The Color Purple

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No, I'm not talking about the movie. I'm talking about the fact that this Saturday's game vs. Duke is a "Purple Out."

I know, I know. Purple Out doesn't have the same ring to it as Black Out or White Out, but it is for a much better cause.

Fans - Maryland or Duke it doesn't matter - are encouraged to wear purple to this Saturday's game in support of raising awareness to fight pancreatic cancer.

This is a cause that hit home last year when Maria Young, mother of Terp attackman Ryan and Duke midfielder Kevin, passed away due to complications from pancreatic cancer on April 17.

Maria's story is one that touched many and helped inspire the Terps last season. But, it doesn't matter that it was last season and this is this season. All of us associated with this program had their lives changed by Maria - her fight, courage and dignity.

This wasn't something that was going to be forgotten because the calendar changed and it's a new season. The Terps still wear the purple "MY" on the back of their helmets and will continue to do so.

I urge everyone to wear purple on Saturday to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer, which is among the deadliest forms of cancer, but is one of the least funded. According to the National Cancer Institute pancreatic cancer research has $97,136,974 in funding. That significantly trails breast ($631,228,554), prostate ($300,466,914), lung ($281,931,477), leukemia ($239,689,242) and others.

Now look at the estimated number of fatalities by cancer type be the American Cancer Society for 2012:
- All: 577,190
- Lung: 160,340
- Colon: 51,690
- Breast: 39,510
- Pancreatic: 37,390
- Prostate: 28,170
- Leukemia: 23,540
- Liver: 20,550

Lets band together to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer by wearing purple on Saturday. I'll have my purple on. Will you?

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Rewind: Georgetown

Talk about unexpected. Wow. A five-goal win wasn't how I imagined this one turning out. Neither was a 10-goal lead when Coach Tillman and the staff got some of the reserves some playing time with 4:25 to go in the fourth.

Why? Well, to be completely honest and pull the curtain back, Maryland did not have a very good week of practice. Some guys had a good week on the field, but for some it was a good day here, a bad day there. Not exactly what you want going into a big early-season game with a lot of new parts.

But somehow it worked out on Friday night at the Hoyas' Multi-Sport Facility. Maryland never trailed and was really never threatened when it took a 3-1 lead midway through the first quarter. The Terps extended their lead to three goals by the end of the first and Georgetown never again got it closer than that.

When you think back the game actually got off to a horrific start for the Terps as Curtis Holmes lost the opening face-off - GASP! Of course he would go on to win the next five in the first quarter to give Maryland a huge possession advantage, which might have been the difference in the game. In fact, Holmes won 11 of the first 13 face-offs in the first half. He finished the game going 15-of-27 for a winning-percentage of 55.6, but it was that first-half dominance that set the tone for the game.

Another huge factor was the play of the Terps' close defense. Georgetown's starting attack unit was held to a combined three points on one goal and two assists, but let's look at that a little bit closer. The goal was legit - an unassisted goal by Jason McFadden was the Hoyas' first of the game. But the two assists - one each from Travis Comeau and Zac Guy - shouldn't really be charged against the Terps' starting close D. Comeau's assist came on a man-up goal late in the third quarter and Guy picked up his assist on the game's last goal when Maryland's starters were already on the bench. Michael Ehrhardt, Brian Cooper and Goran Murray played a terrific game, individually and as a unit. Coach Kevin Warne has gone horse at practice at times, but these guys, along with the poles and the shorts, must have listened to him at some point and are playing Terrapin defense.

Want to know just how good Maryland's defense played on Friday night? Consider the fact that Niko Amato only had to make seven stops in his 55 minutes of action and the Terps had only given up six goals when he left the game. Maryland is going to need Amato to play big to win some games, but this wasn't one of them.

The saying is that big-time players show up in big games. With that in mind there wasn't a bigger player on the field than Joe Cummings. A few graphs up I said that some Terps didn't have a good week of practice, but Cummings wasn't one of those guys. In fact, he was one of the guys encouraging and pushing the others to be better and get better. He didn't just talk the talk vs. the Hoyas; he walked the walk. He was terrific with the ball, scoring a terrific unassisted goal to give the Terps a 2-0 lead early in the first. He was even better off the ball as he consistently freed himself from his defender for a quick shot. That didn't come as a surprise to his teammates who found Cummings nearly every time he cut to the crease. When Georgetown scored the final two goals of the first half to cut Maryland's lead to three goals and the Hoyas had all the momentum heading into the third quarter, it was Cummings who scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter to open it back up to a five-goal lead and squash any hope of a Georgetown comeback. In the end it was Cummings with a career-best six points on four goals and two assists. A big-time player stepping up in a big game, that's who Joe Cummings was on Friday vs. the Hoyas.

Finally on the Georgetown game, the Terps' midfield unit deserves a lot of credit. The six main offensive mids combined for seven goals and five assists. But they weren't just productive on the offensive end of the field. Those guys also hustled back on defense and held their own. That's huge for this team because it really limits opponent's opportunities in transition. The fact that all six of those mids can play in any combination doesn't hurt either.

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Back In Black

I'd be remiss not to acknowledge that the victory over the Hoyas came with the Terps wearing black jerseys. The last time Maryland even wore black jerseys was 2007 vs. Johns Hopkins. I haven't been around here long enough to know when (or if) the last time Maryland won a game donning black jerseys. If you know for certain then send me an e-mail.

For those that didn't see them, here you go:

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Tracking The Firsts

First Assist: Rustin Bryant

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Facebook Player of the Week

Each week fans vote on the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Facebook page for the Player of the Week for the previous week.