April 30, 2009

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 14th-ranked University of Maryland men's lacrosse team (8-6) travels north to New Haven, Conn., for its regular-season finale at Yale on Saturday, May 2. The Terps and the Bulldogs are slated for a 1 p.m. face-off at Reese Stadium.

• Maryland is 8-6 on the season and is looking to bounce back after losing 16-10 at then-No. 8 North Carolina last Friday in the semifinals of the ACC Tournment. Freshman Joe Cummings was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after scoring his first career hat trick vs. the Tar Heels. Sophomore Travis Reed has been a consistent producer for the offense, tallying multiple points in five of the Terps' past six games.

• Yale is 1-4 in its last five games, including losses in the Bulldogs' last two games. Last Saturday Yale dropped a 13-8 decision at Harvard. That result followed a 14-13 overtime loss at home to Dartmouth on April 15. The Bulldogs boast three 30-point scorers in Michael Karwoski (27-8=35), Brendan Gibson (22-12=34) and Matt Gibson (19-11=30).

Coaching Match-up
• Now in his 27th season as a head coach, Dave Cottle enters today's game with a 266-110 career record for a 70.7 win percentage, sixth-highest among active coaches with at least 100 career wins. His win total is fifth among active coaches. He is 85-40 (68.0) in his eight seasons at Maryland.

• Andy Shay is in his sixth season as a head coach, all of them at the helm of the Yale Bulldogs. During that time he has compiled a 35-45 (.438) career record.

• Cottle has a 4-0 record vs. Yale. As the head coach at Loyola, his Greyhound team defeated Yale in the 1990 NCAA Tournament by a final of 14-13 in OT. Cottle is also 3-0 vs. the Bulldogs at Maryland.

Series History vs. Yale
• Saturday's game between the Terps and Bulldogs will be the 10th in a series that began in 1925. Maryland has won the last eight games in the series.

• Maryland took its "Senior Day" game with a 16-10 decision, but it was freshman Grant Catalino that stole the show with a career-best seven points on four goals and three assists.

• The Terps dominated on "Senior Day" with 2007 seniors Chris Feifs and Michael Phipps combined for seven of Maryland's 12 goals in a 12-4 win over the Bulldogs. Jeremy Sieverts led all players with five points on three goals and a pair of assists.

• The series was dormant from 1959 until 1999 when the Terps traveled to New Haven and defeated the Bulldogs, 9-4 on May 1.

• In 2000, Yale returned the trip, coming to Byrd Stadium, where Maryland defeated the Bulldogs, 12-9.

• Maryland returned to New Haven in 2001 and handed the Bulldogs a 10-5 loss to continue its five-game win streak in the series.

• That streak improved to six for the Terps in 2002 with a 14-8 win on Senior Day at Byrd Stadium on April 26.

• Back in 1925, Yale defeated Maryland in the first game, 5-3. The Terps came back to win each of the next two meetings. Maryland shutout Yale, 12-0 in 1934 and won that battle played at Maryland, 16-4, 40 years ago.

All-Time vs. The Ivy League
• In games against teams from the Ivy League, Maryland holds a 108-16-1 advantage, a .868 win percentage.

NCAA Tournament Coming Up
• The 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship selection bracket will be announced live on ESPNU and ESPNEWS Sunday, May 3. The 16-team bracket will be revealed from 9-10 p.m. ET on ESPNU and from 10-10:30 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS.

• The Terps are one of only two Division I schools, along with Johns Hopkins, to make the tournament in each of the past six seasons.

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.

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 eight victories this season the Terrapins are shooting more than 30% (31.0%, 98 goals/316 shots). In their six losses the Terps' shooting percentage is cut to 22.3% (49 goals/220 shots).

• Another standout statistic from Terp wins and losses is man-up conversion percentage. Maryland has converted 14-of-24 opportunities (.583) in its eight wins, but is 8-of-18 (.389) in six 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 65 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .923 winning percentage.

• This season the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. 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 seven 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.

• Two goals was all the Penn Quakers could manage in the Terps' 9-2 win. Even more impressive for the defense is the face that Penn did not get a shot off in the fourth quarter. In face the Quakers were held without a shot (not a shot on goal - any shot) for 17:38. The trio fo Schmidt, Schmidt and Griswold were terrific, scooping up a combined eight groundballs and causing four Penn turnovers. The defense got into the scoing act again with Dan Halayko netting the team's third goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winner, off an assist from Bryn Holmes.

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, but he scored one while a member of the second midfield, and two assists on the season,. 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 and the 9-2 victory at Penn.

• 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. He scored again against Penn off an assist from Holmes.

Fast Starts
• Since Coach Cottle arrived in College Park in 2002 only 12 players (for a total of 18 times) have totaled 30 points or more in the first 14 games of a season. Two of those are on the 2009 team.

• Sophomore Grant Catalino is averaging 3.0 points per game with 42 points on 22 goals and 20 assists. The only other sophomore above Catalino on the list is Joe Walters, who had 61 points on 42 goals and 19 assists in 2004. Last year through 14 games Catalino had 36 points on 25 goals and 11 assists.

• Sophomore Ryan Young is on the list and that's impressive in itself considering he missed the opener vs. Presbyterian. Young is tied for 12th with 33 points on 18 goals and 15 assists.

• Senior Dan Groot is one of just three full-time midfielders on the list with 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists.

• Sophomore Travis Reed is also on the chart, but for his freshman season in 2008. Last season he had 31 points on 20 goals and 11 assists.

Climbing The Charts
• The season has just a few weeks left and that means it's time to check in on where some Terrapin players are falling on some record lists.

• Sophomore Grant Catalino has already climbed into the top 10 in terms of sophomore scoring with 42 points. That ties him for ninth with Alan Lowe (26-16=42, 1965). Catalino's 22 goals ties him with Tom Worstell (1986) for 16th on the sophomore goals chart. His 20 assists also places him on that sophomore list, tied for No. 12 with Jim Wilkerson (1981).

Two-Year Totals
• How good has Grant Catalino been in his first two seasons? The easy answer would be pretty good, but here's some numbers to back that claim up.

• In his first two seasons (and there are still at least a couple of games to go) Catalino has the sixth-highest point total since freshman records were first kept in 1970.

Joe Walters (2003-04): 75-39=114
Frank Urso (1973-74): 68-42=110
Bob Boneillo (1977-78): 38-72=110
Dan LaMonica (2001-02): 40-50=90
Mike Mollot (2000-01): 34-53=88
Grant Catalino (2008-09): 51-33=85

Terps' 84th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 701-237-4 (.746), 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 109-48 for a .694 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.

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 43-16 (.729) 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 8-2 (.800) at Ludwig Field.

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.

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.

First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 71 different opponents in its 83 previous seasons. The 2009 season added Presbyterian, Bryant and Binghamton to that list. In the Terps' 74 first-time meeting, including the 18-3 win over Presbyterian, the 13-6 victory over Bryant and the 15-6 rout of Binghamton, Maryland is 70-4 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.

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 Brian Phipps. He is the fourth in a line of Phipps that donned the red and black for Maryland. The Phipps-family legacy started in the 1940's with Louis Phipps, who was an honorable mention All-American in 1949. His son, Wilson, was a member of the 1975 Terrapin National Championship squad. Brian is the second of Wilson's sons to play for the Terps. 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.