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No. 3 Seed Maryland Meets No. 6 Seed Georgetown In NCAA Quarterfinals Sunday In Princeton, N.J.
May 19, 2005 College Park, Md. - No. 3 Maryland will take on No. 6 Georgetown in the NCAA Quarterfinals this Sunday at Princeton Stadium in Princeton, N.J. Face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised throughout the nation, distributed through ESPN Regional Syndication. It will be shown live on Comcast SportsNet in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The game will be also available on DirecTV on ESPNU. Dave Ryan and Quint Kessinich will call the action from Princeton. The Terps are making their 28th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history and is vying for its 18th trip to the NCAA Semifinals. Georgetown is making its ninth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament earning an at-large berth out of the ECAC. The Hoyas are 1-5 in six trips to the quarterfinals. The winner of the Maryland/Georgetown game will take on the winner of the No. 2 Duke (15-2)/Cornell (11-2) game on Saturday, May 28 in the national semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Blue Devils and the Big Red square off in Sunday's second quarterfinal game at Princeton Stadium. Face-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Top 5 Terp Tidbits The Terps are 17-8 all-time in NCAA Quarterfinal games. Of the Terps' 152 goals, 95 (62.5%) have come from juniors, including 31 by Joe Walters. 21 different Terps have scored goals through 15 games, with 11 different players scoring goals vs. Georgetown in the season opener. The Terps are 3-1 at neutral sites this season.
Maryland's 28th Time At NCAA's The Terps have captured two NCAA championships, 1973 and 1975, and reached the NCAA Semifinals 18 times, most recently in 2003. The Hoyas have reached the semifinals only once, in in 1999, losing to Syracuse 13-9. Maryland's Record In NCAA's Maryland is fifth by percentage (.590) among all teams ever to play in the tournament (Princeton, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Cornell are ahead). The Terps have captured two titles. Only six other schools have ever won the NCAA Championship: Syracuse (9), Johns Hopkins (7), Princeton (6), North Carolina (4), Cornell (3), Virginia (3). Maryland As The No. 3 Seed The last time Maryland won the NCAA championship in 1975, the Terps were seeded No. 3. In 17 games as the No. 3 seed, Maryland has a 11-6 record, following its 14-10 win over Penn State in the first round last week. The Terps were the third seed last year when they beat Army 16-12 in the first round. In the quarterfinals at Virginia, Maryland fell to Princeton 9-8 in overtime. No. 3 Maryland beat Ohio State, 8-5, in the first round in 2003 and then UMass, 13-7, in the quarterfinals at Syracuse before falling to eventual champion Virginia in the semifinals, 14-4. Prior to 2003, in its last tournament as the No. 3 seed, Maryland fell to No. 6 seed Towson, 12-11 at Byrd Stadium in 2001. That game was the finale for coach Dick Edell, who retired the following fall due to health problems. Cottle In The NCAA Tournament Overall, Cottle is 12-16 in NCAA Tournament games, which ties him with Towson's Tony Seaman (12-17) among all coaches in the 2005 Tournament in wins. Only Princeton's Bill Tierney (28-9), Virginia's Dom Starsia (19-14), Syracuse's John Desko (17-2) have more tournament wins to their credit among this year's crop. With his 17th tournament appearance, Cottle now ranks tied for third all-time in most NCAA Tournament Division I appearances as a head coach behind only Syracuse's Roy Simmons Jr. (19) and Towson's Tony Seaman (18). Cottle is tied with former Maryland coach Dick Edell and current Virginia coach Dom Starsia. With his streak of 14-consecutive tournaments while at Loyola, Cottle is second only to Simmons Jr. (19), for the longest-consecutive steak. Cottle has now led his teams to the NCAA Quarterfinals on 15 occasions and to the NCAA semifinals three times, making an appearance in the 1990 championship game where Loyola fell to Syracuse, 21-9. He also reached the NCAA semifinals as the No. 1 seed with Loyola, but lost to Maryland, 19-8, at Byrd Stadium on May 23, 1998. At Maryland he has lead the Terps to one semifinal berth, but fell to eventual champion Virginia, 14-4, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 24, 2003. Coaching Match-Up Georgetown's Dave Urick is in his 26th season as a head coach and is tied with Penn State's Glen Thiel for second place among all active Division I head coaches in career victories with 282 (Jack Emmer at Army is first with 325). Urick holds an all-time record of 282-93 (.752), which ties him withThiel and former Maryland head coach Dick Edell for fourth on the all-time wins list. Urick is currently in his 16th season at Georgetown and has 160-63 (.717) mark. Cottle has a 14-0 lifetime record against Georgetown, with a 10 victories coming while he was at Loyola from 1983-2001. Urick is 0-4 all-time vs. Maryland with the NCAA loss in 1997 and regular-season defeats in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Series History vs. Georgetown Earlier this season, Maryland used an 8-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to pull away from Georgetown en route to a 13-6 victory in each team's season opener on February 26. Eleven (11) different Terps scored on the afternoon with Bill McGlone leading the way with three goals. Joe Walters was limited to just a single goal, but added four assists for a five-point game. But the unquestioned star of the game was Maryland goalie Harry Alford. Making his first college start, Alford made 25 saves and scooped up eight groundballs and was named Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week. Last season, Xander Ritz and Joe Walters each netted three goals, with Ritz adding four assists for a seven-point game to propelled the Terrapins to a decisive 14-5 victory in the regular season home opener on February 28, 2004. Bill McGlone and Justin Smith each scored two goals, while goalie Tim McGinnis stopped 13 Hoya shots. In the 2003 game Brian Hunt, Ryan Moran and Mike Mollot each netted two goals, plus Lee Zink's first-career goal and a strong defense gave the Terps a 9-5 victory in the regular season home finale on April 28, 2003. In the first game between the schools, Maryland defeated Georgetown, 14-10, in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament at Towson. The Terps jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back as they began their run to the second of three trips to the NCAA championship game in a four-year span. The game marked Georgetown's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. All-American Scott Hochstadt, the school's 17th all-time leading scorer, led the way for Maryland as he posted five goals. Andrew Whipple added three for Maryland as the Terps outshot the Hoyas, 42-25. Maryland-georgetown Connections Sophomores Ryan Clarke and Christian Trunz will meet after finishing their careers at Chaminade in 2003. Hoya midfielders Dan D'Agnes and Brian Hehir are also Chaminade graduates. Senior captain Gavin Webb will meet fellow Upper Arlington alumni Clayton Hall and John Trapp. Landon High School will be represented by Brendan and Ian Healy from Maryland and Ted Lamade from Georgetown. Junior David Tamberrino and Georgetown's Andrew Baird and Chase Gahan were teammates at Loyola Blakefield. Terps Among NCAA Stat Leaders Coming off a 4-8 performance vs. Penn St., the Terrapin man-up offense is up another two spots to fifth in the nation (42.2). On defense, Maryland is 10th in the nation in scoring defense (7.73). The 14-10 victory over Penn St. let the Terps hold fast at 12th with a 2.4 scoring margin. Maryland is up two sports to 16th in the nation in face-offs, winning 53.9% of its draws. The team is up another four spots to 10th in winning percentage (.667). In goal, Harry Alford, the ACC Tournament MVP, is seventh in the nation in save percentage at 60.6. He is also ninth in country in goals against average with a 7.61 GAA. David Tamberrino, coming off of a 10 for 18 performance vs. Penn at the X, moves up one spot to 16th in face-off winning percentage at .566. Shooting Tells The Story In Maryland's nine victories this season the Terrapins are shooting 30.3% (122 goals/402 shots). In their five losses the Terps are shooting just 15.9% (30 goals/189 shots). Maybe just as telling is the shots on goal percentage. Maryland has put 237 of its 402 shots on goal in its nine wins, but just 95 of 189 shots were on net in five defeats. The Terps' shooting relates directly to their scoring. In nine victories Maryland is averaging more than 12 points per game. In their five losses the Terps are scoring a mere six goals per game. Home vs. Away Maryland is averaging 11.0 goals per game in its five home games, but that number dips to 9.51 on the road. Shooting percentage, which is one of Coach Dave Cottle's key statistics, is another tell-tale stat. In College Park the Terps are shooting 28.8% (66/229), but on the road they are shooting 23.8% (83/362). Shots on goal percentage shows another advantage for home games, 59.0% to 54.4%. Joe Walters, the team's leading scorer overall, is also Maryland's leading scorer in both home and away games. The junior All-American has racked up 16 goals and seven assists at home, while amassing 15 goals and eight assists on the road. Harry Alford has been spectacular no matter where he's played this year. The Kelly Award candidate has made 69 saves in the team's six home games with a 8.43 GAA and a .612 save pct. On the road the super-Sophomore has racked up 92 saves in nine games with a 7.04 GAA and a .601 save pct. Face-Off Turn Around Leading the way for Maryland is junior face-off specialist David Tamberrino. A reserve face-off guy last year (16-32/50%), Tamberrino has taken 182 face-offs and has won 103 - a 56.6 winning percentage, which ranks second in the ACC and 17th in the nation. Freshman Will Dalton used his 6-5, 245-pound frame to his advantage in the Terps' 9-4 win over North Carolina, winning six of nine face-offs, all in the second half to help Maryland pull away from the Tar Heels. He gave the Terps a much needed boost from the X vs. Virginia in the ACC Semis, winning seven of 11 face-offs after Maryland lost the first four draws of the game. He did it again for the Terps in the finals against No. 2 Duke, winning seven of 10. He was awarded for his efforts by being named to the all-tournament team. For the season Dalton is 28 of 53 for a 52.8 winning percentage. Harry Saves The Day Alford's 25-save performance is the highest total in season opener dating back to the 1997 season. The previous best for saves in a season opener since 1997 was 17 by Danny McCormick vs. Duke in 2003. For his efforts vs. the Hoyas, Alford collected Inside Lacrosse's National Player of the Week honors, as well being named the ACC player of the week. Alford turned in another 20-save performance one month later on March 26, in Maryland's 9-4 win over No. 19 North Carolina in College Park. Alford made 12 saves in the third quarter alone. For his efforts against the Tar Heels, in addition to stopping 12 shots in the Dartmouth game, Alford won his second ACC player of the week award, the first multi-time winner of 2005. Anyone who saw the overtime vs. Virginia in the ACC Semifinals would be hard pressed to say that Alford did not save the day for the Terps. He turned away a point-blank shots by UVa's Bud Petit and saved and controlled the rebound shot by Brendan Gill to give Maryland posession that lead to the game-winning goal. It was a tough act to follow, but Alford did just that in the ACC Finals vs. No. 2 Duke. Alford and the Maryland defense surrendered an early 2-0 lead to the Blue Devils, the highest scoring team in the NCAA this season, but that would be it for more than 40 minutes. Duke did not score again for 40:15, during which time the Terps built a 6-2 lead. Alford finished the game with 15 saves and was named tournament MVP. He would also earn his second Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week honor, the only player to win the award more than once this season. Defense Proves To Be Strong Similar to last season, Maryland has held opponents scoreless for long stretches of game time. Through 15 games in 2004, the Terps kept opponents scoreless for stretches of 20 or more minutes eight times. This year Maryland has done 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. Against Georgetown, the Hoyas scored to take a 1-0 lead at the 10:02 mark of the first quarter. Maryland's defense, lead by sophomore goalie Harry Alford, who totaled 25 saves in the 13-6 victory, didn't allow the fifth-ranked Hoyas another goal until 4:34 in the second quarter, a total time of 20:26. Maryland kept Georgetown off the board for a 15-minute stretch following that goal, while the offense built an 11-2 lead. The Hoyas didn't register their third goal of the game until 4:32 in the third quarter, a span of 15:02. Maryland pitched a shutout for the first 19:34 of the Duke game, coming just 26 seconds short of the 20-minute mark. Against Towson, the Terps held the Tigers to five goals (they had been averaging 10.6 in their first three games) and held their starting attack to just one goal and one assist on a remarkable four shots. The Maryland defense turned up the intensity when Towson took a 3-2 lead at 12:48 of the second quarter. The Terrapin defense held the Tigers scoreless for the next 27:38, while the offense built a 6-3 lead. Towson pulled to within one goal, 6-5, at 11:55 of the fourth, but Maryland only allowed the Tigers two shots over the final 11:55 and finished with a 9-5 win over the ninth-ranked team in the country. At Bucknell, the Bison scored at the 12:50 mark of the second quarter and did not net another goal until 2:31 in the third, a span of 25:19. In the Dartmouth loss, the Big Green tied the game at 1-1 at the 3:22 mark of the first quarter. The Maryland "D" held strong for the remainder of the first half with Harry Alford only have to make one save in the second quarter. Dartmouth didn't get on the board again until 12:55 in the third, a span of 20:27. The Terrapin defense held the 19th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the Terps' 9-4 win. The four goals allowed was the lowest total for the Terps since limiting Virginia to two goals in Maryland's 11-2 win on April 3, 2004. Twice in the Terps 9-8 loss to Navy, Maryland held the Mids to just one goal in 19+ minutes of action. The second span, bridging the third and fourth quarters allowed the Terps to go on a 5-1 run to take a 8-7 lead. For the first time since 2002, the Maryland defense shut out an opponent for an entire half, holding Fairfield scoreless in the second half in the Terps' 9-6 victory. The last time a Maryland team held an opponent scoreless for a half was Feb. 26, 2002 when the Terps shutout Mount St. Mary's 18-0. The last time the Terps held an opponent scoreless for two consecutive quarters was also in 2002, on March 23 against North Carolina. Maryland kept the Tar Heels off the board in the second and third quarters en route to a 7-5 win. After suffering a 10-2 loss at Virginia on April 2, the Terp defense exacted a bit of revenge in the ACC Semis vs. the Wahoos. The Cavaliers took a 6-5 lead at 3:56 in the third quarter and added another goal for a 7-5 lead at 11:29 of the fourth, but those would be the last goals UVa would score. The Terp defense lead by goalie Harry Alford kept the Cavs scoreless for the remainder of the fourth quarter and allowed the Terp offense time to send the game into overtime. Alford stopped two shots on his doorstep in the extra period before Maryland scored the gamewinner. In all, the Terrapin defense allowed just one goal in 21:36 of action to the usually high-powered Virginia offense. The Terp defense turned in its finest performance of the season in the 9-5 victory over No. 2 Duke in the ACC Finals. The Blue Devils entered the tournament as the nation's highest scoring offense, scoring more than 13 goals per game. But Harry Alford and the Maryland defense found a way to shut down Duke's high-octane offense. After surrendering a 2-0 lead to the Blue Devils in the first quarter, the Terrapin defense shutout Duke for the next 40:15, the longest span the Terp "D" has shut down an offense this season. Alford finished the game with 15 saves and was named tournament MVP. Sophomore defender Ray Megill was named to the all-tournament team for his role in shutting out ACC rookie of the year Zach Greer for the first time this season. Sophomore Steve Whittenberg, a transfer from Air Force, has been the model of consistency for the Terps. A starter in all 13 games, Whittenberg has picked up four, five, four, six, and three groundballs, respectively, in the team's first five games. On the season fourth on the team with 36 groundballs and has caused a team-best 20 turnovers this season, including a season best four vs. Penn State. Another sophomore defender who has made his presence felt is Ray Megill. The native of Clark, N.J., was a starter during the preseason, but an ankle injury forced him to the bench and limited his minutes during the early part of the season. He got his chance to start when Sean Sullivan went down with an injury following the Dartmouth game and has made the most of it. Since joining the starting close defense unit in the North Carolina game, Megill has 19 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers in seven games. Overall this season he has 22 groundballs and is second on the squad with 17 caused turnovers. Short-stick defensive midfielders Travis Holmes and Ryan Lang have been stellar early on this season. They have sliced and diced their opponents, combining to force 12 turnovers in 15 games while scooping up 33 groundballs as well. The duo showed their offensive side in the Terps' 14-10 win at No. 18 Bucknell when Lang assisted Holmes' goal at the 1:14 mark of the third quarter. That goal sparked a 6-0 Maryland run that sealed the game for the Terrapins. Lang, who has also seen time with the second midfield unit, scored his second collegiate goal in the 21-6 win over Penn on 5/7. Sophomore Jimmy Borell has seen time at defensive middie as well and has used his speed and athleticism to pick up 30 groundballs and cause two turnovers. Freshman Jeff Reynolds has seen increased playing time over the past several games as a short-stick D-middie and has picked up eight groundballs and caused one turnover. In the ACC Semifinal win over Virginia Reynolds scored his first point as a Terp by picking up the assist on Max Ritz's second-quarter goal. Another factor in the Maryland defense has been the emergence of long-pole defensive midfielder Ryan Clarke, who is third on the team with 15 caused turnovers and is also third with 37 groundballs. Walters Moving Up The Charts Entering this season Walters had 114 points and 79 goals in his career. So far this season he has scored 31 goals and added 15 assists for 46 points, bringing his career totals to 160 points and 110 goals. The 110 goals places him in seventh on the career record list, while his160 points ranks him 15th on the all-time points chart. But it's not just the regular season records that Walters is climbing. He has scored nine goals in six career NCAA Tournament games. While Frank Urso's school record of 32 NCAA Tournament goals is probably safe, Walters needs just five goals to move into a tie for eighth on the list with Andrew Whipple, Rob Wurzburger, Bert Caswell and Brian Zeller. John Lamon sits in 12th with 13 goals, while Doug Radebaugh and Barry Mitchell each netted 12 NCAA goals. Terps Tops In Strength Of Schedule The Terps have played six of the teams in the top 10 of this week's USILA Geico/STX Coaches' Poll, including No. 2 Duke and No. 6 Virginia twice each. Of Maryland's 12 games so far this season only two have been against an unranked opponent (UMBC on March 19 and Dartmouth on March 22). But Dartmouth is now ranked 14th. North Carolina was ranked when they played the Terps, but are unranked now. Streaking Terps Joe Walters' point scoring streak is now at 31 after scoring three goals and adding an assist vs. the Nittany Lions. Xander Ritz extended his point scoring streak to 15 games with three goals and an assist vs. Penn State. Here's a breakdown of the Terps' current streaks: Xander Ritz is the only other Terp to score a least a point in each of the 12 games. Ritz scored a goal in the Georgetown win and had an assist vs. Duke. He had his best game of the season in the Towson victory with two goals and two assists for his first four-point game of 2005. At Bucknell he assisted McGlone's first quarter goal to extend his point scoring streak to four. Against UMBC he assisted McGlone's third goal of the game and tallied another assist on Ian Healy's second goal of the season. He had another two-point game vs. Dartmouth, but this time those points came on goals, including the only man-up goal of the game and a goal at 1:22 of the fourth quarter to pull the Terps within a goal of the Big Green. Ritz kept his scoring streak alive in the UNC victory, assisting Michael Phipps' first quarter goal. In the Virginia loss, Ritz scored an unassisted goal in the fourth quarter to cut the Cavalier lead to 6-2. A goal and assist at Navy extended Ritz's scoring streak to nine games. Ritz had his 24th-career multi-point game to push his point scoring streak to 10 games with a goal and assist vs. Hopkins. He had another multi-point game with a goal and an assist in the 9-6 win at Fairfield. The junior All-America candidate scored a goal and added two assists vs. Virginia in the ACC Semifinals to send his point-scoring streak to 12. That streak reached 13 games with another two assists against Duke in Maryland's 9-5 win in the ACC title game. A goal and an assist vs. Penn at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of his favorite NFL team, extended Ritz's streak to 14, one shy of his career best. Ritz picked up his first hat trick of the season and added an assist vs. Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to tie his career-best streak at 15. Terps' 80th Season of Lacrosse Since 2000, Maryland is 68-24 for a .739 win percentage. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland recorded its most wins in any decade with 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. Walters Makes Tewaaraton Semifinal List Walters, a semifinalist for the award as a sophomore, scored 46 goals and tallied 22 assists for 68 points in 2004 and was a USILA first team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year. This season he leads the team with 31 goals and 46 points. Earlier this season, he became just the 14th player in the history of Maryland lacrosse to score 100 goals during his career. He is currently seventh on the all-time goal scoring list with 110 goals. Bill McGlone, one of the top midfielders in the country, was on the preseason "Watch List" but was not among the 16 to make the semifinalist list. The Tewaaraton Trophy is awarded each year to the top male and female varsity lacrosse player, as chosen by the selection committee. The fifth annual award will be given at a banquet on Thursday, June 2. The event will take place in Washington D.C. at the National Geographic Society headquarters. Walters, McGlone Named All-ACC Walters, the 2004 ACC Player of the Year and 2004 ACC Tournament MVP, is now a two-time All-ACC selection, while this is McGlone's first time making the team. 2005 All-ACC Men's Lacrosse Team Healy Elected Into Phi Beta Kappa For more than 200 years, the Phi Beta Kappa Society has pursued its mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. The Society's distinctive emblem, a golden key, is widely recognized as a symbol of academic achievement. 2005 Captains: I. Healy, Hereth, McGlone, Webb
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