March 29, 2008

No. 4 Terps Men's Lacrosse Topples No. 1 Virignia, 13-7

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Redshirt junior goalie Jason Carter had a career-day, making a career-best 15 saves, to help lead the fourth-ranked University of Maryland men's lacrosse team to a 13-7 win over No. 1 Virginia in front of more than 4,000 fans at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium and a national television audience tuning in on ESPN2.

The Terps' victory over the top-ranked Cavaliers is the programs' first win over a No. 1 team at home since 1996 when Maryland topped Virginia 13-11. The last time Maryland dropped a No. 1 team overall was on March 4, 2006 when the Terps took down No. 1 Duke, 8-7 in overtime, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Carter and the entire Terrapin defense were spectacular in the cage for the Terps, especially in the first half. The Crownsville, Md., native made seven of his 15 saves in the first 30:00 to help Maryland hold the Cavaliers to just three goals, allowing the Terrapin offense to build a 9-3 lead at the half. Coming into the game, Virginia had been averaging more than eight goals per game in the first half and had not trailed at halftime in any game this year.

While the defense took care of business on its end of the field, the Maryland offense was clicking on all cylinders at the other side of the field. The freshman attack trio of Travis Reed, Grant Catalino and Ryan Young combined for six goals and three assists. Young got the ball rolling for Maryland with the game's opening goal at the 13:01 mark.

Redshirt junior Jeff Reynolds continued his hot shooting streak, scoring the next two goals to give the Terps a 3-0 lead with less than five minutes elapsed. Reynolds' first score came off a face-off, which was won by sophomore Bryn Holmes. Holmes was jumped as he entered the Cavalier box, but was able to flip the ball to Reynolds, who got a shot past Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman.

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UNC Lacrosse Team Wins At Johns Hopkins For First Time Since 1994

BALTIMORE, MD. - Ninth-ranked North Carolina bounced back from a tough loss to Maryland last Saturday by bolting to an 11-3 lead after three quarters en route to a 13-8 victory over defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field on the JHU campus in Baltimore before a crowd of 4,250 fans. It was Carolina's first win at Johns Hopkins since the 1994 season, breaking a six-match road losing streak to the Blue Jays.

It was Carolina's 14th successive non-conference victory during the past two seasons. Carolina's last non-league loss was against Navy on March 2, 2008 in Annapolis.

Junior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman was brilliant once again for the Tar Heels as he made 14 saves and allowed only eight goals. He also had four ground balls. Zimmerman had six saves in the first quarter as the Tar Heels built a 4-0 lead despite being outshot 11-7 in the opening 15 minutes. He ended up with 13 saves through the first three quarters before Hopkins pecked away at UNC's lead in the final period. But by that time Carolina had built its biggest lead of the match at 11-3, running off the final five goals of the third quarter in the process.

Hopkins outshot the Tar Heels 40-30 in the game, had a 30-27 edge in ground balls and won 15 of 24 face-offs. But the Tar Heels forced Hopkins into 16 turnovers and UNC's looks at the goal were of a quality nature all day. UNC was efficient in its offensive scheme, scoring 13 goals on only 30 shots. The Tar Heels placed 21 of their 30 shots on net while Hopkins had only 22 of their 40 shots on goal.

Greer & Danowski Pace No. 3 Duke Past Dartmouth, 16-9 

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Zack Greer scored a season-high seven goals and Matt Danowski produced four goals and four assists to lead third-ranked Duke to a 16-9 win over Dartmouth in men's college lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at the Mitchel Sports Complex in Uniondale, N.Y. Saturday's contest between the Blue Devils and Big Green was played on Long Island to benefit Autism Awareness and Lacrosse for Autism Youth Clinics.

Just over one minute into the game, Max Quinzani gave Duke a 1-0 lead on a goal from Greer. Dartmouth responded at the 11:28 mark when Josh Gillam scored off a pass from Brian Koch. The Blue Devils then went on a 3-0 run midway through the period as Matt Danowski, Greer and Mike Catalino each found the back of the net in a span of 1:05. The Big Green answered with consecutive goals by Gillam at the 6:20 and 3:00 marks to pull within 4-3 before Quinzani ended the first quarter scoring with his second tally with 34 seconds left.