About Me

College Park, Maryland, United States
I Broadcast Maryland Women's Lacrosse for WMUCSports.com during the Spring. I hope to provide everyone with quality information on the Terps and post game analysis.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Midseason All-American Teams

Congratulations to the following Terps who have made the IL Midseason All-American Teams.

1st Team Members:
Grant Catalino - Attack
Brett Schmidt - Close Defense

2nd Team Members:
Brian Farrell - LSM

Other Terps have really stepped up this year and a 6-1 (1-1) record is something to be proud of. There were 5 other ACC players on the 1st team, which shows how great the conference is. The ACC is 30-4 this year, with 3 of those loses coming inside the conference. In addition, 4 of the top 7 teams this year are from the ACC.

Maryland remains at #4, and Virginia is still #1, with #2 UNC hot on their heels.

One last note, the Terrapins have a sensational .625 EMO conversion rate, good for 2nd in the country. They only trail Robert Morris [who has not played a ranked opponent all season].

Just a few more days till #1 UVA comes to Byrd. 8p.m. game and you can catch all the action on wmucsports.com. Go Terps!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Season Preview of UVA


Virginia Lacrosse has built a reputation for being a powerhouse year in and year out. For the majority of the season, they have presided over the top spot in the rankings, which is where the Terps find them coming into this week's game against their closest ACC rival. Last year, the two top 5 teams made history. They played 7 overtimes before a winner was established which is the longest game in D-1 Lacrosse history. UVA was victorious, 10-9. Steele Stanwick notched 4 goals and Danny Glading had 4 assists. For the Terps, Will Yeatman led the team with 2 goals and 3 helpers. Ryan Young and Travis Reed had 2 goals each in the game as well so many of the current Terps know what it is like to play versus Virginia. UMD also put up 52 shots in the contest, and will need to have that same tenacity on offense in this game as well.

At 9-0 (0-0), UVA is yet again undefeated and atop the lacrosse world, although they have yet to play an ACC game this year. Unlike Maryland 6-1 (1-1), which is coming off it's first loss of the season, a 9-7 loss down in Chapel Hill, NC. Although the Terps were not able to pull out a victory against the Tar Heels, some positives they can pull from the match include holding such a potent offense to under double digit goals. That was only the 2nd time in 17 matches for UNC to be held under 10 goals.

The week after facing off against a team with 4 players (well 3 started the game, until Sean DeLaney left the game with an injured hand and left the Tar Heels without their top 2 offensive players) who have 20 points or more, UMD gets a brand new challenge. Leading the way for the Cavaliers are Chrise Bocklet [29 Goals and 6 Assists = 35 points] and sophomore sensation Steele Stanwick [12 Goals and 18 Assists = 30 points] thus far in the season respectively. They lead an offense which has scored at least 11 goals in every game this season including 5 games in which they put 15 or more goals into the net.

Most recently, UVA is coming off a thorough 15-6 beatdown of another Maryland lacrosse stalwart, Johns Hopkins. Both the Bratton brothers, Shamel and Rhamel, tallied hat tricks in the game while their fellow first Middie, Brian Carroll had 2 goals and 3 assists. Their smothering defense held JHU to 0-4 shooting on EMO chances and they dominated the ground-ball battle, 36-22.

Face-offs this season have been controlled by UVA. They have won 129 out of 226 with Ryan Benincasa and Brian McDermott winning more than 44 FOs apiece and over 60% of their FOs taken.

Minding the net again this year is Adam Ghitelman who's posting a 7.36 Goals Against Average and has only let in 73 goals, starting all 9 games this year. And in front of Ghitelman, one of the heroes of last years epic win against the Terps is senior Ken Clausen. The 2-time 1st Team All-American has shut down opposing team's best players. One of UVA's captains, he has been nominated for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. One of 10 finalists for the prestigious award given to a senior who represents the best of what it means to be a student athlete, excelling in the classroom, character, community and competition.

However, UVA has not played any conference games this season, although they beat then-#1 Syracuse 11-10 at home on March 7th. As for Maryland, it will be the last time they get to play an ACC opponent before the ACC Tournament which will be played at Byrd stadium in College Park April 23+25.

Game begins at 8p.m. and the pregame show will start at 7:45p.m. and you can catch all the action, as always, on wmucsports.com. Go Terps!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Tar Heels Trounce Terps

UNC was completely unfazed by the game-time decision to sit All-American Billy Bitter, the team's leader in points and a top candidate for the Tewaaraton award this year, due to a leg injury. They dominated 3 out of 4 periods as they rolled to a perfect 9-0 record on the year, and claiming the top spot in the ACC at 2-0 (although Virginia has yet to play an ACC game this season). Bitter remains day-to-day.

Taking his place was Freshman Marcus Holman, a product from Baltimore, MD lacrosse powerhouse Gilman High School. Holman was sensational. "Opportunistic" was the word Coach Dave Cottle used to describe the young attackman who scored 4 goals in place of Bitter.

But the big difference in the game was defense, defense, defense. North Carolina had only given up double digit goals in 1 game this season, a 12-11 victory over Princeton. In every other contest, the defense held opponents to 7 goals or less and today was no difference. Grant Catalino was held without a goal until the final minute of the game...scoring a meaningless goal, his 30th on the season to go along with 1 assist, giving him 31 points through 7 games. Travis Reed had an assist but was also essentially shut out of the game by the Tar Heels stifling defense. Ryan Flanagan has the size to match-up with Yeatman and Catalino. Flanagan is 6-6 and weighs 237. Many of Maryland's opponents have not been able to deal with the size or athleticism of their offensive weapons, but UNC was able to keep the Terps attack off-balanced, beating them to most 50/50 balls.

Dean Hart had the first goal of the game before the Tar Heels responded with 4 straight goals. The Terps seized back the momentum with a 3-goal rally to tie the game at 4 apiece going into halftime including drawing a penalty. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize on an EMO chance. Cottle pointed to the non-goal sequence as the turning point in the game.

Even without Bitter for the whole game and DeLaney, the other returning All-American [along with Flanagan], who injured his hand after scoring in the first half, UNC was able to muster 9 goals and dominate seemingly every facet of the game.

Jake Bernhardt did a good job in the 4th period winning face-offs as he tried to get the Terps back in the game with his stick and at least 3 MASSIVE hits, but it wasn't enough in the end.

I want to give a huge shout out to #13 Owen Blye who scored his first career goal in the game. The Terps will have a chance to bounce back from their first loss and get their second ACC win next week against Virginia. The game will be at home at 8p.m. against the unanimous #1 team in the nation. Be sure to tune in to wmucsports.com for the game.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Captain Brian Farrell




As the first junior captain to lead the Terps since 2005, Farrell has been incredible in his return from a lung injury that caused him to lose 25 pounds last season. Tomorrow's game vs. UNC will be just as big for him as the rest of his 6-0 team against the offensive juggernaut from Chapel Hill. We would like to congratulate Farrell as he was featured in an InsideLacrosse.com this week article:

Remember to tune in to wmucsports.com for the huge game at 2PM tomorrow as myself, Daniel Baker, and Brendan Ponton bring you all the action.

Go Terps!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Quick Hits



Through 8 games, the Tar Heels have 4 players with at least 20 points:
Billy Bitter - 27
Sean Delaney - 26
Thomas Wood - 24
Gavin Petracca - 22


As for Maryland, the Terps are shooting incredibly well at 34%, well above Cottle's desired 30%.

Their dominant EMO attack is scoring with ease. The unit is 12 for 20 this season, a rate of 60%.

The match-up of unbeatans should be an offensive shootout and will certainly not disappoint.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Terps Travel To Tobacco Road in Pivotal Matchup




The Terps are getting ready to head down to Chapel Hill to take on the #2 team in the nation. Maryland and UNC are 2 of the last 4 remaining undefeated teams remaining in D-1 Lacrosse. Virginia, the unanimous #1 team in Men's Lacrosse, was expected to be without a loss at this point in the season, but the biggest surprise of the entire season has been the Lafayette Leopards, who have climbed to the #10 spot in the country. There sudden ascension to the top of college lacrosse is due in large part to the play of Tewaaraton Watch List candidate, junior attackman Stefan Bauer, who has 16 assists and 9 goals in 2010.

But all eyes will be tuned in to the game down in North Carolina which pits the top two players in lax this season, Billy Bitter of the Tar Heels and Grant Catalino. Catalino has 29 points through 6 games this season which is the most since 2002, when Dave Cottle came to College park. UNC has risen quickly in the rankings nationally and in conference, breaking a looooooong losing streak in ACC tournament play with a 16-10 victory over the Terps in 2009.

The Tar Heels return 3 All-Americans from last year including Bitter and Sean DeLaney who combined for 114 points last season. The 3rd star of the team has to be Ryan Flanagan who leads the team on defense and shadowed Duke's Ned Crotty and one of UMBC's All American from last year, Alex Hopmann. One of the best best on-ball defenders in the nation for sure. James Petracca started 6 games last year, including two in the ACC Tournament and 2 more in the NCAA Tournament.

The Terps need to come out strong and get quality play and scoring from the 1st and 2nd midfield units. If both can put pressure on UNC and make the Tar Heels play catch up, they can lean on Phipps and the rest of the long poles who have kept opponents under 10 goals for 3 games in a row. With a daunting schedule looming, the Terrapins are in their make-or-break stretch and at 6-0, this team looks like it's finally ready to make some big noise.

Remember to tune in to wmucsports.com for the 2p.m. game this Saturday. Pre-game show will start around 1:45p.m.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Hot Start Continues

The Terps are now 6-0 for the first time since 2004 when the Terrapins began the season 8-0.

Leading the way for Maryland as usual was standout attackman, Grant Catalino, who tied a career high for points in a game with 7 against UMBC. Catalino's 4 goals and 3 assists were a big reason why UMD was able to snap a 3-game losing streak against their rival to the north.

On a perfect day in Catonsville, and with a large contingent of fans donning Terrapin red, Maryland defeated the Retrievers 13-7, thoroughly dominating the game....playing like the #5 team in the nation. After losing consecutive games to UMBC for the first time since 1998-1999, the Terps came out a little sluggish on offense, but their defense propelled them to victory.

Brian Phipps and his defense only gave up 6 goals [the final tally coming off the stick of 2009 All-American Kyle Wimer with just over a minute left to play and the outcome in hand as Mark White spelled Phipps for a few well-deserved minutes of rest]. Against a UMBC team that led D-1 lacrosse connecting on over 50% of their EMO chances last year, the tenacious defense kept the Retrievers off the scoreboard while killing a penalty. UMBC was 0-3 when playing with an extra man.

After allowing UPenn to control the tempo of the game, slowing the game down in College Park, the strategy employed by Cottle consisted of placing two long poles on UMBC's talented midfield. From the net, Phipps explained how the offense truly starts from the back, "we forced them to move the ball around quicker, and we got the ball on the ground, getting the ball up to the offense...our defense contributed to that getting the ball on the ground."

Averaging 12 goals a game this season, the offense did not disappoint. Ryan Young had 3 assists from the "X" spot behind the net and Travis Reed had 2 goals and 2 assists as well. The Terps pushed the ball every chance they got.

The epitome of the game came in the first half when sophomore stud, Jake Bernhardt, came on the field from midfield in a quick substitution, caught the ball on his way to the box in stride, and dodged 2 defenders before he ripped a shot across his body and past the stick Kevin Kohri.

The lone bright spot for UMBC was the play of sophomore attack, Shane Ryznar, who played high school lacrosse down the road from College Park at Dematha. He had a hat-trick on the day, the second most goals of anyone on the field.

Leading by 5-7 goals for much of the second half, coach Cottle went to his bench early and took the starters out for good in the 4th quarter. Seldom-used senior Fran Gormley was able to get an assist on the day as he hit a streaking Michael Shakespeare down the middle of the box, completely untouched...which seemed to happen quite often. The Terps were more physically imposing seemed to play at a much higher speed than their opponent.

Next week the team travels to UNC to face the #2 Tar Heels down in Chapel Hill on Saturday. That will start a stretch of games against top 10 teams including a prime-time home match-up against #1 Virginia on April 3rd and another game at M&T Bank Stadium when they will take on #8 John's Hopkins on the 17th of April.

For the first time in years, the Terps are playing to their own ability. If they can continue to score at a high rate and keep offenses at bay, the rest of the ACC and NCAA should watch out. These terrapins are talented, fast, and they love to score.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Terps Look for Revenge versus Retrievers

Welcome to the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Blog for WMUC. My name is Daniel Baker and will do my best to give you a look at each upcoming game and provide some analysis after each contest. I had the pleasure of covering the Men's Lacrosse team last year during my freshman "season" and I hope to witness another great year in College Park.

Coming into the season, Maryland was picked to finish in 4th place in the ACC out of 4 teams. They were also the 7th ranked team in NCAA Men's Lacrosse. Although it is the smallest conference in the country, there is no doubt that the ACC is the best. With UVA, Duke, and UNC in the picture for a national championship, Maryland will be thoroughly tested with the 7th hardest schedule in 2010.

The Terps have responded in the early part of the season climbing to the #5 ranking in Men's Lacrosse after amassing a 5-0 record, including wins over then #13 Georgetown in a stunning 15-13 come-from-behind victory, and an 11-10 OT victory thriller against ACC rival, Duke at M&T Bank Stadium in the Face-Off Classic.


Grant Catalino has been the star of an extremely talented attack unit; one that Inside Lacrosse ranks as tops in the nation. Catalino has notched 10 goals and 12 assists in 2010 so far which ties him in Maryland history for the most points through five games. Ryan Young, Travis Reed, and Joe Cummings make up the rest of an attack group that has 54 points through 5 games, with 27 goals and 27 assists.

The Terps weakness was supposed to be in the midfield, however Will Yeatman moved back from his natural attacking position to help out the young crop of midfielders which includes sophomore stud, Jake Bernhardt out of Florida, who led the second-midfield last year. Even the middies have shown great depth in 2010, combining for 6 goals in the 12-8 March 13th win over Towson as the first midfield was shut down.

Bryn Holmes has dominated Face-Offs for the Terps this season and is a key ingredient to the potent transition attack. When the Terps can get out and run in the open field, they are almost unstoppable. They are converting over 64% of their EMOs[Extra-Man-Opportunities].

Brian Farrell returns to lead the defense after missing most of 2009 with a lung injury. He lines up alongside Max and Brett Schmidt (of no relation) and Ryder Bohlander is the other starting LSD for Maryland. Brian Phipps is coming of an ACL tear, suffered in the NCAA Quarterfinal loss to Syracuse. He has been shutting down the opposition at an impressive rate, with a 50.5 save percentage and blocking 9.2 shots per game.

The senior and Pre-Season All-ACC goalie has the ability to lead the Terps back to the Final Four, somewhere they have not been since 2006 and not nearly enough for fans in College Park since Dave Cottle took over in 2002. He has pressure to perform this year in a loaded conference, but has all the pieces to contend for a national title.

The Terrapins look to end a 3-game skid against their intrastate rivals from UMBC on Saturday.
Maryland has dominated the all-time series versus UMBC, holding a 24-7 advantage, but their neighbors to the north have won the 3 most recent contests including their match-up in the 2008 NCAA tournament,.

Last year UMBC won the matchup with the Terps 9-7 in Baltimore. 2009 All-Americans Peet Poillon, Alex Hopmann, and Kyle Wimer led the Retrievers, as they represented the best midfield unit in the country. With 4-year starter and fellow All-American, Jeremy Blevins, in goal, UMBC was able to hold off a potent Maryland attack. However, this team looks much different. The only holdover from last years crop of top-tier talent is Wimer who tallied 24 goals and 18 assists last season. This year he has been limited to 5 goals and 10 assists and has been shadowed closely by the competition. UMBC is a mere 1-4 this year, not quite on pace to match the 12-4 record from last year which included the 3rd straight America East Title.

3 different players have tried to replace Blevins in goal, with Adam Cohen leading the way playing about 50% of the time for the Retrievers.

On paper this looks like a good chance for the Terps to end their losing streak against UMBC, but that means little. Grant Catalino and Ryan Young had hat-tricks against UMBC in the 9-7 loss last year and if they can have similar outings, Maryland should be able to improve to 6-0 on the season.