May 18, 2001

By CHRIS MCMANES
Special to The Prince George's Journal

Dick Edell's Maryland men's lacrosse team and Tony Seaman's Towson squad will square off at Byrd Stadium at noon Sunday.

And there's one thing the two distinguished coaches agree upon.

Terrapin senior Pat McGinnis is the best goalie in the country.

``He has made himself into the premier goaltender," Seaman said after his Tigers' 12-10 NCAA playoff victory over Duke last week.

``I love my goaltender [John Horrigan], but McGinnis has been just great. How he's not the ACC MVP, I'll never, ever know. He's a terrific player."

The No.3 Terrapins (13-2) are coming off a first-round bye. They defeated Towson 9-7 on March 10. But the No.6 Tigers (13-3) have won 11 of 12 games since, including the America East championship.

Notre Dame (13-1) and Johns Hopkins (8-3) will face off at Byrd 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The winners advance to the Final Four on May 26 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

McGinnis is a major reason why Maryland has set a record for regular season victories and is looking for its fourth Final Four appearance in seven years. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound resident of Ellicott City is second in the nation in both save percentage (.668) and goals-against average (6.07).

McGinnis played even bigger on April 14 against Johns Hopkins with 14 of his season-high 21 saves in the second half of a 10-9 victory. He, Princeton's Trevor Tierney and Notre Dame's Kirk Howell are the frontrunners for All-American honors.

After being snubbed on most All-American teams last year, McGinnis absorbed another blow this season when Duke midfielder Kevin Cassese was chosen ACC Player of the Year. The selection is puzzling because Cassese is not among the top 20 in any national statistical category and did not start a single game. He was nominated along with McGinnis, Virginia's Conor Gill and North Carolina's Jeff Sonke. The league's coaches then voted on their top three choices.

``I'm going to live with it and not think about it too much," said McGinnis, a candidate for the inaugural Tewaaraton Trophy as national Player of the Year. ``But at the same time, I'm going to take pride in the fact that my team's still playing and his team's not.

`... I'm just trying to not let it deter me from winning a national championship." Edell was incensed with the decision, telling the Maryland student newspaper, The Diamondback, that the choice was ``criminal."

McGinnis was a midfielder when he started playing lacrosse, but his admitted lack of foot speed necessitated a position switch.

``Goalie is definitely a position for me," said McGinnis, who caddied for Seaman two years ago at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills. ``I've got slow feet and quick hands, so it was a pretty easy idea where to put me."

In high school, McGinnis started for two years at Loyola Blakefield, an all-boys school in Towson. In his first two seasons at Maryland he played sparingly behind Kevin Healy. When Healy decided not to use his final year of eligibility in 2000, the untested McGinnis was thrust into the starting role. The left-hander responded with one of the nation's finest yearlong performances and was named All-ACC the first of two times.

``Pat's presence and success in 2000 was a double surprise," Edell said. ``First, there's the fact that he played at all, and then that he played well. It's been fascinating to witness his development."

McGinnis was prepared to redshirt had Healy played last season. ``I didn't want to go through three years of intense practice and then only get one year of [playing time]," he said. ``I'm just glad he left and I got the chance."

Edell said McGinnis' play in an 11-6 loss to Virginia last year - 27 saves and 11 groundballs, both career highs - was one of the two best performances he's ever seen by one of his goalies. The 18-year Terp coach ranked it on par with Brian Dougherty's 23-save effort in a 16-8 upset win over Hopkins in the 1995 Final Four.

``Pat's wasn't that far off," Edell said. ``He stopped many shots that night that he had no right to stop." McGinnis, whose gear includes a helmet, throat protector, gloves, chest protector and the ``all important" athletic cup, faces shots that can travel in the 80-85 mph range. He's been battered defending the cage.

``In the games, you love getting hit because it means you made the save," he said. ``The only time it gets trying is when you get pelted a bunch of times on Monday and Tuesday [in practice], but I'm used to it. I'd rather make the save than have one of my teammates score on me and then run his mouth all night about how he lit me up."

McGinnis, who's majoring in communications and hopes to graduate this summer, is one of five lacrosse-playing members of his family. His younger brother Tim is one of the nation's top Division III goalies at No.1 Gettysburg, which plays in the national semifinals Saturday. Pat McGinnis, who will spend the day practicing and taking a physics final, hopes to play in the Division I national semifinals May 26.

Said Edell: ``I think he's the best goalie in lacrosse this year. I hope he has two or three more opportunities to demonstrate that."

Maryland-Towson notes: The Terps lead the all-time series 18-4 and have won seven straight. With a victory tomorrow, Maryland will tie the 1998 school record for wins in a season. ... The Tigers won the only NCAA Tournament encounter, 15-11 in the 1991 Final Four. ... Edell was a two-time All-American at Towson before graduating in 1967. He was the school's freshman coach the next year, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1980. ... Edell has led six Maryland teams to the Final Four. ... Seaman guided Hopkins to four Final Fours in his eight years (1991-98) with the Blue Jays. The third-year Tiger coach has Towson in the playoffs for the first time since 1996.