Terps Bounce Back, Sink Midshipmen

The Maryland Terrapins stopped their 2-game slide with a solid performance against in-state rival Navy, beating the Annapolis squad 11-9. Although Will Yeatman was out of the game with a broken thumb (more details to come regarding that injury), the potent attack unit of Grant Catalino, Ryan Young, and Travis Reed combined for 8 goals and 5 assists in the game.

On a beautiful day Saturday in College Park, Maryland overcame a slow start, thanks to the stellar play by Navy sophomore keeper RJ Wickham. Going down 2-1 in the first quarter, the Terps seemed like they were in a funk, after 2 straight losses to UNC and UVA. Owen Blye scored the first goal of the game, his second of the season, to start things off, but it would be the only tally in the first 15 minutes as Maryland missed multiple shots by a few inches.

A second consecutive goal by Joe Lennon for Navy put the Midshipmen up 3-1 early in the second period, but Maryland would respond. In a fairly hostile home environment (Navy had a very strong showing of fans, which was to be expected for a school under 1 hour away), Grant Catalino got out of his own personal scoring slump and notched yet another hat trick in the next 148 seconds. Scoring 1 goal and getting 1 assist in the last 2 games combined, Catalino had to step his game up if Maryland was to get back on track, and he would not be stopped. 3 absolute lasers found the back of the net before the period ended and the Terps had a 4-3 lead going into halftime.

Bryn Holmes was unstoppable on face-offs, taking and winning 15 of the 21 face-offs he took (as a team, Maryland won 17 out of the 23 face-offs). That was one of the big difference makers in the game and a key for the Terps. Nikk Davis tied things up with the first goal of the second half, but after goals by Travis Reed (who had quite the ballgame himself, scoring 4 goals and 1 assist, earning him player of the game honors), and Joe Cummings, the Terps would not relinquish their lead for the rest of the afternoon. Surprisingly, Maryland's EMO offense was 0-2, but the defense kept their hot-hand going, stopping Navy on 3 out of the 4 man-up chances the Mids got.

Kyle Kapron and Joe Lennon had hat tricks for Navy, but the Mids could not stop Maryland's attack. The midfield struggled to support the attack offensively, most likely due to the mid-week injury to Will Yeatman, but with Young getting 4 helpers in the game and Catalino and Reed both scoring at least 3 goals, the midfield didn't need to put up points on their own. If Maryland keeps this up on attack, they might not any kind of scoring from the midfield. Just solid defense. The groundball battle was dominated by the Terps. They had a 47-26 advantage. Captain Brian Farrell and junior All-American Max Schmidt both had 5 ground balls, and freshman Jesse Bernhardt had 4, tying a career high. Brett Schmidt held Navy's second leading scorer, Andy Warner to just one assist and one shot on the day. Brian Phipps had 10 saves between the pipes, and as usual, made plenty of point-blank saves that fans in College Park have become accustomed to seeing.


Phipps only needs 2 more saves to tie Pat McGinnis for 5th place on the all-time saves list in Maryland Men's Lacrosse history. He should easily reach that total Saturday, as the Terps head to Baltimore for their match-up with their biggest rival. Johns Hopkins and the Terps play at the home of the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium at 6:30 this Saturday. Be sure to listen to the game as wmuc brings you all the action on wmucpsports.com. Go Terps!

Maryland-Navy Preview

No time to look back and think about all the "what ifs" that happened in the heartbreaking loss against UVA. Maryland remains at #5 in the pools after consecutive losses...to the top two teams in the country. This game could have a couple major milestones for the Terps:

Brian Phipps needs only 4 more saves to become just the 6th goalie in Terrapin history to notch 400 career saves.

Grant Catalino [120 career points] can break out of his slump while moving up in the all-time scoring charts in Terrapin history...with another 4 points, he will tie Alan Lowe for 25th in UMD history.

The Naval Academy's strength has been in goal this year with sophomore/2nd year starter RJ Wickham. He only needs to more stops between the pipes to make it into the top-20 single season saves record book [he has 141 currently].

As for Navy, the story of the season has been the injury bug, and boy it bit them hard. Their best attackman went down with a torn ACL at the beginning of the season and that has really hurt their offense. Tim Paul's absence has had a huge effect on the Midshipmen and their offense.

Zack Schroeder and Jaren Woeppel, Navy's best long-stick middies have missed significant playing time this year, but will play in this physical match-up.

Both teams win less than 50% of their face-offs so Bryn Holmes and Jake Bernhardt will play a huge role as always. When Maryland gets the ball quickly in those situations and runs up and down the field, the offense looks like a work of art.

Patrick Moran has 6 hat tricks this year which is the third most in the nation. Navy has such a potent offense, nothing new to the Maryland defense. They have had to deal with some of the top attack and middies in the country their entire season so a huge burden will be on Farrell, Bohlander, and the Schmidts yet again. Defensively against UVA, the Terps were outstanding. After giving up a goal to the Wahoos the first time Maryland played a man-down, the D came up with 3 big stops in a row.

Last year, Yeatman and Young had two goals apiece for the Terps in the 10-4 loss. The Terps need to take advantage of a weak Navy defense and get into as many man-up chances as they can. They have the second best EMO conversion percentage in the country. Offensively and Defensively, Cottle has something special when the yellow penalty flags come out.

The midfield started off scoring at such a high rate and lately, that has been a problem. It would be good to see some more production from the middies, especially now that Yeatman might continue to start at attack. Against Virginia, he had 4 goals in his first game starting up top this season. Putting him alongside Catalino just seems unfair. They could be the two biggest offensive weapons in lacrosse, at least the biggest AND talented combined. If Ryan Young can continue to shake defenders out of their cleats, the offense can keep on rolling...and of course with Phipps in goal, the Terps are never out of a game.

That's all for now and until game time. Remember to listen to wmucsports.com to listen to the Navy game at high noon this Saturday at Byrd Stadium. Just click on the link and Listen Live! Go Terps!

Navy Season Preview

As shown on the upcoming games, the Naval Academy makes their way to College Park this Saturday for a 12pm game against your Maryland Terrapins. The Terps are 6-2 (1-2) on the season after dropping two straight contests, albeit they were to the top 2 teams in the country [a 9-6 loss at UNC two weeks ago, and this past Saturday's controversial 11-10 loss to UVA]. After going down 7-2 at half, the Terps started to slide better on defense and using their big bodies, picked their way through...literally...the Cavalier's defense exposing what some say is a glaring weakness for the team. Will Yeatman had a career high, 4 goals, but Grant Catalino was completely shut out. He has just 2 points in the last two games, although he still leads the team with 31 points.

Navy, 5-5 on the year including a 2-2 record in OT games, is coming off 2 extra time games. They took down Colgate in New York 10-9(OT) with a late 6-1 surge in the final 16 minutes of the game on March 27th. Senior middie Patrick Morgan had a hat-trick, and nailed the game winner just 1:37 into the overtime period. Similar to what Coach Cottle has been saying the last two weeks about his team's performance, Navy head coach Richie Meade said after the game, "We've been able to fight our way this season through the highs and lows and for that I am proud of our guys. But we've got to start playing an entire 60 minutes."

On April 3rd, the fell to #13 Georgetown (a team Maryland beat 15-13 earlier this season, which included a wild 7-goal run by the Terps after falling behind the Hoyas) 13-12(OT). Max Seligmann hit the game-winning shot for G'Town 52 seconds into the extra period. Navy never led in the game, yet scored 3 in a row to force overtime. Patrick Morgan had another hat-trick as well as Brendan Connors, and Andy Warner led the team with 4 helpers.

Overall, the offense is scoring 9.4 goals a game while their defense only gives up 8.4 each contest. They sport a .390 EMO conversion percentage, a far cry from Maryland's .607 percentage on those man-up chances which ranks 2nd in the nation. Navy's opponents have 56 more ground balls than the Midshipmen and they have been outscored 94-84 this season, but still remain a .500 team. Last year, Navy beat the Terps 10-4 as Maryland's play declined toward the end of last season...an unexpected result, but not as surprising as a win this week would be.

Morgan, Warner, and Connors all have at least 23 points on the season, Morgan with 20 goals through 10 games. Maryland has dropped 5 of the last 6 games to Navy after winning 11 straight games against their in-state rival. Navy is looking to boost their team with just their 3rd win (if they come out on top) against a team with a winning record, while the Terps are trying to win that elusive "state championship" (if they can win the next two games, they will have beaten the 4 main lax teams in the state). It means a lot for both teams, especially if the Terps want to build a little momentum before their game at Ravens Stadium on the 17th against Hopkins.

Make sure to tune in to wmucsports.com for the game! Go Terps!

Konica Minolta Big City Classic Preview

If you are in the New York/New Jersey area this weekend, you are in for quite a treat. The Konica Minolta Big City Classic will be held at the brand-spanking new Meadowlands, and most likely break the lacrosse-only crowd record of 22,000.

It will feature the top 4 teams in the country (with an additional game between University of Delaware against a little bit of local flavor with Hofstra before-hand at 2pm in a warm-up for the fans). #1 UVA will face off against #2 UNC for the ACC title presumably at 4pm [UNC already beat Duke and Maryland earlier this season and UVA just held off the Terps in another classic matchup. I would say that they have a good shot at defeating the Blue Devils if they prevail this weekend]. Virginia already won a 1v2 matchup this year on March 7th, beating the Syracuse Orange.

Since 2005, every time the two top-ranked teams in college lacrosse have faced off, an ACC school was part of the action. Just goes to show you that Maryland's last two losses can't be that bad as they sit at 6-2 (1-2). They are still #5 in the Inside Lacrosse Power Rankings and should be there in the other polls as well.

Syracuse and Princeton will be the other marquee mathcup as the #3 and #4 teams respectfully, tipping off at 6:30pm. Syracuse just joined Johns Hopkins as one of two programs with 800 wins [the Blue Jays define lacrosse with 896 wins in their storied history]. Princeton is in the driver seat to win the Ivy League title again, now that their All-American goalie, Tyler Fiorito, is back in top-form.

This should be one of the best weekends for lacrosse of the entire season. Maryland hosts navy at noon this Saturday at Byrd Stadium and they play their most fiercest rival, Johns Hopkins at M&T Bank on the 17th. Come out and support the team! Listen to the call at wmucsports.com. Go Terps!

Wahoos Trump Terps

UVA once again opened up ACC play with a thrilling 1-goal victory over the Maryland Terrapins. With poise and an incredible 6-0 run to start the game, the Cavaliers were able to withstand a couple late surges by the Terps and remain unbeaten this year and showed the country [another ESPNU game for Maryland and it was also on ESPN radio] why they were the #1 team in the country.

I was able to watch the game from the sideline right behind the benches as we tried sideline reporting for the first time this season. It was great to see how fast the game is from a coach's standpoint. Even making a simple substitution requires plenty of teamwork. I really enjoyed being so close to the action and getting a different view, instead of way up in the press box.

Personally, I would be surprised to see the Terps drop more than 2 spots after this loss. They stayed at the #4 spot after losing to UNC last week who was ranked #2 in the nation, and UVA looked twice as good in the first half.

Chris Bocklet had 3 goals to start the game off right for UVA. The Terps were slower and were not sliding very well on defense, and their ACC-rival took advantage. After the first period, it was 6-1 in favor of Virginia and it seemed as though there was a tremendous gap between the Wahoos and the rest of D-1 lacrosse. In fact, it appeared as though that gap was the size of the Grand Canyon after last week when they dismantled powerhouse Johns Hopkins 15-6.

But over the last 45:06, the Terps outscored UVA 10-5, but as goalie Brian Phipps says, "it took us a while to match their intensity and speed, we just got to come out from the start."

Coach Cottle said they were simply playing "at a speed we weren't used to at the beginning of the game...give them credit, they made some great plays early." But he reiterated the fact that they needed to come out and play hard for an entire game, just like they failed to do last week against North Carolina. "The thing I'm proud of is that our guys kept fighting, they kept fighting at the end."

The Terps slowed down the floodgates slightly in the 2nd as they held Virginia's attack, which was averaging over 14 goals a game coming into this contest, to just a single goal. Some shots bounced off the pipe and every groundball was going Virginia's way.

The second half looked much better after the first goal by Bocklet [his 5th game this year scoring at least 4 goals]. Maryland's unstoppable transition game started to pick up as Bryn Holmes and Jake Bernhardt starting winning faceoffs and the entire team picked the intensity up. From the sideline, you would have thought Maryland was ahead at half. They showed a ton of poise and never doubted their abilities, even when things got hectic in the 4th as both coaches had plenty of words for the refs.

Maryland cut the lead to 8-5, after a transition goal by Dean Hart. UVA responded like the #1 should with two quick goals, and then it was time for Yeatman and the Terps to take over. Yeatman notched a career high 4 goals in the contest, bruising his way through the defense. Steele Stanwick opened up the 4th with back-to-back goals [the sophomore attackman had 4 goals himself] before the final Terrapin surge.

Trailing by 5 after Stanwick's personal 2-goal run, Maryland got 2 goals out of their incredible man-up offense. Cummings and Young scored between the two EMO goals during a physical game. No love was lost between these two teams, as players hit the ground hard. Multiple double teams came just for checking and every player felt it. Feeding off the crowd, the Terps cut into the UVA lead 10-9 and were about to tie things up in the final 2 minutes. However, the refs made a....questionable call and waved it off as the team celebrated. Young was called for stepping into the crease, although the replays on the big-screen clearly showed that Young was outside the red line before he got the shot off. However, the game was still going on and Shamel Bratton scored the game-winner amidst the mass-confusion.

Who knows what would have happened if the refs swallow their whistle and let the players decide the outcome. Yeatman tried to will his team back getting his last goal to pull his team within 1 again. And to finish off the game with 8 seconds left, the Terps got a loose ball [after pulling Phipps for an extra defender] and Brett Schmidt tried to shoot with 3 seconds left but had his stick hit and the ball sailed over the goal.

After the game Phipps held his head high, but knew that his team had the game in their reach.

"We competed well in 3 quarters, 45 minutes of the game, we gotta bring out A-game for Virginia...there are no moral victories in lacrosse," said Phipps. Phipps had 16 saves in the game, keeping his team around and giving them a chance to win. He is now in sole possession of 6th place on the all-time saves list.

Maryland proved they belong in Final Four talks and are definitely in the upper-echelon of college lacrosse. If they bring their A-game for 60 minutes, they will be amazing and can beat anyone.

Next Saturday, the Terps are home again for an earlier game against Navy. Catch all the action on wmucsports.com. Go Terps!

Pictures from UVA Showdown - Part 2

Terps celebrate with each other after what appeared to be the game-tying goal during a furious 4th quarter comeback. Cutting a 10-5 deficit to just 1 goal, but the refs called off Young's goal because they thought the All-American stepped inside the crease (a violation in lacrosse).



All-American Ken Clausen forced Will Yeatman to get dirty for his points. Yeatman was physically superior in the loss with 4 goals and an assist.



Grant Catalino was shut out completely by UVA's defense, although the junior still leads the team with 31 points this season.

Pictures from UVA Showdown - Part 1

Bryn Holmes digs in against UVA FOGO (Face-Off Get-Off) specialist Brian McDermott.



7,636 Fans came to Byrd to support their Terps.



Maryland Comes Out Amped Up for the Night-Cap



Shamel Bratton, Rhamel Bratton, and Brian Carroll Warm Up