May 16, 2009

Maryland Men's Lacrosse Falls to No. 2 Seed Syracuse In NCAA Quarterfinals

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Maryland men's lacrosse team fought valiantly, but in the end it is the No. 2 seed Syracuse Orange advancing in the NCAA tournament after defeating the Terps 11-6 in the quarterfinals at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium Saturday afternoon.

A surprise awaited the Terps right off the bat as Syracuse's starting goalie John Galloway was forced to the sidelines due to the flu. In stepped junior Al Cavalieri and he helped the Orange build a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by Kenny Nims, Josh Amidon and Dan Hardy.

The biggest development of the quarter however centered on Maryland starting goalie Brian Phipps. After making a big save with just over a minute left in the first and SU leading 2-0, Phipps jumped up but appeared to injure his knee, forcing the change to senior Jason Carter.

Carter finished the game with eight saves and had three groundballs. The Terrapins were led defensively be their trio of close defenders, Brett Schmidt, Max Schmidt and Mike Griswold, who combined for seven groundballs and three caused turnovers. Holmes finished with a team-high four groundballs, while sophomore Chris Ready had three.