Feb. 10, 2009

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The third-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team opens its 2009 regular season in Jacksonville, Fla., as a particpant in the Wounded Warrior Project's "Face Off for a Cause." The Terps will kickoff the festivites on Friday, Feb. 13 with a 2 p.m. game against Presbyterian at Ponte Vedra High School. Maryland will then play in the headline-game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14 against Air Force at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

• Maryland is coming off of a 2008 season that saw the Terps extend their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to six seasons. This season the Terrapins return eight of 10 starters, including a pair of goalies. Coach Dave Cottle's crew features three returning sophomore attackmen that combined for 100 points a year ago, an all-senior first midfield and a defense capable of scoing goals on the offensive end of the field.

• Presbyterian, which is playing its first-ever all Division I schedule in 2009, were 0-11 last season. The Blue Hose will be led by Sean Mulford, who is the team's top returning goal-scorer.

• Air Force is under the command of first-year head coach Eric Seremet. Last season, the Falcons went 3-9, but return leading scorer Griffin Nevitt, who tallied 18 goals in 2008.

Wounded Warrior Project "Face Off for a Cause"
• Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and "Face Off for a Cause" join forces on Saturday, February 14, at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium to present two premier lacrosse games. All event proceeds will benefit WWP and the deserving servicemen and women the organization supports as they transition from military to civilian life.

"Events like this one honor and empower wounded warriors and assist us in ensuring this generation of veterans is the most successful and well-adjusted in our nation's history," said WWP Director, Resource Development, Adam Silva.

Match play kicks off at noon Saturday, with Maryland vs. Air Force. Game two kickoffs at 3:00 p.m. and will feature Clemson and Florida State.

Each team will be paired with an honorary team captain that has served his country in the line of duty. Honorary team captains will address their respective teams at a morning breakfast, greet them in advance of match play, join players on the field for the coin toss, and provide sideline support. The team captains will also serve as Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) hosts for the participating teams and guide tours of the organization's Sacrifice Center, which tells the stories of America's injured servicemen and women, and TRACK, a new educational facility designed specifically to meet the needs of today's wounded warrior.

Wounded warriors and honorary captains are: Dan Nevins (University of Maryland), Neil Duncan (United States Air Force Academy), Ian Lennon (Florida State University) and Ron Hawthorne (Clemson University). Opening ceremonies will include participation from local military and ROTC units, fly over and official honorary team captain recognition ceremony.

• About Wounded Warrior Project (WWP): Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) serves to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. For more information visit woundedwarriorproject.org or contact Adam Silva at (904) 445-8538.

• Maryland's all-time leading scorer, Joe Walters, will be at the event courtesy of STX. Joe will be at the Face Off for a Cause event to sign autographs and meet fans. STX will also be on-site and will have a booth showcasing their equipment.

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 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.

First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 71 different opponents in its 83 previous seasons. The 2009 season will add Presbyterian, Bryant and Binghamton to that list. In the Terps' 71 first-time meetings prior to the 2009 season, Maryland is 67-4 in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.

Coaching Match-Ups
• Now in his 27th season as a head coach, Dave Cottle enters today's game with a 258-104 career record for a 71.3 win percentage, sixth-highest among active coaches with at least 100 career wins. His win total is fifth among active coaches. He is 77-34 (69.4) in his seven seasons at Maryland.

• Presbyterian's Jason Childs is in his fourth season as a head coach, all with the Blue Hose, and holds a career mark of 5-34 (.128).

• Air Force's Eric Seremet takes over the reins from Fred Acee, who retired after 12 year as the head coach of the Falcon program and 42nd overall. Seremet served as an assistant under Acee for the previous seven seasons.

Series History vs. Air Force
• The Terps are 5-0 all-time vs. Air Force.

• Last season saw the teams renew the series with a 16-4 Terp victory in College Park. Freshmen Ryan Young (0-4=4), Grant Catalino (2-1=3) and Travis Reed (1-2=3) led the way for Maryland with a combined 10 points.

• In the 2001 Pioneer Face-Off Classic in Denver, Maryland won 16-3 behind the combined effort of attackmen Mike Mollot and Andrew "Buggs" Combs. Mollot had a seven-point effort on three goals and four assists, while Combs scored five times.

Where's The Beef? Check the "D"
• How big is Maryland's defense this season? Take a look at the starting close defensemen for the Terps in 2009 - the average for the group is 6-foot-4, 230 pounds.

37 • Brian Farrell: 6-5, 240
14 • Mike Griswold: 6-4, 230
19 • Max Schmidt: 6-4, 220

Beef: It's Not Just For Defense Anymore
• Maryland defenders have long been known for their size, but what about the offense. That's where the smaller, quick, athletic types are supposed to be, but don't tell that to the Terps.

• Junior Will Yeatman and sophomore Grant Catalino are huge bookends at attack for the Terps. Yeatman checks in at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, while Catalino is an inch shorter and 20 pounds lighter.

• The Terps also boast some beef in the midfield. The first line has a trio that averages nearly 6-foot-2, 197 pounds in seniors Dan Groot (6-1, 190), Jeremy Sieverts (6-3, 210) and Jeff Reynolds (6-1, 190).

Defense Ready To Meet Expectations
• On paper this year's Maryland defense may appear to have some holes, but the 2009 Terrapin defense is looking to uphold the Terps' tradition of great defenses. Sure, the unit lost second team All-American Joe Cinosky, as well as 2008 starters Ryne Adolph and Jacob Baxter, but one look at the talent this year's "D" and you'll see it's more than capable. Sophomore Max Schmidt returns for his second season after starting 10 games as a freshman in 2008. Junior Brian Farrell was moved down low, but don't expect him to curtail his offensive ways. Senior Mike Griswold, sophomore Ryder Bohlander and freshman Craig Sullivan will be fighting for the third spot and all three are capable of stepping in and playing well. Sophomore Brett Schmidt and junior Dan Halayko are the team's top two long poles. Senior Chris Rhine can play both long pole and short-stick. The Terps' top shorties will be sophomore Dan Burns and junior Dean Hart, along with several offensive middies who are capable of locking down on the defensive side of the field.

• During the last five 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. Last season, the Terp defense had six 20+-minute scoring droughts.

Streaking Terps
• Entering the 2009 season there are several scoring streaks that carry over from 2008.

• Grant Catalino is currently on a 13-game point streak dating back to last year's Providence game. In those 13 games, he had multiple points in 11 with a current multiple-point streak of six, dating back to the Hopkins game.

• Other Terps with more modes streaks entering this season include: Bryn Holmes (five-game point scoring streak), Jeremy Sieverts (three-game point scoring streak) and Brian Farrell (three-game point scoring streak).

• Of course the Terp with the longest current scoring streak is junior attackman Will Yeatman, who registered at least one point in each of his 15 games at Notre Dame in 2007.

Terps' 84th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 693-231-4 (.749), 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 83 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 101-42 for a .706 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.

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 nine sets of brothers don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Harry: 2004-05-06-07
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009
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: 2008-09

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.

2009 Captains: Carter, Griswold, Groot, Rhine, Sieverts
• Five players have been named team captains for the 2009 season. The quintet, which was voted on by the team during the preseason, consists of seniors Jason Carter, Mike Griswold, Dan Groot, Chris Rhine and Jeremy Sieverts.

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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 2009 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.