McGlone and Michael Phipps each scored one. Defensively, Harry Alford stopped eight shots and allowed just six goals in net for the Terps.
• Terrapin goalie Harry Alford stopped 20 UNC shots in the 2005 meeting to lead the fourth-ranked Terps to a 9-4 win over Carolina in College Park. Michael Hartofilis turned in the finest performance of his Maryland career with a goal and a career-best three assists. Brendan Healy, Michael Phipps and Joe Walters each scored twice in the Maryland win.
• The 2004 meeting in Chapel Hill saw Maryland pick up a thrilling 10-9 victory at Fetzer Field on March 27. The Tar Heels used a five-goal third quarter to take a 8-7 lead into the fourth, but two goals by Maryland's Mike Brown and another by Joe Walters gaves the Terps a 3-1 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter and the 10-9 win. Walters finished the game with four goals, while Michael Phipps scored two goals in the victory.
• In the 2003 game at Byrd Stadium, No. 13 North Carolina upset the No. 2 Terps as goalie Paul Spellman had a career-game with 25 saves. Joe Walters scored two goals for the Terps in the defeat. Bill McGlone also added a tally in the win. UNC was paced by Austin Garrison, who had four goals.
• Seven of the last 16 meetings with North Carolina have been decided by one goal.
• The Terps lost their only NCAA Tournament meeting with the Heels in 1986, 12-10.
• In ACC Tournament action, Maryland picked up its first win over UNC since the tournament started in 1989 with a 13-8 win on April 17, 1998. The Terps had dropped the first six games against the Heels in the ACC's all during a stretch from 1990 to 1995.
Individual Terps Vs. UNC
• Only six Terps have posted points against UNC during their careers, but only one of those has points in multiple games vs. the Tar Heels.
• Max Ritz scored twice in the 2006 regular season meeting between the two schools and added another goal in the ACC semifinals. Last year, Ritz added a goal and an assist vs. Carolina to raise his career totals vs. the Heels to five points on four goals and an assist.
• Dan Groot had a hat trick in the 2007 game vs. Carolina, while Jeremy Sieverts had a goal and an assist. Drew Evans, Danny Gallagher and Adam Sear each had one goal in that game as well.
• In goal, Brian Phipps was tremendous in his only meeting with the Tar Heels. As a freshman in 2007 he stopped 15 shots and allowed just seven goals to help the Terps to a 14-8 win.
Maryland-North Carolina Connections
• There are 20 players combined from the Maryland and North Carolina rosters that graduated from the same high school.
• Five schools from Maryland will be represented by both teams, including Boys' Latin and Gilman which will have four representatives each. Loyola Blakefield and Severna Park each have three, while Severn has two former alums in the game.
• Manhasset (N.Y.) High School will have four former graduates in the game, but Maryland freshman attackman Ryan Young was only there for his senior season, so he was never a high school teammate of UNC's Billy Bitter, Brian Connors or Gavin Petracca.
• Nine players on the North Carolina roster hail from the state of Maryland, while two Terp freshmen are North Carolina natives - Bob Kercher (Durham, N.C.) and Tony Mendes (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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 37-13 (.740) when playing on the Maryland campus. At Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium Maryland is 23-10 (.670) under Cottle, while the Terps have gone 8-3 (.727) at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex and 6-0 at Ludwig Field.
Streaking Terps
• Just seven games into the 2008 season and a lot of streaks have been broken and started for the Terps.
• Jeremy Sieverts had longest point-scoring streak, but his eight-games run ended in the 16-4 win over Air Force.
• That leaves freshmen attackman Ryan Young as the only Terp to have at least one point in every game.
• Some Terps with modest streaks that are currently going are: Jeff Reynolds (four-game goal and point-scoring streaks), Grant Catalino (three-game point-scoring streak), Will Dalton (three-game goal and point-scoring streaks) and Brian Farrell (three-game goal and point-scoring streaks).
• Freshman attackman Travis Reed had his goal and point streaks stopped at five in the UMBC loss.
• Senior midfielder/attackman Max Ritz had both his 17-game multi-point streak and 20-game point scoring streak snapped at Georgetown. The last time Ritz did not have at least a point in a game was on April 30, 2006 vs. Virginia in the ACC tournament final. The last time Ritz failed to have multiple points in a contest was on May 21, 2007 when he had just one goal in the Terps NCAA tournament quarterfinal victory over Princeton.
• Earlier this season, Farrell had a four-game point-scoring streak stopped at four against Mount St. Mary's.
• Dan Groot had his point-scoring streak stopped at six in the Terps' 15-7 loss at No. 2 Duke on March 1.
Offensive Defenders
• Through seven games Terrapin defensive players have been surprisingly offensive. So far in 2008, seven Maryland defenders (close, long poles and short-stick d-middies) have scored goals or tallied assists. In total, Terrapin defenders have eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. The Terps have totaled 132 points as a team, which means that more than 11 percent of Maryland's offense has come from a defensive player.
• Sophomore long pole Brian Farrell leads the defense with four goals and an assist and is actually tied for ninth on the squad in points. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Baltimore native, had scored at least one goal in each of Maryland's last three games.
• Three short-sticks and one long pole each have two points on the year. Short-stick Spencer McAllister has two goals, while Dan Burns and Dean Hart each have two assists. Junior long pole Chris Rhine also has two points on a goal and an assist.
• Sophomore long pole Dan Halayko has one goal, while senior All-America candidate Joe Cinosky has added an assist.
Defense Ready To Meet Expectations
• On paper this year's Maryland defense may appear to have some holes, but the 2008 Terrapin defense is looking to uphold the Terps' tradition of great defenses. Sure, the unit lost two second team All-Americans in seniors
Ray Megill and
Steve Whittenberg and also three-year starting long pole
Ryan Clarke, but one look at the talent this year's "D" and you'll see it's more than capable. Three-year starter
Joe Cinosky returns for his senior season along with a trio of experienced seniors in
Ryne Adolph,
Jacob Baxter and
Zach Hinton. Talented freshman
Max Schmidt is expected to see plenty of playing time as well at close defense. At long pole sophomore
Brian Farrell is one of the best in the NCAA and the Terps have depth behind him in senior
Matt Rankin, junior
Chris Rhine and sophomore
Dan Halayko. Redshirt junior
Jeff Reynolds is back after missing 14 games in 2007 with a torn ACL. This season he's set to pair up with sophomore
Bryn Holmes to give Maryland one of the best short-stick tandems in the country.
• During the last four 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. The 2006 season saw the Terrapin defense do it 10 times in 17 games. In 2007 Terp "D" had 11 20+ minute scoring droughts to its credit in 16 contests. So far in 2008, Maryland has held opponents scoreless for more than 20 minutes twice.
• The emphasis on team defense was evident in the Terps' 2008 opener at No. 4 Georgetown. Maryland held the lauded Hoya offense to just six goals and two of those came when Georgetown converted on man-up opportunities. The Terrapin defense held Georgetown's starting attack and first midfield, which combined for 95 goals (6.3 per game) in 2007, to just three scores.
• The defense was solid in allowing just seven goals at Mount St. Mary's on a rainy, foggy afternoon. The fog was the most difficult on the defense as it made the ball very hard for the goalies to see shots clearly. Even so, the Terrapins came up with a good defensive effort, holding the Mount to just one goal over a 22-minute span covering parts of the first, second and third quarters. Junior Mike Griswold led the Terps with three caused turnovers on the afternoon. Overall, 12 Terps combined to force 19 of the Mount's 25 turnovers.
• The defense turned in its first shutout quarter of the season in the 13-5 win over Providence. The Terps held the Friars scoreless in the first quarter, allowing the offense to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Overall, Providence was held off the board for the first 23:30 of the game. Maryland forced 20 of the Friars' 21 turnovers. Leading the way was sophomore long pole Brian Farrell who had three caused turnovers to go along with four groundballs.
• In the Terps' 12-7 win over No. 18 Towson, Maryland's "D" proved to be a physically dominant unit. The Terrapins forced 16 of the Tigers' 23 turnovers. Even more impressive was Maryland's plus-22 advantage in groundballs (53-31). Senior defender Ryne Adolph had a career-best six pick-ups off the turf and led a contingent of nine Terps who had at least four groundballs apiece. In addition to playing great on its side of the field, the defense also contributed on the offensive side of things vs. Towson as Brian Farrell scored two of Maryland's 12 goals.
• The Maryland defense had its finest showing of the season to date against Air Force, holding the Falcons to just four goals. After surrendering three scores in the first quarter, the Terrapin defense tightened down and did not allow another goal for 44:03; the longest scoreless stretch for the season by the Terp "D". Maryland's defenders also got into the scoring act against Air Force. Five Terrapin defenders combined for a pair of goals and three assists.
Where's The Beef? Check The "D"
• How big is Maryland's defense this season? Well, Towson head coach Tony Seaman, who's Tigers have a big defensive unit of their own, had this to say: "We're certainly nothing like the bullies down at Maryland with size or strength ...". Take a look at the top seven close defensemen and/or long poles for the Terps in 2008 - the average for the group is 6-foot-3, 221 pounds.
Brian Farrell: 6-5, 240
Mike Griswold: 6-4, 230
Max Schmidt: 6-4, 230
Joe Cinosky: 6-3, 225
Zach Hinton: 6-3, 205
Jacob Baxter: 6-1, 230
Ryne Adolph: 6-1, 190
Freshmen Leading The Way
• The season is just about a quarter gone (there's still a long way to go), but the top three scorers for the Terps right now are freshmen. This is rare air for the Maryland program.
• Going back to 1962 only two Terrapins (Mike Mollot, who was a redshirt freshman, in 2000 and Joe Walters in 2003) led the team in points as a rookie. Only four (Walters, Matt Hahn in 1995, Rob Wurzburger in 1988 and Pete Worstell in 1977) led the team in goals and another four (Dan LaMonica in 2001, Mollot, Rob Chomo in 1991 and Tim Cox in 1989) led the squad in assists.
• Travis Reed, Ryan Young and Grant Catalino are already approaching some freshmen milestones and are poised to crack the freshman class records in several categories. Reed is already 13th on the all-time freshman goals scored list with 14. With four assists vs. Air Force Young is now tied with Dave Dempsey for 15th on the freshman points list with 20. Reed is just three points shy of that 15th spot as well. Catalino is out of the top 15 by just four points. Young's 14 assists has him in ninth place on the freshman assist chart, moving him ahead of Joe Walters (13 in 2003) and Jack Lamon (12 in 1976). Catalino also moved ahead of Lamon (nine in '76) on the freshman goals list. Catalino's 12 goals now ties him with Jim Wilkerson (1980) for 14th spot.
Fast Starts
• Since Coach Cottle arrived in College Park in 2002 only 15 players have totaled 17 points or more in the first seven games of a season. Two of those are 2008 freshmen attackmen Ryan Young and Travis Reed. Young's 14 assists through seven games is the most of any player in the last seven seasons through seven games. The only rookie since 2002 to be on a better pace than Young and Reed was Joe Walters in 2003 when he had 24 points on 18 goals and six assists through seven games.
Freshmen Starters
• There was a lot of speculation about which freshmen would start in the season opener at Georgetown. The question was answered with four (see below). But freshmen starting the season opener is nothing new for the Terps under Coach Cottle. Since 2002 there have now been eight Terrapins that have started the season opener as freshmen.
2002: None
2003: Joe Walters vs. Duke
2004: None
2005: Max Ritz vs. Georgetown
2006: Dan Groot vs. Georgetown
2007: Brian Phipps vs. Bellarmine
2008: Grant Catalino, Travis Reed, Max Schmidt and Ryan Young at Georgetown
Memorable Debut
• Freshman Grant Catalino scored four goals in the Terps' 11-6 season-opening win at Georgetown on Feb. 23. That performance marked the most goals by a Maryland freshman since Rob Wurzburger tallied four scores in a 19-4 win over Hambden-Sydney.
• For his performance against the Hoyas, Catalino was named both the ACC Player of the Week (along with UNC goalie Grant Zimmerman) and the University of Maryland's male athlete of the week.
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 eight sets of brothers don the red and black together for at least one season.
Harry & Harry: 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
Mark & Michael White: 2008
Fathers and Sons
• Maryland's family tradition doesn't end with brothers. Fathers and sons are also part of the Terps' tradition and that's never been more evident than this season. This year's Maryland men's lacrosse roster features three players whose father's not only played at Maryland, but won a nation title together. Mike Farrell, father of Brian, Wilson Phipps, father of Brian, and Jake Reed, father of Travis, were all members of the Terps' 1975 NCAA championship squad.
Terps' 83rd Season of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 688-227-4 (.751), 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 82 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. 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 96-38 for a .716 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.
Road Work
• For just the second time in program history, the Terps opened the season with three-straight games away from College Park. In 1978 Maryland opened with a pair of games in North Carolina - a 25-11 win at NC State and a 14-7 win at Duke - before beating Dartmouth, 16-3, in a neutral site game at Garden City, Long Island.
• 2008 marks the 12th time in the 83 years of Maryland lacrosse that the Terps will open a season with at least two road games. In the previous 11 seasons (1952, 1954, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982, 2001, 2004 and 2006) Maryland has a combined record of 23-0 in those road games. This season the Terps were 2-1 in its three-game road trip to open the season, bringing its record to 25-1 (.962).
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 eight sets of brothers don the red and black together for at least one season.
Harry & Harry: 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
Mark & Michael White: 2008
Fathers And Sons
• Maryland's family tradition doesn't end with brothers. Fathers and sons are also part of the Terps' tradition and that's never been more evident than this season. This year's Maryland men's lacrosse roster features three players whose father's not only played at Maryland, but won a nation title together. Mike Farrell, father of Brian, Wilson Phipps, father of Brian, and Jake Reed, father of Travis, were all members of the Terps' 1975 NCAA championship squad.
Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 79-3-1 (.958) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 15 openers and 23 of the last 24, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 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.)
15 Straight In Season Openers
• After beating No. 4 Georgetown to open the 2008 season the Terps now have a 15-game winning streak in 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 (four times) and Bellarmine. Over the 15-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 204-78 (an average score of 13.6-5.2) in those games.
• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 15 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.
2008 Captains: Adolph, Cinosky, Dalton, Evans & Ritz
• Five players have been named team captains for the 2008 season. The quintet, which was voted on by the team during the preseason, consists of seniors
Ryne Adolph,
Joe Cinosky,
Will Dalton,
Drew Evans and
Max Ritz.
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 2008 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
