April 16, 2009

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 14th-ranked University of Maryland men's lacrosse team (7-5) travels to the "City of Brotherly Love" for an ACC-Ivy League showdown with the Penn Quakers (3-7). The game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start at historic Franklin Field on Saturday April 18.

• Maryland is 7-5 on the season after snapping a three-game losing skid with a 15-6 rout of Binghamton on Tuesday. That win was the 700th for the Terrapin program, making it just the fifth school to have 700 Division I victories. Max Schmidt has established himself as one of the best close defenders in the NCAA recently. The sophomore has had 15 groundballs and nine caused turnovers in the Terps' past four games. Offensively, Maryland's first midfield has been hot as of late. Seniors Dan Groot, Jeff Reynolds and Jeremy Sieverts have combined for 11 goals and three assists over the past two games.

• Penn enters the game with some confidence. The Quakers defeated Ivy League foe Brown, 7-6, last Saturday. Two weeks ago the Quakers took No. 1 Princeton to overtime before falling 10-9.

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Coaching Match-up
• Now in his 27th season as a head coach, Dave Cottle enters today's game with a 265-109 career record for a 70.9 win percentage, sixth-highest among active coaches with at least 100 career wins. His win total is fifth among active coaches. He is 84-39 (68.3) in his eight seasons at Maryland.

• Penn's Brian Voelker is 40-50 (44.4) in his seventh college head coaching season. Voelker spent nine seasons at his alma mater Johns Hopkins, including his playing career. He also served as head coach of the Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse in 2001, leading the Bayhawks to the very first MLL championship game.

• Cottle has a 7-4 lifetime record against Penn, with six games coming while he was at Loyola from 1983-2001. Voelker is 0-5 against Maryland as a head coach, but faced them many times while at Hopkins.

Series History vs. Penn
• Saturday's game will be just the 10th meeting between Maryland and Penn -- two of the oldest lacrosse programs in the nation. Maryland has won all nine previous meetings. While the two teams have played just eight times previously, this is the sixth-straight season the two will have played.

• Last season was the closest margin of victory (five goals) for the Terps since 1987, but that's not what the game will be remembered for. Sophomore goalie Brian Phipps was unconscious in cage for Maryland, stopping 17 Quaker shots. In fact, the only goal Phipps allowed was when the ball was knocked out of his stick following a save and it bounced into the Terrapin goal. Freshman Grant Catalino was the only Terp with multiple goals, but fellow frosh Travis Reed was the game's leading point-man with four assists.

• In 2007 the Terps and Quakers were tied 6-6 at the half, thanks to three first half goals by Max Ritz, at historic Franklin Field, but the Terrapin defense limited the Quakers to just four second-half goals en route to a 14-10 Maryland win. Ritz finished the game with a career-best six points, while Dan Groot had a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner.

• Senior All-Americans Joe Walters, Bill McGlone, Brendan Healy and Xander Ritz account for 10 of the Terps' 12 goals in a 12-4 victory on May 6, 2006.

• In 2005 10 Terps scored goals en route to a 21-6 Maryland victory at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.

• The 2004 meeting, a 13-5 Terp victory, was Senior Day at Byrd Stadium, but it was sophomores Bill McGlone and Joe Walters that stole the show. McGlone totaled a career-best seven points on two goals and a career-high five assists, while Walters scored a hat trick and added another three assists for a six-point effort. Ian Healy also had a banner day against the Quakers, tying his career-high with two goals.

• Prior to the 2004 game, the two team's last met in the 1987 NCAA Quarterfinals. In that game Maryland beat the Quakers, 12-8, at Byrd Stadium. In the win four Maryland All-Americans had multi-goal games: Brendan Hanley (4), Tom Worstell (3), Kirk Thuston (2) and Phil Willard (2).

• Before the '87 NCAA meeting, the Terps and Quakers played three times prior to 1930. The Terps won the first game, 4-3 in 1924 -- in the first-ever varsity recognized lacrosse game at Maryland. Maryland also won 9-1 in 1926 and 15-2 in 1930.

The 700 Club
• Maryland's 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program's 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men's lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

• Two things that make Maryland's accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Top-Seed Terps
• With Duke's 15-10 victory over Virginia on Saturday, Maryland secured the top seed in the ACC Tournament. The Terps, Blue Devils and Cavaliers all finished with a 2-1 conference record. The deciding tiebreaker was goal allowed allowed in ACC games between the tied teams: Maryland (18), Duke (21) and Virginia (24). The Terps will take on host North Carolina, the fourth-seed, in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on April 24 in the 5 p.m. game.

• The last time Maryland was the top seed in the ACC Tournament was 2004. That year the tournament was held in Chapel Hill and the Terps defeated Duke in the semifinals before topping Virginia in the championship game.

• The Terps have been the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament five previous times: 1989 (the first year the ACC held a conference tournament), 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2004. In those five tournaments as the top seed the Maryland has an all-time record of 5-3.

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 seven victories this season the Terrapins are shooting more than 30% (31.2%, 89 goals/285 shots). In their five losses the Terps' shooting percentage is cut to 21.0% (39 goals/186 shots).

• Another standout statistic from Terp wins and losses is man-up conversion percentage. Maryland has converted 11-of-19 opportunities (.579) in its six wins, but is 6-of-16 (.375) in five defeats.

Get To 10 And Win
• One of the things Coach Cottle often says is that if the Terps score 10 goals or more the chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since Cottle arrived in College Park in 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there's not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it's an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 60 of the 64 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .938 winning percentage.

• Earlier this season, the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

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 has secured the third spot and has played 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. Already this year, the Terps have put up three 20+-minute scoreless stretches.

• The defense turned in its first shutout quarter of the season in the first quarter of the 18-3 win over Presbyterian. The Terps held the Blue Hose scoreless in the first quarter, allowing the offense to jump out to a 7-0 lead. Overall, Presbyterian was held off the board for the first 25:14 of the game. Maryland also shutout the Blue Hose in the third quarter. Defenders Brian Farrell (1-1=2), Dean Hart (1-0=1) and Brett Schmidt (1-0=1) contributed on the offensive end as well.

• The Maryland "D" was just as stingy against Air Force in the Terps' 15-4 victory. The Terps held the Falcons scoreless for a stretch of 23:42, spanning the second, third and fourth quarters. Maryland also shutout Air Force in the third for its third scoreless quarter of the season. Brian Farrell scored a goal to extend his scoring streak to five games, dating back to last season. Danny Burns scored his first career goal and tacked on another for multiple-point game for a Terp defender. After scoring a goal in the opener, Brett Schmidt showed he can dish too, picking up his first-career assist.

• The defense was thrown a curve ball just days prior to the Duke game when Maryland learned that Brian Farrell would miss the game after being admitted to Shock Trauma due to complications with a pair of broken ribs. To fill Farrell's void, the Terps moved sophomore Brett Schmidt from his normal long pole spot to close defense, junior Dan Halayko to the top long pole slot and switched junior Dean Hart from short-stick to long pole. The changes worked as the Terps held the Blue Devils in check, allowing just eight goals.

• The defense was stout again against a determined Towson team. After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead, the Terrapin defense held Towson to just one goal over the next 31:56, allowing the offense to take control of the game and build a 6-2 lead. Mike Griswold and Brett Schmidt each had two groundballs and two caused turnovers, while Jeff Reynolds led the team with five GBs to go along with two caused turnovers.

• Bryant came into College Park averaging nearly 12 goals per game and had the NCAA's all-time leading goal scorer, Zack Greer, leading its attack. But the Terps were up to the challenge, limiting the Bulldogs to just six goals in a 13-6 Maryland win. Mike Griswold was given the assignment of marking Greer and Griswold was solid, holding him to just a pair of scores and no assists. For the game the Terps harassed the Bulldogs into 32 turnovers, including 16 that were directly caused by a Maryland player. Brett Schmidt was outstanding for the Terps, causing a career-best four turnovers.

• The defense was already short-handed coming into the North Carolina game. Brian Farrell was still out due to the injury sustained in the Air Force game. But it got a lot worse for the Terps during the week leading up to the UNC game. Brian Phipps, Bryn Holmes and Brett Schmidt all were injured during the week and did not play. Sophomore Ryder Bohlander stepped in and replaced Schmidt at close defense, but he went down less than five minutes into the first quarter and was unable to return. That's when senior Anthony Costanzo came into the game and turned in the finest perfomance of his career, holding UNC's Gavin Petracca without a point and causing a career-best three turnovers. As a team, Maryland limited the high-powered Tar Heel offense, which entered the game scoring more than 13 goals per game, to a season-low seven goals.

• It was another stout effort for the defense in the 10-9 loss in seven overtimes at No. 1 Virginia. The Cavaliers came into the game averaging 14.2 points per game, but it wasn't until the 84th minute that the Wahoos scored their 10th goal. Mike Griswold had another tough assignment, covering Garrett Billings (4.0 ppg coming into the game), but he held Virginia's leading scorer to just one assist on the day. Sophomores Brett and Max Schmidt were also impressive. Max was assigned Danny Glading and held the All-American to just one goal. Brett was given the task during the overtimes of covering Shamel Bratton and held him without a shot in the overtimes.

• The defense had some tremendous efforts turned in during the 10-9 loss to Johns Hopkins at the inaugural Smartlink Day of Rivals. Sophomore Max Schmidt was given the task of marking Stephen Boyle and held the Blue Jays' dynamic attackman without a point for the first time in 13 games. Chris Boland was Hopkins' leading scorer entering the game, but senior Mike Griswold held Boland to a goal and an assist.

• The Terrapin "D" overwhelmed Binghamton in their 15-6 rout of the Bearcats. Maryland dominated groundballs, 53-20, and forced 12 of Binghamton's 24 turnovers. Leading the way was sophomore Max Schmidt, who had a career-best six groundballs to go along with two caused turnovers. Defenders also got into the scoring act for the Terps with junior long pole Dan Halayko netting the team's second goal of the day and junior short-stick Bryn Holmes adding an assist.

Offensive Defenders
• Through 12 games Terrapin defensive players have been surprisingly offensive. So far in 2009, six Maryland defenders (close, long poles and short-stick d-middies) have scored goals or tallied assists.

• Brian Farrell was moved to close defense this season, but that didn't stopped him from charging up the field to create offense. He had two goals and an assist before being sidelined after the Georgetown game with an injury. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Baltimore native, has 15 goals and eight assists for 23 career points, easily making him the highest-scoring defender in school history.

• Sophomore Brett Schmidt seems to be taking a page out of Farrell's playbook. He scored a goal in the 2008 finale against Virginia and has picked up right where he left off. This season Schmidt scored a goal in the opener vs. Presbyterian and added an assist vs. Air Force.

• Sophomore short-stick Danny Burns scored two goals vs. Air Force and added assists at Towson and Virginia and against Johns Hopkins, while his running mate Dean Hart put in a goal vs. Presbyterian.

• Junior Bryn Holmes has two goals on the season, but he scored one while a member of the second midfield. The other he tallied at Virginia (off an assist from Burns) when he was switched back to a defensive short-stick. Holmes also tallied an assist in the 15-6 win over Binghamton.

• Junior long pole Dan Halayko got into the scoring act against Binghamton, netting the Terps second goal of their 15-6 rout of the Bearcats.

Fast Starts
• Since Coach Cottle arrived in College Park in 2002 only 13 players (for a total of 20 times) have totaled 25 points or more in the first 12 games of a season. Five of those are on the 2009 team.

• Sophomore Grant Catalino is averaging 3.25 points per game with 39 points on 22 goals and 17 assists. The only other sophomore above Catalino on the list is Joe Walters, who had 52 points on 36 goals and 16 assists in 2004 (Walters had 6 goals and 1 assist in game 12 in '04). Catalino is one of just five players to be on the list more than once (Walters (4x), Mike Mollot (2x), Dan LaMonica (2x), Xander Ritz (2x)). He had 19 goals and seven assists for 26 points last year through 12 games as a freshman.

• Junior Will Yeatman and sophomore Ryan Young are each on the list and that's impressive in itself considering they each missed at least game this year, so their 12-game totals were accumulated in less games. Yeatman missed the Johns Hopkins and Binghamton games, has 26 points on 13 goals and 13 assists to tie for 19th on the list. Young, who missed the opener vs. Presbyterian, is tied for 12th with 28 points on 17 goals and 11 assists.

• Senior Dan Groot is one of only two full-time midfielders on the list. His 27 points on 17 goals and 10 assists is tied for 18th along with, among others, Nate Watkins, who had 22 goals and five assists as a midfielder in 2002. Groot's 12-game totals are three points higher than Bill McGlone's totals (24 points) in 2005 and 2006 when McGlone was named a first team All-American.

• Sophomore Travis Reed is also on the list, making it for his 2008 totals of 27 points on 18 goals and nine assists.

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 45-16 (.738) when playing on the Maryland campus. At Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium Maryland is 27-11 (.711) under Cottle, while the Terps have gone 8-3 (.727) at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex and 10-2 (.833) at Ludwig Field.

First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 71 different opponents in its 83 previous seasons. The 2009 season adds Presbyterian, Bryant and Binghamton to that list. In the Terps' 73 first-time meeting, including the 18-3 win over Presbyterian and the 13-6 victory over Bryant, Maryland is 69-4 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.

Terps in Pro Stadiums
• Maryland has played 10 games in an NFL stadium. All-time the Terps are 5-5 in professional stadiums. Earlier this season Maryland topped Duke, 11-8, at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium and lost a 10-9 decision to Johns Hopkins in the inaugural Smartlink Day of Rivals.

• In 2005, Maryland was 3-1 in NFL stadiums - 1-1 at Lincoln Financial Field and 2-0 at M&T Bank Stadium.

• In 2006, the Terps were 1-1 at M&T Bank Stadium, defeating North Carolina, 10-9, in the ACC semis at M&T Bank Stadium before dropping an 11-5 decision to Virginia in the finals. Maryland then lost to UMass, 8-5, at Lincoln Financial Field in the NCAA Semifinals.

• Maryland lost to Virginia in the 2003 NCAA Semifinals in M&T Bank Stadium.

Terps vs. No. 1
• Since 1978 (the first year rankings were recorded in the Terp media guide), Maryland has played a No. 1-ranked team on 24 occasions and has pulled off the upset six times.

• The most recent occasion of Maryland knocking off a No. 1 team came just last season on Saturday, March 29. The No. 4 Terps controlled the game from the outset and pulled off a 13-7 win over No. 1 Virginia at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Redshirt junior goalie Jason Carter had a career-day vs. the Wahoos, stopping 15 shots. Freshman attackman Travis Reed led the Terrapin offense with a career-best five points on three goals and two assists.

• Prior to the victory over Virginia, Maryland last upset the nation's top-ranked team on March 4, 2006 when the Terps pulled out a thrilling 8-7 overtime victory at then-No. 1 Duke. Xander Ritz scored five goals vs. the Blue Devils, including the game-winner for the Terrapins. The last time the Terrapins faced a No. 1-ranked team was on April 1, 2006 against Virginia. The Wahoos, who would storm through an undefeated season en route to a national title, took that game by a 15-5 margin.

• Before that 2006 win over Duke, the last time the Terps defeated the nation's top team was on May 23, 1998 vs. Loyola in the NCAA Semifinals at Piscataway, N.J. Maryland's Matt Hahn scored five goals to help the Terrapins to a dominating 19-8 win over the Greyhounds, who were coached by current Maryland head coach Dave Cottle.

• Prior to last season, the last time the Terps upset the No.1 team at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium was a 13-11 win over Virginia on March 30, 1996.

Terps' 84th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 700-236-4 (.747), 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 108-47 for a .697 win percentage. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted 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.

Yeatman among Tryout Pool For Team USA
• Junior attackman Will Yeatman is one of 84 players selected to try out for the 2010 U.S. men's national team that will compete FIL World Championships in Manchester, England. Yeatman is among 11 current college players selected from more than 200 applications.

• Joining Yeatman in the tryout pool are six former Terrapins: Joe Walters (attack), Bill McGlone (midfield), Joe Cinosky (defense), Chris Passavia (defense), Lee Zink (defense) and Brian Dougherty (goalie).

• The tryouts will be held from June 7-10, 2009 at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. Following the tryout weekend, the group will be trimmed to approximately 40 players that will compete in three training weekends during the fall of 2009. After those three weekends, the roster will be cut to the FIL-mandated size of 23 players.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 80-3-1 (.958) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 16 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.)

16 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), Bellarmine and Presbyterian. Over the 16-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 222-81 (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 16 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.

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

• 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.

• The Terrapin family tree doesn't stop there for Michael Phipps played for Maryland from 2004-07 and was an honorable mention All-American as a senior after leading the squad in scoring with 50 points.

Home Away From Home
• Due to the renovations currently underway at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium, the Terps will play their five scheduled home games at Ludwig Field. It is anticipated that the Terrapins will return to Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium in 2010.

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
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• 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.