There's so much to get to in this NCAA quarterfinal edition of the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Blog, including a preview of the Terps-Blue Jays meeting, a history of "College Lacrosse's Greatest Rivalry" in the postseason, a lot of good moments from the Lehigh win with one being "the moment" for one Terp and we will finish with why everyone should find a way to wear some purple in Annapolis on Saturday.

Preview: Johns Hopkins

These two teams met just about a month ago and some things have changed, but most have not.

The biggest difference will be in the Blue Jay midfield where junior midfielder John Greeley is out due to a torn ACL suffered during Hopkins' 8-2 loss to Navy on April 21 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. I don't expect any Terp fans to feel sorry for the Blue Jays, especially since their top midfield line may have gotten even more effective since junior Lee Coppersmith has been moved up from the second line. In the three games the Blue Jays have played since the Navy game, the first line of Coppersmith, John Ranagan and Rob Guida has combined for 10 goals and three assists.

The other topic that I'm sure will be discussed in the Blue Jays' coaches' meetings is who will cover Owen Blye. In the April 14th meeting, Hopkins had its defensive ace, Tucker Durkin, on Joe Cummings, which allowed Blye to exploit his matchup to the tune of four goals - all in the second half. Meanwhile, Cummings finished the game with one assist and Durkin finished without a groundball and without a caused turnover. Who Durkin covers initially will be answered early, but whether or not he stays on that guy is something to keep your eye on.

Finally, this game may come down to which goalie plays best. Maryland's Niko Amato and Hopkins' Pierce Bassett are each All-America caliber goalies, but neither of them has played his best over the past three games. Bassett has a save percentage of just .358 over the Blue Jays' last three games (at Loyola, Army and Stony Brook), while his goals-against average is 11.46. Amato's numbers over his last three are better, but not by too much. Against Bellarmine, Colgate and Lehigh, Amato has a .431 save percentage with a 9.72 goals-against average. This won't be either goalie's first game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Amato has only played there once, allowing just four goals with four saves in the Terps' 10-4 win over the Midshipmen last season. Bassett has played at Navy twice and has yet to come home with a win. He played well, making 14 saves, but the Blue Jays lost to the Mids, 9-8 in overtime, in 2010. Earlier this season he made seven stops in an 8-2 loss to Navy.

Any way you look at it or try to break it down, the 109th meeting of "Lacrosse's Greatest Rivalry" will come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes and plays with the greatest amount of energy (more on that later).

The stakes would only be higher if this game was being played on Memorial Day. It certainly promises to be a terrific afternoon of lacrosse.

Maryland vs. Hopkins In The Tournament:

It has been 14 years since Maryland and Johns Hopkins have met in the NCAA tournament. Talk about a slow build. But, it's is finally here again and it gives us an opportunity to look at the history these two have made in the tournament, but fair warning - it's not all good for the Terps.

1972: The No. 1-seeded Terrapins, which had edged out Hopkins, 13-12 at Homewood during the regular season, dropped a 9-6 decision to the No. 4-seeded Blue Jays in Byrd Stadium in the tournament semifinals. Hopkins would go on to lose to Virginia in the title game.

1973: One of the most historic meetings in the series, the top-seeded Terps knocked off No. 2-seeded Hopkins, 10-9 in overtime, giving Maryland its first NCAA title. The difference proved to be freshman midfielder Frank Urso, who scored the game-winning goal, bouncing a 15-yard shot off of Blue Jay defender Bob Barbera past Hopkins goalie Les Matthews, who was screened on the play, at 1:18 of the OT. Urso told Sports Illustrated at the time, "I figured if I couldn't see him, then he couldn't see me."

1974: The two teams met for the third straight tournament and the second straight title game, but this time it was the Blue Jays winning their first NCAA title with a 17-12 win.

The two schools didn't meet again in the tournament until 1977, but the 1974 title game was the start of a seven-game winning streak for Hopkins over the Terps in NCAA tournament games.

1977: The two teams met in the semifinals in the most lopsided NCAA game between the two. No. 2 seed Hopkins beat No. 3 seed Maryland by 10 goals, 22-12. However, the tournament title would elude the Blue Jays again as they lost to Cornell, 16-8 in the finals.

1978: Hopkins, the No. 2 seed, topped third-seeded Maryland, 17-11 in the semifinals, but this time got over the hump and defeated No. 1 Cornell, 13-8, for the title. That win snapped a 43-game winning streak for the Big Red that dated back to the 1975 semifinals.

1979: Maryland and Hopkins met for the third straight tournament, but this time it was in the championship game. The Terps opened a 4-3 lead early, but it could have been much more had it not been for the efforts of Blue Jay goalie Mike Federico. Hopkins' defense pressed the vaunted Maryland attack, which was led by All-American Bob Boneillo, in the second quarter and the tactic worked as the Terrapins were held without a shot for 11 minutes. Meanwhile, Hopkins' offense found its groove, scoring five unanswered goals in the second quarter. The Terps closed the gap to 8-6 in the third, but the Blue Jays then scored three straight to put the game out of reach. Hopkins took home its third NCAA title, 15-9.

1981: This was the first time these two titans of the sport played in the opening round of the then eight-team field. No. 1 seed Hopkins topped No. 8 Maryland, 19-14.

1982: The two teams met again in the opening round. The only difference being Hopkins was the No. 2 seed and the Terps were the No. 7 seed. The outcome, however, was not different as the Blue Jays ended Maryland's season with a 14-9 loss.

1987: In what may be the most frustrating loss for the Terps in the NCAA series with the Blue Jays, Maryland was the top seed and faced the No. 4 seed Blue Jays in the semifinals. The Terps were undefeated going into the game and had beaten the Blue Jays 11-7 earlier in the year, which was the only game Maryland won by less than six goals. Hopkins was going through its first three-loss season in more than a decade, but a hot freshman goalie by the name of Quint Kessenich stifled the Terrapin offense, holding Maryland to a season low eight goals in a 13-8 Johns Hopkins victory. The Blue Jays would go on to beat another undefeated team, Cornell, for the title, 11-10.

1995: Maryland finally snapped Hopkins' seven-game winning streak with a dominating performance from its own legendary goalie. Brian Dougherty made 23 saves in the semifinal meeting with the undefeated No. 1-seeded Blue Jays, helping Maryland advance to the NCAA title game for the first time since 1979. Just like in 1987, it was a freshman that burst onto the scene in this rivalry, but this time it was Maryland freshman attackman Matt Hahn who put himself on the map with a hat trick in the 16-8 Terrapin win. Maryland eventually fell in the title game to No. 3 seed Syracuse, 13-9.

1996: For the first time ever, the two teams met with one coming off of a bye in the tournament. Maryland was the No. 2 seed and earned a bye into the quarterfinals of the 12-team field. Hopkins was the No. 7 seed and got past Notre Dame, 12-7, in the first round. In the end, momentum trumped rest as the Blue Jays got past the Terps, 9-7, with All-America defender Dave Pietramala anchoring the Hopkins' defense.

1998: This one marks just the second one-goal game between the two schools in NCAA tournament play and is the last time Maryland and Hopkins have met in the postseason. This time it was No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins coming off of a bye, while No. 5 seed Maryland got by Butler, 18-10, in the first round. Just like in 1996, momentum won out over rest as the Terps snuck through to the semis with a 10-9 win in overtime. All-Americans Scott Hochstadt and Matt Hahn combined to score seven goals in the first three quarters to help the Terps jump out to a 10-6 lead through three quarters of play. Hopkins wouldn't quit and scored four unanswered in the fourth to force the game into overtime. However, the Blue Jays would never even get a possession in the OT as the Terps controlled the ball for the entire 3:35. That's when Brian Zeller came around the left side of the cage and bounced a shot off of two Blue Jays and both pipes before going into the net to send the Terps to the semis with an 11-10 victory.

Rewind: Lehigh

I'm going to break this one down into a couple of categories to try to keep things a little bit organized.

Energy: I wrote about this last week in the blog and it proved true. If you didn't read last week's entry (shame on you), here's what I wrote: "Energy doesn't always come from the guys on the field. It often time comes from the guys on the bench; the one's who gave everything all week on the scout team knowing there wasn't a chance they would see the field (teams can only play 32 players in an NCAA tournament game). Those are the guys that can give the boost needed to get a team through a grinding game. If the bench can bring energy, passion and intensity then Maryland will be in a much better position to grind out a win in this game."

Yes, I wrote that five days before the game and I'll be darned if that wasn't exactly the way it played out (thereby proving that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while).

The Maryland bench was simply terrific, giving off the same kind of energy and enthusiasm that the 2011 team used to help propel itself to the title game. I wasn't the only one that noticed. Alums were all over the Twitter-verse tweeting about what they were seeing from the Terrapin bench. Here's just one from one of last season's captains, Brian Farrell: "Chills watching the @MDTerpsLacrosse sidelines". Even the aforementioned Quint Kessenich made mention of it in his breakdown of the first round games on InsideLacrosse.com: "The Terps goal celebrations on the sideline rival any I've seen."

But it wasn't just the bench that was energized. When the Terps scored a goal the offensive guys could be found near midfield celebrating with the defense. And the energy wasn't just when things were going the Terrapins' way. When the Mountain Hawks made their run and took the lead the guys on and off the field were encouraging each other. The offensive guys were letting the defense know they were going to make the next stop and the defensive guys were letting the offense know to keep shooting and the next one would go in.

Its an effort that was there the last time Maryland played Hopkins and needs to be repeated on Saturday in Annapolis if the Terps want to have a chance to move on to Foxborough.

First Midfield: Before I get into the first line's effort I want to recognize the second midfield of Kevin Cooper, Michael Shakespeare and Joe LoCascio, who played a tremendous game and scored a goal, had three key groundballs and caused one Lehigh turnover.

Now - the first midfield of Drew Snider, John Haus and Mike Chanenchuk were terrific and played like warriors.

Snider played like a guy who wasn't ready for his collegiate career to be over. The fifth-year senior scored two of his three goals in the fourth quarter to help the Terps erase an 8-6 deficit at the end of the third. But the goals were only part of the story as it is the "1" in the stat line under the heading "GB" that really stands out. When Owen Blye's shot with 1:29 left was turned away by Lehigh goalie Matthew Poillon (who stood on his head in this one, giving his team a chance to win) the ball was loose on the right side of the crease. Four Mountain Hawks had a crack at the groundball, but it was Snider, who knifed through the scrum and came up with it to retain possession for the Terps and eventually led to the final possession.

Chanenchuk has been on fire since going through a four-game goal-less streak and his effort on Sunday did nothing to cool him off. The redshirt sophomore had two assists, both coming on goals by Snider, including the first of his two goals in the fourth quarter, and a goal. That goal was exactly what we expected when Chanenchuk agreed to become a Terp. The original play looked to be going nowhere and he made a quick move down the right alley to get enough space for him to rip a shot around his defender and inside the left pipe where Poillon had no chance of stopping it.

Haus' stat line isn't one that would stand out to anyone, but stats often don't tell the whole story. Haus was a threat the entire game and that eventually wore down the Lehigh defensive midfielders. Twice he broke through the Mountain Hawk defense and got off two great shots only to be victimized by equally great saves by Poillon. If you watch the replay the early slides Lehigh used in the first three quarters were not as quick to get there in the fourth and that could be because of the effort Haus showed throughout the games, wearing down Mountain Hawk defenders.

Maryland's Version of MJ: It's one of the most memorable moments in all of sports in the last 25 years (it's true - #79 on ESPN's 100 Most Memorable Moments of the Past 25 Years). On June 11, 1997 Michael Jordan scored 38 points, including hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 25 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. And Jordan did it with flu-like symptoms stemming from a bout of food poisoning. Flash forward to Sunday's Maryland-Lehigh game and there was Brian Cooper, who played the game despite having a 101-degree fever. Not only did Cooper play, but he played well. He was matched up with Lehigh's Adam Johnston, who came into the game with 22 goals and three assists. Cooper held Johnston to just two shots and his lone goal was the fluky play that saw Johnston's original behind-the-back shot hit off the "post" (upon further review it looks like it deflected off of Niko Amato's stick) and bounce straight up into the air. Somehow the ball got through all of the sticks waiting for it to come down and bounced with some spin back to Johnston, who circled around the cage to the left side. Johnston then took advantage of the confusion in front of the goal and score the goal. That one play accounts for both of the shots Johnston got off in the game. Not a bad game for Cooper all things considered.

Cummings Gets His Moment: Since I've been with this program (and certainly long before I got here, but I don't remember them since I wasn't here) there have been certain moments that have happened that will always be associated with a player - both good and bad (but we won't go into the bad). A few of them include:

- Max Ritz's jumping put-back game-winner in the 2005 ACC semifinals vs. Virginia in M&T Bank Stadium

- Andrew Schwartzman's overtime game-winner vs. Georgetown in the 2005 NCAA quarterfinals at Princeton.

- Joe Walters' seven-point game at Johns Hopkins that included a Terrapin record six goals vs. the Blue Jays.

- Brian Farrell barreling down the field and scoring one-handed at Johns Hopkins in 2008.

- Ryan Young's leaping game-winner at Duke in the 2011 ACC championship game a week after his mother, Maria, passed away after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

- Grant Catalino's low-to-high rip from the right wing that beat No. 1 seed Syracuse, 6-5 in overtime, in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals in Foxborough.

Up until Sunday Joe Cummings had plenty of great games as a Terp. That's easy to see since he was tied for 35th on the all-time points list with 107. But he hadn't had his "moment."

Well, that can't be said anymore.

When Snider picked up that groundball with 1:26 to play there was Cummings in the far left corner of the box, calling for the ball. He wanted it. If Maryland lost that game his career was going to be over and no one was going to decide this game but him if he had any say about it.

Cummings got the ball with roughly a minute to play. Blye went behind the right side of the cage with :40 left to run a play, but Cummings just waited. It wasn't time yet.

The clock continued to tick and the Mountain Hawk defenders were kind of bouncing in place, waiting for something to happen. Sophomore defender Lukas Mikelinich was on Cummings and he kept looking back to his teammates.

The clock continued to tick down.

Finally with :20 left on the clock Cummings made his move.

He faced up with Mikelinich and started his dodge. Snider took his defender behind the cage and never really set a pick, but it worked anyway. Maryland got the switch it wanted and now Cummings was staring down junior short-stick Noah Molnar.

Cummings took the ball around the right side of the cage and immediately knew Molnar took a bad angle and he had the inside. Molnar's desperation over-the-head check got nothing but air and the slide by sophomore defender Ty Souders was late and his check missed Cummings entirely.

That left Cummings with just one obstacle. Poillon had been terrific all game, turning back many quality shots, including several from point-blank range.

But this was Cummings' moment.

Poillon was ready and tried to hold the pipe and exploded to match Cummings' stick with his own. Cummings, however, didn't shoot to the wide area of the net where Poillon's stick was waiting. Instead, Cummings snuck the ball over Poillon's left shoulder and into the net for the game-winner with 0:06 showing on the clock.

The sideline erupted. Celebrations ranged from simple fist pumps to some getting some decent air under their feet to one (who will not be identified) doing his best drum major impression up the sideline.

But in the end the "moment" belonged to one player, who is to humble and team-oriented to even acknowledge it. For him it was the team's "moment".

Wear Your Purple on Saturday

Last season, the Maryland lacrosse family helped raise awareness to pancreatic cancer through the more than three-year fight of Maria Young, mother of Terp senior Ryan Young.

Maria's strength and courage in her fight with pancreatic cancer was a source of inspiration that lasted even after she passed away on April 17, 2011.

This season, Maryland players continue to help raise awareness for the fight against pancreatic cancer with purple "MY" stickers on the back of helmets and the coaching and support staffs continue to wear purple shirts on the sideline.

Unfortunately this season Maryland got some company in its fight with pancreatic cancer in the lacrosse world.

Marianne "Mandy" O'Sullivan lost her battle with pancreatic cancer on March 11, 2012. She is the mother of Loyola junior midfielder Sean O'Sullivan.

The Greyhounds have rallied around O'Sullivan in the same fashion the Terps embraced Ryan Young a year ago (and continue to embrace him). Loyola wears purple ribbons on the back of its helmets with "Mandy" underneath.

I encourage everyone to add some purple to your outfit on Saturday to help raise awareness for the fight against pancreatic cancer. This disease doesn't care if you're a Terp or a Blue Jay or a Greyhound or a Pioneer. This is one opponent everyone can agree needs to be defeated.

Wrapping Up

That's it for this week and I hope you made it through all of that. I know this thing seems to get longer and longer each week, but somehow this team and this program always seems to give me something to go on and on about.

Tickets for this weekend's NCAA quarterfinals are on sale now through the Maryland ticket office either on-line or by calling at 1-800-462-TERP (8377). All seats are general admission for Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and are priced at $20 for adults and $15 for youth 18 and under, as well as University of Maryland students with valid ID.

I hope to see a sea of red, black and even some purple in the stands in Annapolis on Saturday.

The Saturday quarterfinal games have been moved to ESPN2, so more than 99 million homes will be able to tune in to watch the Terps and Blue Jays, as well as the Loyola-Denver game. The games will also be available on ESPN3.com and through the WatchESPN app for mobile devices.

Of course, updates will also be available on the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to "Like" and "Follow" those.

As always - "Be The Best!"

Bracket Breakdown

With a big run to end the season, Maryland garnered the third overall seed in this year's tournament.  For a rundown of this year's bracket, here's a link to Baltimore Sun reporter Kathy Dunn's take on the tourney field.  There appears to be more parity than ever in the game and this year's bracket is a direct reflection of that.

Tracking the Terps

Current players have made lots of waves on Maryland's leader charts this season. 

Here is a link to the most updated career and single season records.

You'll notice Alex Aust is a mere 10 helpers away from tying Jen Adams' record for assists in a single season at Maryland.  Aust is also two points away from the 10^th highest total on the Terps' single-season points list. 

Katie Schwarzmann is climbing the single-season goals chart for the Terps, currently ranking 10^th with 63.  The 2012 ACC Offensive Player of the Year is seventh in career goals at Maryland with 161.

Karri Ellen Johnson sits at No. 2 (232) and No. 4 (291) on Maryland's career goals and points lists, respectively.

Last, but not least, kudos to Iliana Sanza for being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday!

See you Saturday!

Preview: Lehigh

A lot of times there is a lot of history to draw upon when it comes to Maryland's opponents. There is some history between Maryland and Lehigh, but its ancient history.

The series dates back to 1924 - the very first varsity season of men's lacrosse at Maryland. Lehigh is one of just four teams to win the first game of a series with Maryland, winning 3-0 in 1924.

The two teams played in 1925 and 1926 with Maryland winning both games, 5-3 and 7-3, respectively. The last time the two schools met was 1928 and Maryland took that one by a final of 15-2.

The last time these two programs met neither school had the nickname it currently has. Until the early 1930's Maryland's athletic teams were the Old Liners, while Lehigh changes its nickname from the Engineers to the Mountain Hawks in 1995.

That was interesting, but not particularly relevant to this week's game, so let's get to some nuts and bolts.

Lehigh is one of the elite defensive teams in the nation. Want proof? The Mountain Hawks rank second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 6.63 goals per game. Lehigh allowed opponents to reach double-digits just three times in 2012 and two of those were to Colgate, which ranks second in the country in scoring offense and happens to have the game's most dynamic offensive threat in Peter Baum (more on him in the brief rewind of the Colgate game). The other time Lehigh allowed a team to score 10 or more goals was way, way back on Feb. 18, in a 17-7 loss to Villanova.

Some will say you can't take those games away, but to them I say - "Why not?" So ... if you take those three games away and just say they were aberrations then Lehigh has allowed just 64 goals in the remaining 13 games, which averages out to 4.92 goals per game.

I'd say that qualifies as an elite defense. Wouldn't you?

What makes them so good? I can't really say I've seen a lot of Mountain Hawk games this season, so here is what ESPN's Quint Kessenich had to say in his "Breaking Down the NCAA First-Round Matchups" column on Inside Lacrosse: "They slide to ball carriers the moment they step off the bus. Maryland ranks only 35th in assist ration; you must handle double teams to beat Lehigh."

So it looks like good all movement and solid stick skills by Maryland's offensive players may be the key. One thing I noticed last weekend at Colgate, which put up 11 and 14 goals, respectively, in two games vs. Lehigh this season, was that the Raiders' stick skills were terrific. Passes were crisp and in the spots they needed to be in. That's the type of execution (tip of the cap to Eamon McAnaney on the execution reference) the Terps will need to be successful this weekend in Bethlehem.

Numbers can be crunched to support the argument that's being made, so take this with a gain of salt and I will be the first to admit there is a bit of a Catch-22-type of thing going on with this stat. (If you're not familiar with Joseph Heller's satirical masterpiece and his tale of Captain John Yossarian, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy for some beach reading this summer.)

With that disclaimer aside: Lehigh is the No. 2 defense in the country and no one can say otherwise, but the average scoring offense rank of the teams the Mountain Hawks played in 2012 is 32.4. That is also brought down a bit by playing Colgate (#2) and Army (#25) twice each. If you take out the second games vs. the Radiers and the Black Knights then the average jumps to 35.1. The Catch-22 comes in if you're willing to admit that one of the reasons Lehigh's opponents' scoring averages are low is because they faced the Mountain Hawks. (Again - read Catch 22 and it will make sense.)

Fair is fair, so let's look at the Terps under the same microscope. Maryland's defense is ranked 9th in the nation, giving up 7.86 goals per game. The scoring offense average of Terrapin opponents this season is 22.4. Applying the same principle that I did with Lehigh, if you take away the second game vs. Duke (#14), the scoring average rank increases only slightly to 23.0.

What does all of that mean? It means if you like a defensive battle then you're likely to love this one. This is the only first round game that features both teams ranking in the top 10 in scoring defense. The only other first round pairing that is close is Virginia-Princeton, which finds the Cavaliers at No. 11 defensively and the Tigers at No. 6.

One thing Maryland learned last season during its run to the NCAA title game is that having a freshman goalie isn't necessarily a detriment. That's something Lehigh hopes holds true for it this season, as the Mountain Hawks have freshman Matthew Poillon in between the pipes. One thing about having a freshman goalie is that there really isn't a lot of film on him, meaning there's less tape out there from which to pick up his tendencies. One thing is true for every goalie though - if you can make the opponent take the shots you want them to take the chances of making a save is much better. Lehigh seems to do a very good job of putting Poillon in situations where he's comfortable with the shots he facing.

Another factor in the Mountain Hawks' defensive success is ball control. Junior faceoff man Ryan Snyder is winning 51.0% of his draws. He has won 132 faceoffs this season and has 92 groundballs (I know there is a likelihood that not all of them are on faceoffs, but the majority of them probably are.), which means he is winning most of the faceoffs to himself to the tune of 69.7 percent. Unlike the Colgate faceoff man, who similarly liked to win the draw to himself, Snyder's numbers don't paint him as an offensive threat (1 goal on 19 shots, 1 assist). That means he's probably the quintessential FOGO and is more interested in possession of the ball, which in what figures to be a low scoring game is everything.

Offensively the numbers for both teams are comparable with a slight edge to the Terps. Maryland averages 10.9 goals per game (#16), while Lehigh is putting in 10.5 goals per game (#20).

Breaking down the numbers a little bit doesn't really help. Lehigh's starting attack has a total of 109 points on the season, while Maryland's has totaled 93 points. The Terps' first midfield is a bit more potent than the Mountain Hawks with a 68-58 edge in points. The one area that Maryland may have an advantage is in transition scoring by short stick Landon Carr and long pole Jesse Bernhardt, who have combined to score seven goals and added five assists this season.

This game is going to be one of those grind-it-out types of games. It is quite possible that the outcome could be decided as much by the players who aren't on the field as the one's who are on it.

Right now many reading this might be saying to themselves - "Huh? What the heck does that mean?" I'll tell you.

When the game is a grind many times the team with the most energy is the one that finds a way to make the key play, pick up the tough 50/50 groundball or make the big save. Energy doesn't always come from the guys on the field. It often time comes from the guys on the bench; the one's who gave everything all week on the scout team knowing there wasn't a chance they would see the field (teams can only play 32 players in an NCAA tournament game). Those are the guys that can give the boost needed to get a team through a grinding game. If the bench can bring energy, passion and intensity then Maryland will be in a much better position to grind out a win in this game.

Preview: The First Round

If you're still reading this give yourself a hand because that was a long preview of a very important game. I promise the breakdown of the other games will not be as in-depth, but we'll go around the first round here.

#1 Loyola vs. Canisius: The semi-regular trip of the MAAC champ to the No. 1 seed has not ended well for the MAAC champ. Since the tournament field expanded to 16 teams in 2003, the MAAC champ has played the top seed five times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011). The aggregate score of those five games is 83-20 in favor of the No. 1 seed. The MAAC winner is 0-10 in the tournament since 2003. The Greyhounds are, obviously, very good and will come ready to play. Loyola, which missed the tournament last year, is making its fourth NCAA appearance under head coach Charlie Toomey, but is still looking for its first NCAA tournament win since 2001.

#8 North Carolina vs. Denver: The Pioneers were the upstarts a year ago, making it to the Final Four in the second year of Bill Tierney's head coaching tenure in the Rocky Mountains. This is the fifth trip to the dance for Denver, which is 2-4 all-time in tournament games (two of those losses coming to Maryland). This one might be the opposite of the Maryland-Lehigh game with both teams ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense. North Carolina is the No. 8 seed for the second-straight season and is making its sixth-straight trip to the dance. The Tar Heels have to be ecstatic with its draw in the bracket simply because there are no other ACC teams in their path to the Final Four, which they have not been to since 1993. In UNC's last five tournament appearances the Tar Heels have been eliminated by a fellow ACC team four times (three times by Duke, once by Maryland). The only time the Heels were taken out of the tournament by a non-ACC team since 2007 was 2008 when Navy upset Carolina in Chapel Hill in the first round.

#5 Virginia vs. Princeton: Two of lacrosse's premiere programs are paired up for a first round game in Charlottesville. These two teams have combined for 10 of the 42 NCAA championships and have met for the title twice (1994 and 1996) with the Tigers coming out on top on both occasions. The Cavaliers have not lost a first round game since 2007 (a stunning loss as the No. 2 seed to Delaware), while the Tigers are back in the tournament after a one-year absence. Princeton has made it out of the first round just twice in its last four tournament appearances (2006 - losing to No. 2 Maryland in the quarterfinals and 2009 - losing to No. 5 Cornell in the quarters).

#4 Notre Dame vs. Yale: The Fighting Irish was the odds on favorite for the No. 1 seed before they lost to St. John's in the Big East tournament semifinals. Notre Dame boasts the nation's stingiest defense, allowing just 5.92 goals per game. The Irish might seem offensively challenged (50th in scoring offense, 8.31 gpg), but they play to their strengths and a slow, slugfest suits them just fine. The Bulldogs own the nation's second-longest winning streak, winning their last nine games, including beating Cornell and Princeton in the Ivy League tournament to secure the league's automatic bid. This one may not be the most "television friendly" first round game, which is probably why it is in the 5:15 p.m. timeslot on Mother's Day. Got dinner reservations?

#3 Duke vs. Syracuse: The Orange were all but dead and buried after losing back-to-back games vs. Georgetown and Notre Dame in late April. But Syracuse stormed past Villanova in the Big East semis and stopped party-crashing St. John's in the finals to earn the AQ and make it into the tournament for the fifth-straight season. Duke was another team that could have made a claim for the top seed, but a loss at Denver in its regular season finale ended that. Of course it may be better for the Blue Devils to avoid the top seed. Duke was the top seed in 2007 and 2008 and lost to Johns Hopkins both times. The Blue Devils won their only national title in 2010 as a No. 5 seed, topping Notre Dame in the title game. These two teams met earlier this season with the Blue Devils taking a 12-10 decision at the Big City Classic in MetLife Stadium. This time Syracuse will have to head to Koskinen Stadium where Duke is 36-5 since 2009.

#6 UMass vs. Colgate: This one could be the track-meet game of the first round. The undefeated Minutemen are No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense, while the Raiders are No. 2. This game also features two of the country's top offensive players in UMass' Will Manney and Colgate's Peter Baum. Neither of these teams get a lot of national TV coverage during the season, so this will be many lacrosse fans' first look at these two, which are ranked No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, in points per game this season. UMass didn't play a team in the NCAA tournament field, so this will be a bit of a measuring stick for the Minutemen. UMass head coach Greg Canella has tournament experience, taking the Minutemen to the title game in 2006 (I'm still trying to forget how they got there, as I'm sure many Terp fans are).

#2 Johns Hopkins vs. Stony Brook: Prior to this year there have only one school made the tournament with a losing record since 2003 (Providence in 2007). This year has two with Canisius (6-7) getting top-seeded Loyola and the Seawolves (7-9) drawing No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins. Just like things don't look promising for the Golden Griffins, Stony Brook is just as big of an underdog. The Blue Jays are making their 41st consecutive tournament appearance and have never lost a first round game at Homewood Field since the tournament expanded in 2003. The only first round game since the 16-field came into existence was in 2010 when Hopkins was sent to Durham, N.C., and lost 18-5 to the eventual NCAA champion Duke Blue Devils. 2010 was the last time Stony Brook made the field and the Seawolves beat Denver in the first round before falling to No. 1 seed Virginia, 10-9.

Home Sweet Home

Congratulations are in order for you - the Maryland men's lacrosse fans, family and alums - and to Katie Thompson and her staff in the Maryland athletic marketing office. The Terps finished the 2012 regular season with the fifth-highest home attendance average among Division I teams. Maryland averaged 3,334 fans over its seven-game home schedule. Here's how the top five shook out:

1. Syracuse (6 games) - 4,447
2. Virginia (7 games) - 4,018
3. Navy (6 games) - 3,378
4. Ohio State (8 games) - 3,364
5. Maryland (7 games) - 3,334

Ohio State's numbers were bumped thanks to 19,213 fans in attendance for its game vs. Air Force on April 21, which happened to be played prior to the Buckeye's spring football game, which featured the coaching debut of Urban Meyer. Ohio State averaged 1,099 fans for its other seven home games.

Navy's season average was boosted by 11,917 in attendance for the Mids' 8-2 victory over Johns Hopkins in their final home game. Navy's average in its other five home games was 1,670.

Rewind: Colgate

This one will be quick.

The Raiders played inspired lacrosse on their Senior Day, while the Terps made too many mistakes, both physical and mental.

That being said, Maryland had a 9-7 lead late in the third quarter and had all of the momentum on its side. That is until an ill-advised pass on a clear found the stick of Baum, who had a clear path to the goal. Just like that the Terps were up one with 39 seconds left in the third. Maryland won the ensuing faceoff and it looked like at the very worst the Terps would go into the fourth up by a goal. But, as these things have a tendency to do, a blocked shot by Colgate with 12 seconds remaining turned into a transition opportunity for the Raiders, who scored with two ticks left on the clock. Just like that it was Colgate with all of the energy and momentum heading into the fourth quarter and the Raiders outscored the Terps, 4-2, over the game's final 15 minutes to take the 13-11 win.

Maryland didn't play its best lacrosse and still had a chance to get a road victory over a very good Colgate team. That says something about this Terrapin team, but it also says that these Terps are not good enough to make mistakes against top teams and still win. This is a lesson Maryland has to learn if it's going to make any kind of run in the NCAA tournament.

Final thought on this one - Peter Baum is the real deal. I don't know if he will with the Tewaaraton Trophy (last year at this time everyone thought it was a lock it was going to Cornell's superman Rob Pannell, but some tournament magic by Virginia's Steele Stanwick left an impression on the voters and it was Stanwick holding the trophy in the end), but I do believe he is among the top players in the game. He doesn't have any holes in his game. He can go with either hand (take note young laxers) and shoots with power and accuracy going in either direction. He can create shots for himself off the dodge or create opportunities for his teammates, which is aided by tremendous stick skills and pinpoint passing. He's also a former midfielder, who can take close defenders out of their comfort zone by dodging them from the top of the box. Maryland had a good defensive game plan for Colgate and focused a lot on Baum. Freshman Goran Murray did an admirable job, but a player like Baum is going to get his points and has a knack for being in the right spots at exactly the right time.

Wrapping Up

That does it for the first round edition of the Maryland men's lacrosse blog. As I was finishing this up, news came across my desk that the game vs. Lehigh is already sold out. Tickets for the 2,000-seat Ulrich Sports Complex were only on sale for 24 hours before being sold out.

I've gotten a few e-mails about why the game isn't being played in the 16,000-seat Goodman Stadium, where the Mountain Hawks play their football games [edited 5/9] and according to sources Lehigh submitted a bid to host a day game with the idea of playing it in Goodman Stadium, which does not have lights. The NCAA, with input from ESPN (or vice versa) decided to make the game a 7:30 start, forcing the game to be played in the Ulrich Sports Complex, which has lights. Regardless of where the game is going to be played, Maryland will have to be ready to play smart, focused lacrosse for 60 minutes in order to have any chance for a win.

If you're among the lucky ones to get tickets, I look forward to seeing you proudly wearing your red and black in Bethlehem, Pa. If you weren't able to get tickets or just couldn't make the trip, the game (and every first-round game) will be broadcast on ESPNU. The games are also available online at ESPN3.com or if you're away from home you can download the WatchESPN app and watch it on your wireless device.

As always, updates will be available via the Maryland men's lacrosse Facebook and Twitter pages, so "Like" and "Follow."

Be The Best!

LAX-ETOLOGY

The Terps moved up to fourth in both the IWLCA/Under Armour and Inside Lacrosse/deBeer polls this week after topping Georgetown on Senior Night and also racking up their fourth straight ACC title with a big win against North Carolina last Monday.

Here is a breakdown of the latest RPI rankings (released April 25, 2012):

1.  Northwestern            

2.  Syracuse       

3.  Maryland      

4.  Florida            

5.  North Carolina            

6.  Massachusetts           

7.  Notre Dame

8.  Duke               

9.  Towson         

10.  Virginia        

11.  Penn State 

12.  Loyola (MD)              

13.  Cornell         

14.  Penn            

15.  Navy             

16.  Dartmouth 

Maryland has earned a highly-coveted, top-four seed in each of the last four seasons and has advanced to the final four three consecutive years.   Ironically, if the bracket was released today and went strictly by RPI rankings (which it seldom ever does), the Terps would face Penn, a team they dropped in the quarterfinals in 2010 en route to the national championship.

Fans can watch the selection show at 9 p.m. Sunday night on NCAA.com. First round action kicks off Saturday, May 12.

SHOWING THEIR PRIDE

Maryland unveiled its PRIDE uniforms in a 19-5 rout of Virginia Tech April 14 at Ludwig Field  The Terps also sported the new uniforms in a statement victory against Georgetown last Wednesday.

Here are a few stats on the Terps, who appear to be peaking at just the right time heading into the upcoming NCAA tournament, since revealing the PRIDE uniforms.

-          Maryland is 5-0 since the unveiling of the PRIDE uniforms

-          The Terps are outscoring opponents 79-35 in that span

-          The offense is boasting 15.8 goals per game

-          Katie Schwarzmann has tallied 16 goals

-          Alex Aust has posted 19 assists

-          Brittany Dipper has allowed only 30 goals

-          The Terrapin defense has allowed only 11 goals in the first half

-          Maryland has defeated three opponents ranked in the top 15 nationally

-          Oh yeah, and the Terps tallied their unprecedented fourth straight ACC championship

For anyone who's confused about the layout of the new uniforms, check out some notes from Under Armour on the detail and design:

-          Inspired by characteristics specific to the Maryland state flag and the University of Maryland... the jersey numbers, and cleats all feature a custom Maryland flag print on the women's uniforms.

-          The PRIDE uniform pays homage to the special Terrapin lacrosse heritage and to those who have taken the field as a TERP since the beginning of the lacrosse program.

-          The PRIDE uniforms represent a mix of old school pride and new school innovation

-          Made with Under Armour's signature HeatGear fabric, this jersey wicks moisture, has strategically placed ventilation, and a customized fit so athletes have zero distractions on the field.

A special thanks to Inside Lacrosse for featuring the PRIDE uniforms and gear in this week's Gear Zone. 

Preview: Colgate

No one will forget what happened the last time these two teams met. In case you weren't around (or actually did forget, which if in fact happened - shame on you), the Terps were coming off of a roller coaster week a year ago, winning the program's first ACC tournament title since 2005 with wins over UNC and Duke, and then busing up to Long Island to attend Maria Young's funeral the next day (she passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer on April 17, a week before the ACC finals).

Maryland was physically and emotionally weary after that eight-day span, but appeared ready for a Senior Day game vs. the Raiders after an open week the Saturday after the ACC tournament.

Colgate came to College Park after a loss to Bucknell in the finals of the Patriot League tournament and was playing for its postseason life, figuring a win over the Terps would be enough of a boost to get the Raiders an at-large berth.

In the end, the Raiders pulled off the upset they needed, topping Maryland, which was playing without two of its leading scorers in Grant Catalino and Joe Cummings, who each suffered broken fingers in the ACC finals, 10-8.

Maryland never had the lead in the game, but battled back from a 6-3 halftime deficit to tie the game at 8-8 late in the fourth quarter. But Colgate's main man, Peter Baum, lifted the Raiders to the win, assisting on the go-ahead goal with 2:12 left and then scoring the insurance tally at the 1:14 mark.

The result saw the Terps drop from a likely seeded team with a home game in the first round of the tournament to not getting a seed and heading to the No. 8 seed North Carolina in the opening round. The win was bittersweet for the Raiders, who despite the win over the 6th-ranked Terps were still left out of the tournament field.

Fast forward one year and some things are different and yet eerily similar.

The Terps, with a win, are a reasonable candidate to get a seed and a home game if they should pull off the win over Colgate. The Radiers are again coming off of a loss in the Patriot League finals (this time to Lehigh, 16-14) and would bee much more confident about securing an at-large berth with a win over the Terrapins on their dossier.

One big difference for the Terps will be that they will have their full compliment of players going into this year's meeting. Last season, Catalino and Cummings were tied for the team lead in goals with 24 apiece and accounted for nearly 25 percent of the team's total offensive production. Neither team is going to be 100 percent healthy going into the game, but Maryland will not have to play this one without two of its top offensive players.

But this will be no easy game. Colgate is for real and one main reason why is Baum, who is currently leading the NCAA in points per game (5.73) and goals per game (3.93). As a team, the Raiders are second in the nation in scoring offense with 13.6 goals per game, which trails only Robert Morris, which is putting up 14.29 goals per game. Maryland is no slouch in offensive production, coming in at No. 15 in scoring offense (10.92 gpg), but the difference could be the teams' defensive units. The Raiders are 29th in scoring defense, allowing 9.67 goals per game, while the Maryland defense is eighth in the nation, giving up just 7.46 goals per game.

If you're looking for one key area to watch on Saturday (and if you get Time Warner Cable Sports you'll be able to watch the game live) it will be the faceoff X. Teams need the ball to score goals, so how the Terrapin combo of Curtis Holmes and Charlie Raffa matchup with Colgate's Robert Grabher will go a long way in deciding this one. Grabher is winning 56.9 percent of his draws with many of those going to himself (he's 2nd in the nation in groundballs per game with 7.93).

NCAA Tournament Field Revealed Sunday

The 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed live on ESPNU on Sunday, May 6 at 9 p.m. The Terps, as we talked about above, could potentially be a top-eight seed and would receive a bid to host a home game on the weekend of May 12-13. Details will be available on umterps.com following the bracket being released.

A couple of things to remember when watching the show, which should save a lot of headaches:

1. The polls don't mean anything. So forget about everything that's been put up all season about who are Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. None of that means a thing come tournament time. Look at it this way - a grand total of six coaches cast votes in this week's USILA coaches' poll. SIX! Not exactly a wholesale sample.

2. There are seven automatic qualifiers and nine at-large bids which make up the field of 16. Only one of the seven AQs has been awarded (congrats to Lehigh) with the remaining six to be settled this weekend in conference tournaments (America East, Big East, CAA, ECAC, Ivy and MAAC). The NEC does not have an AQ in its first season as a lacrosse conference, but that is set to kick in next season, which means if the current format stays in place there will be only eight at-large slots.

3. Remember the "Pirate Code" in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Consider the published NCAA selection criteria in the same manner - more of guidelines rather than hard and fast rules. So, should UMass go undefeated it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Minutemen could be seeded anywhere from No. 1 to No. 8. Don't laugh; it has happened before. You only have to go back to 2009 when an undefeated, but largely untested Notre Dame team was seeded seventh (Terp fans surely remember how that turned out). You can also look at 2007 when an undefeated Cornell team was seeded fourth behind Duke, Virginia and Johns Hopkins, which combined had a total of nine losses. The Big Red made it to the Final Four before losing to the top-seeded Blue Devils in one of the best tournament games of recent memory.

4. Game times are set by television. This is no longer the regional "Mom & Pop" sport that gets by with all of its games at 1 p.m. The growth of the sport and increasingly positive television ratings mean that ESPN will have its say on which game is played on which date. Schools can request not to play at certain times or to play on either Saturday or Sunday depending on other events on campus, final exams, etc., but that doesn't always work out. I distinctly remember 2007 when Coach Cottle was on the NCAA selection committee. When he left Indianapolis Maryland was slated to play the noon game on Saturday. When the bracket was revealed the Terps were playing in the 7:30 p.m. game on Sunday and the Duke-Providence game was kicking off the tournament on ESPN. If you think back to what was going on with the Blue Devils in 2007 you can figure out why ESPN wanted them to open its tournament schedule. In case you're wondering, the first year the entire tournament was broadcast on the ESPN family of networks was 2006, so the two-day buffet of lacrosse is a relative new phenomenon.

One last thing on the bracket - a tough road doesn't mean impossible and there are no easy paths. Last year the Terps were sent on the road to play UNC with a game vs. No. 1 seed Syracuse with its "Super Seven" ahead of the winner. Maryland rolled over the Tar Heels and took down the Orange in OT to advance to the Final Four. Then there's 2007 (yes, that year again). The Terps were the last game of the first round, playing UMBC in the Sunday night game. Earlier in the day No. 2 seed Virginia was upset by an Alex Smith-led Delaware team, which meant that all Maryland would have to do to get to its fourth Final Four in five season was beat the Retrievers and then take on the unseeded Blue Hens in Annapolis. Funny thing happened - UMBC, with a svelte and vociferous Kevin Warne roaming the sidelines, snapped an eight-game losing skid to the Terps with a 13-9 win. Delaware went on to beat the Retrievers, 10-6, in the quarters before going on to the Final Four in Baltimore and losing to eventual NCAA champs, Johns Hopkins, 8-3.

Rewind: Bellarmine

A much happier "Senior Day" than a season ago, as seven Terps closed out their regular season home careers with a 12-7 victory over the Knights.

A lot of times "Senior Day" becomes a showcase for one of the underclassmen, as it is an emotionally charged day for the seniors, who often are unfocused and otherwise distracted by pregame festivities. That certainly wasn't the case on Saturday. Joe Cummings turned "Senior Day" into his own personal showcase as he tied career highs with six points, four goals and two assists. It was also a good day for fellow senior, Michael Shakespeare, who tied his career high with two goals. Drew Snider also chipped in with a goal, while David Miller was effective in his role as a short-stick d-middie. The other three seniors - MJ Leonard, Pat Morrison and Tim Shaeffer - were all solid in supporting roles.

Midway through the third it looked like the Terps would pull away in this one, but Bellarmine showed it can score, putting up four-straight to make it a 10-6 game early in the fourth. Again it was the seniors stepping up as Shakespeare and Cummings responded with fourth-quarter goals to put the game away.

One big bright spot for Maryland was the faceoff play of junior Curtis Holmes and freshman Charlie Raffa, who combined to win 15-of-23 draws with 11 groundballs between them. The Terps will need to get consistent faceoff play as the season winds down and this could be the game that propels Maryland's duo to better results in May.

Rewind: Mount St. Mary's (or JC gets to 100)

Not a heck of a lot to say about this one, except for the milestone Cummings reached with his fourth point of the night. With that third quarter goal he became just the 38th player in the 87-year history of Maryland men's lacrosse to reach 100 career points.

This one probably snuck up on a lot of people. Throughout his career Cummings has always been a team-first kind of player and never worried about putting up gaudy numbers. For his first three seasons he played out of position, filling a need at midfield, while creating matchup nightmares for opponents. The result wasn't always points for him, but Cummings' presence cutting through the crease from the midfield created many of those "time and room" shots that Catalino and Travis Reed canned from 2009-11.

A time like this allows me to think back to one of my favorite memories of Cummings. In 2009, Maryland was unseeded in the NCAA tournament and was shipped out to play at No. 7 seed Notre Dame, which entered the tournament with a perfect 15-0 mark. The Irish's offense featured one of the top crease attackmen in the nation, Ryan Hoff. At the time, Cummings was listed as the fourth attackman on the Terps' depth chart, but his role that week was to play Hoff on the scout team. It was a role he played extraordinarily well. Hoff was held without so much as a shot in the game, while Cummings scored the Terps' second goal of the game, ironically on a play he ran as the Irish scout team as Hoff. He came off a screen and cut through the crease where Will Yeatman hit him with a pass from behind the cage. On that day in South Bend, Ind., Cummings proved to be a better Hoff than Hoff was.

Rewind: Duke (ACC Semis)

This one seems like a long time ago, but this is the first chance to go over things. I won't go into this one in a lot of depth, but here are a few things that stand out from this one.

1. There were two really unexpected goals that really cost the Terps. The opening goal by Duke's CJ Costabile came just six seconds into the game and caught Maryland a bit flat-footed. It goes to prove that you can't relax even for a second. Most probably thought the first faceoff was going to be a scrum, but Costabile pushed it clean and the result was a clear shot. The goal at the end of the second quarter was one of those "What the heck just happened!" moments. No one was expecting the ball to come out of the scrum with the velocity and accuracy that Josh Dionne got on it. Even after watching the replay several times it's still hard to believe it happened that way. Hindsight is always 20/20, but you have to wonder how things would have turned out his one of the Terps had just bulldozed the pile and was whistled for a loose ball push. The Blue Devils would have had the ball with a second or so to go and could still have scored, but the chances would have been very low. Of course, the chances of Dionne doing what he did were astronomically low.

2. I usually break this one out once a year and this seems like a good time to paraphrase Mark Twain - "The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated." That must have been what Mike Chanenchuk felt like after scoring twice vs. the Blue Devils. That snapped a four game scoreless skid for Chanenchuk, who came into the season with near unreal expectations heaped upon him by many outside the program. Many people forget that Chanenchuk didn't play at all last season and wasn't with the team in the fall. Couple that with an injury that limited him in the preseason and it totals nearly two years without playing organized lacrosse for Chanenchuk. His shot looks to be rounding into shape and as his health has improved, so has his play. Since that four-game skid, he has scored in three straight games and is shooting nearly 30 percent in Maryland's last three games.

3. The two best long poles (there really isn't an argument about this, so there's no point in putting the "arguably" in front here) in the nation were on the field for this one and at times it seemed like a pair of gladiators battling in the arena rather than two lacrosse players going for a groundball. Jesse Bernhardt and Costabile showed the nation (or whoever turned in to the ESPNU broadcast) why they are the best at their position. Costabile wasn't credited with a caused turnover, but the havoc he created turned into a number of Maryland's eight turnovers. Bernhardt was credited with four caused turnovers. His tenacity was on display late in the fourth quarter as the Terps trailed by two goals. Bernhardt chased any Blue Devil with the ball with under three minutes to play and forced the ball to the turf twice and finally picked up the loose ball which led to Cummings' goal at the 2:09 mark to make it a one-goal game. If young players want to see what it means to play long pole they should head over to ESPN3.com and watch this one before it's gone.

Wrapping Up

That wraps up the return of the blog, but hopefully there is still a long way to go before this season is over.

One thing we do know is that the regular season finishes on Saturday at Colgate. The game is being broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports, but coverage seems to be limited to New York areas. Game updates will also be available on the Maryland men's lacrosse Facebook and Twitter pages. Like and Follow to get updates sent to you no matter where you are.

One last thing - VOTE for JOE! Don't forget to vote today and every day for Joe Cummings for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Click here to vote! You can also vote on your smartphone to double up your vote every day.

As always - Be The Best!

So much to get to this week, including a preview of this week's game vs. Duke at the ACC tournament and remembering the life and legacy of Maria Young, but there's really only one place to start ...

Rewind: Johns Hopkins

Any time Maryland beats Johns Hopkins it is a memorable game. Beating Hopkins at Homewood Field makes it a little more memorable. Coming from three goals down in the third quarter and shutting the Blue Jays out for nearly the entire second half puts it in a handful of classic Maryland wins over Johns Hopkins.

The game couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. Before the capacity crowd even had a chance to settle into their seats, Hopkins jumped out to a 2-0 lead and Maryland looked like it didn't have an answer for the Blue Jay offense.

Then a funny thing happened - the Terps settled things down, didn't panic and went to work. The defense followed its game plan and didn't allow another first quarter goal. Kevin Cooper beat his defender and connected on a jumping left-hander to put the Terps on the board with less than 1:30 to play in the first. A mental mistake by the Blue Jays and a heady play on a quick restart by Landon Carr led to a transition goal for Maryland's offensive-minded short-stick defensive middie and just like that the game was tied 2-2 going into the second.

The second quarter wasn't the best 15 minutes Maryland has played this season and the Blue Jays opened a three-goal lead by scoring the first three goals of the quarter. The Terps didn't get on the board in the second until 54 seconds remained on the clock, but Billy Gribbins' goal managed to quell Hopkins' momentum going into halftime.

Or at least it appeared that way. Hopkins came out of the break and scored 43 seconds into the third to up the lead back to three.

Of course that's when the dramatic music starts to play and thunder rolled through the sky signaling something epic was about to happen - Cue the comeback.

That's how it would have happened if this were the movie version, but in truth, nothing like that happened.

In fact, it wasn't even your typical lacrosse comeback.
There wasn't a big scoring barrage. There wasn't the "make it, take it" spurt of goals to tie the game and take the lead. There wasn't a plethora of game-changing saves by the goalie that keyed transition opportunities.

This was a slow comeback - a building comeback, which probably played to Maryland's advantage. There really wasn't a big knockout-type run that Hopkins could try to answer with one of its own.

It didn't even start immediately after that third-quarter goal by Chris Boland. There were two Blue Jay possessions and one Terrapin possession in between Boland's goal and the start of Maryland's 6-0 run.

Maryland didn't score until 9:04 left in the third, but that was the spark that started things and it really lit a fire under Owen Blye, who scored four times in the game-deciding run. While Blye scored the goal, it was Mike Chanenchuk's pass that was so perfect that Blye had all day on the crease. Blye ended up making six fakes on JHU goalie Pierce Bassett before beating the Blue Jay low.

The case could be made that the run truly started at the 7:17 mark. Roughly 30 seconds earlier, Bassett made his lone save of the second half, stopping a shot by John Haus. Hopkins cleared the ball, but Jesse Bernhardt caught Lee Coppersmith near the restraining line and Bernhardt was relentless and seemed to will a turnover. Coppersmith coughed up the ball, Goran Murray scooped it up and a minute later Blye scored his second of the game.

Blye scored again on a play that no one who was there or watched on TV will forget. As Blye came around the left side of the crease from behind the goal, Hopkins defender Robert Enright got tangled in the netting and pulled the goal onto its side. Blye's shot crossed the goal line and the officials, who looked as confused as the rest of us for a second or two, raised their arms to signal the goal was good and the Blue Jay lead was down to one.

It was another six minutes before the Terps tied the game at 6-6 on Michael Shakespeare's step-down shot from the right alley.

The fourth quarter didn't start with a roar. In fact it started with turnovers on the first five possessions of the quarter. The final of those five was a big moment in the game. Hopkins freshman Wells Stanwick appeared to score to give the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead and end a scoring drought of 24:23. But, he was ruled to be in the crease and instead of a one-goal lead, Hopkins was playing defense, which led to Blye scoring his third of the game and giving the Terps their first lead of the game.

One goal is hardly a secure lead, especially with the offensive firepower of Hopkins and the fact that the Blue Jays were controlling the faceoff X.

Mike Poppleton won the ensuing faceoff for JHU and Maryland's Michael Ehrhardt was whistled soon after for a slashing call that put the Blue Jays in tremendous position to tie the game and gain some momentum.

Enter the unlikely hero.

Hopkins was only able to control the ball for 18 seconds of the extra-man opportunity due to the quick stick of Terp man-down specialist Emmett Cahill, who prior to Saturday had just two groundballs and two caused turnovers in 12 career games. He made those totals three and three when he picked off a lazy pass by Boland. Maryland killed the penalty without a shot by Hopkins and cleared the ball to set up its own offensive set.

That's when Blye curled around the right side of the cage and scored his third unassisted goal to give Maryland an 8-6 lead.

The Terps would tack on the extra-insurance goal with one of the finest displays of transition lacrosse any team has shown this season. JHU's John Ranagan tried to play the lone ranger through the middle of the Terps' defense, but Murray was there to make the strip and John Haus picked up the tough groundball in traffic. He made a good outlet to Bernhardt, who had instinctively broke up the field. Bernhardt, showing stick skills that are usually not seen by a long pole, faked to draw the slide and moved the ball to Joe Cummings at the point. Cummings, who is known for his off-ball and finishing skills, looked like the prototypical feeder, making the "one-more" pass to Cooper, who curled around the right side of the crease and finished the play easily. It was picture-perfect transition lacrosse that took nine seconds from turnover to goal.

One last thing - Here's what former Hopkins midfielder and current lacrosse analyst for ESPN and Inside Lacrosse, Mark Dixon had to say about the game in his Tuesday Takeaway's column on InsideLacrosse.com: "Something you just don't see every day. This one left the Blue Jay faithful downright angry. Down 6-3, the Terps stormed back on one of the best defenses in lacrosse on the road at a venue that is very difficult to play in to take a 9-6 win. Maryland closed the game out with a 6-0 run that was both efficient and surprising considering the fact that Hopkins seemingly had control of the contest and owned the faceoff battle. After a Chris Boland goal with just over 14 minutes left in the third quarter gave Hopkins a 6-3 lead, the Maryland defense clamped down and held the Blue Jays without a goal for the final 29-plus minutes. LSM Jesse Bernhardt was a force, hounding the Blue Jay middies all over the field and selling out on each and every hustle play. Goran Murray looked faster and more aggressive than he has all season, while Brian Cooper and Michael Ehrhardt were impressive on groundballs. The offensive star was attackman Owen Blye. With four goals on the night, the junior etched his name in Hopkins-Maryland lore with a smooth performance. When Maryland plays with emotion and purpose they are incredibly difficult to beat."

Maryland Pride

This section will have something to do with the uniforms, but something else first.

One of the great things about a win like that is that it's not just the current team and players who take pride in it. Many, many alums emailed or tweeted after the game, congratulating the team, the coaches and just expressing how good it felt to be a Terp on Saturday.

Here are a few I wanted to share:

Ira Hochstadt ('71): "I felt the pride 3000 miles away in Cali as I watched the Terps' big win. Even got the 'under the chills under my skin'. Keep it going the weekend in the ACCs. 'Be the Best.' We believe in you."

Scott Hochstadt ('99): "Lots of proud Terps out on the West Coast!"

Ed Mullen ('76): "WOW!!! What a great, tenacious display. Even us old guys could relate. Beating Hopkins at Hopkins. 29 minutes of no stinking drum beat was awesome. Congrats to coaches, players, alum, and fans, you made us all proud. Go Terps! PS, my daughter loved the uniforms!"

Jim Ellis ('84): "Watched it with a Hopkins Graduate. That made it even sweeter! Way to go guys it was awesome to watch. Like Mull's said no damn drum beating."

Willy Passavia ('03): "Great win tonight!!! Great night to be a Terp!"

Bill Sbarra ('67): "Tremendous win TERPS ! Lots or passion, pride and guts by TERP players last night !!!! Brought back great memories- Byrd Stadium- May 20th 1967 - TERPS 9 - Hopkins - 5. That win gave us a National Championship in 1967. VERY PROUD TO BE A TERP!"

Curtis Roundtree ('84): "Sweet win,Terps! And I loved the uniforms. MARYLAND PRIDE!"

Speaking of the uniforms - The men's lacrosse Maryland Pride uniforms made their debut Saturday night and the results were overwhelmingly positive. Here are a few photos.

The response was so positive (and expectedly so) that replica jerseys are on sale now at the Terrapin Team Shop in Comcast Center and online by clicking here.

The replicas are available in #31 in youth and adult sizes and the legendary #21 of Frank Urso, which hasn't been worn since 1976. What an incredible chance to honor a Terrapin legend and bring some Maryland history to a whole new generation of Terp fans.

Remembering Maria Young

One year ago today, April 17, the world lost one of its bright lights when Maria Young succumbed to pancreatic cancer after a heroic nearly four-year battle.

Maria has continued to be and will continue to be a huge inspiration for this program. She lived her life and fought her disease in the same manner that the Terps strive to play: with heart, determination, passion and with a purpose greater than one's self.

You only have to look to the sidelines at every Maryland game to see the coaching staff wearing their purple polo shirts or their purple "Forever Young" shirts. Even last week at Hopkins, with the team decked out in their Maryland Pride uniforms, the staff was easily spotted in their purple garb.

I wrote about Maria's story last year shortly after her death and you can read that account here: Forever Young.

In memory of Maria and the continuing fight against pancreatic cancer, the Maryland men's lacrosse team and its parents are asking all fans to wear purple this weekend at the ACC tournament in Charlottesville. Fans love to wear their team's colors to show their support for their school, but this is a cause that affects everyone and in this effort we are all on the same team.

Maria's Legacy Lives

As a parent myself, I can only hope that I raise my son to be a good, honest and kind man. That was what Maria wanted for her three sons and in the following story, which was told to me Monday morning, you can see she succeeded.

Last Saturday at the Hopkins game a young Terp fan was standing near the rail by the Maryland bench. He was yelling and screaming and cheering for his Terps.

One of the Maryland faithful (I won't say who, because I did not hear this from her), who has been with the program for a long time, approached this young man, who was fervently rooting for the Terrapins.

One thing she noticed was that this young fan was wearing a Maryland No. 27 jersey, which he said he had gotten last year at the Final Four at M&T Bank Stadium. She asked if he knew whose jersey that was and he replied it was Ryan Young - his favorite player.

With what I can only imagine was a sly smile, knowing what was about to happen, she asked if he would like to meet Ryan, who was in attendance cheering on his former teammates.

The boy's eyes grew wide in amazement that he would have the chance to meet his favorite Terp and she took him over and introduced him to Ryan.

Ryan was so gracious with his time and he proceeded to talk to this young fan and when Ryan asked the boy if he wanted him to sign his jersey the young fan turned and asked anyone within earshot, "Anyone got a pen!"

After signing the jersey and other items for the boy, Ryan talked a little more before each of them went back to cheering for the Terps in the 9-6 comeback victory over the Blue Jays.

Maria fought her cancer so hard because she wanted to make sure her sons grew up to be fine men. After hearing about how Ryan handled the young Terp fan at Homewood Field I think its safe to say she accomplished her goal and her legacy will live on through her sons and how they live their lives.

Taking The Time Makes All The Difference

That story isn't the only one this week about a Terp taking time out for the fans. Despite being at his side nearly every moment from the time the postgame handshakes were over to entering the locker room (except for a minute I spent discussing events that transpired near the end of the North Carolina with league and school officials), I didn't even know Maryland head coach John Tillman found the time to do this.

Here's the email I received on April 16:

"A few weeks ago my family and I decided to drive up to Chapel Hill for the MD - UNC men's lacrosse game. Both by sons are lacrosse players and huge MD fans since that is where I went to school. After the game we bumped into Coach Tillman and he stopped and spoke with us for a few minutes. I wanted to see if there was any way I could let him know how much I appreciated that and the impression it had on my kids. He spoke with both of them for a few minutes and encouraged them to keep playing lacrosse.

"My kids have not stopped talking about it and now don't miss a game when they are on TV. Please let Coach Tillman know how much I appreciate that he took the time for my kids."

Even in the aftermath of the on-field fight near the end of the Carolina game, Coach Tillman took the time to spend a few moments with a father and his kids, who traveled to the game from Georgia.

Preview: Duke

There isn't a hotter team in the country than Duke, which has won eight consecutive games heading into this Friday's rematch with the Terps.

You know the names. With Jordan Wolf, CJ Costabile, Dan Wigrizer, Josh Dionne, Robert Rotanz, Christian Walsh, Justin Turri (and many, many more), the Blue Devils field their own little All-America team.

If you look at the stats this is truly a "David vs. Goliath" matchup.

- Duke features four players with 20 or more goals, while the Terps have just two players on their roster with 20 or more points this year.

- The Blue Devils have two players facing-off at better than 54% that have taken more than 100 draws. The Terps are less than 50% as a team this season.

- Duke has won its last two ACC games by a combined 10 goals. Maryland, vs. the same two ACC foes, lost its last two conference games by a combined five goals.

With all of that it would be easy to just chalk this one up as a Blue Devil win, make the reservations in Charlottesville for just one night and focus on Mount St. Mary's on April 25.

But as a former Maryland football coach is known for saying ... "Not so fast my friend."

While Duke is 26-2 vs. Virginia and North Carolina since 2005 (thanks to @DixonLacrosse), the Blue Devils are 5-7 vs. the Terps during that same span. If you close the time window a little more, Maryland holds a 5-1 edge in the series since 2009, which is when the current seniors (fourth-year guys) started their college careers.

With that being said, keep in mind what you hear or see on every financial services advertisement: "Past Results Do Not Guarantee Future Performance."

This one promises to be a terrific lacrosse game and the good news for lacrosse fans is that for the first time all three games of the ACC tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU. So come up with a cough, have a "doctors appointment" or just take the afternoon off and find a way to get in front of a television set at 5 p.m. on Friday. Or if you can, make the trek to Charlottesville and watch the games in person. Advance tickets are available by clicking here.

Tis The Season

With the weather warming up and the lacrosse seasons (youth, high school, etc.) in full swing it's probably time for those looking to take their games to the next level and there's no better way to do that then at the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Summer Camps, Tournaments and Clinics.

For all of the information, including how to register online, go to: umterpslax.com.

Support Your Terps: Join The Faceoff Club

The commitment of the Terps and the Terrapin coaching and support staff is matched only by the commitment of the thousands of Maryland alums and fans. But attending games and cheering on your Terps are not the only things fans can do to support Maryland men's lacrosse.

The Face Off Club gives alumni and fans a way to support the Terrapins financially by directly donating to the Maryland men's lacrosse program.

A variety of goals and giving levels are outlined in the Face Off Club brochure, which can be accessed through the newly redesigned TerrapinClub.com.

Alumni Reunion Reminder

Calling All Terps! This year's Alumni Reunion is set to take place on April 28 at the Bellarmine game.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and will take place in the President's Suite in Tyser Tower at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. Alums must RSVP to the event in order to be admitted to the suite. Click here to RSVP today.

Wrapping Up

That wraps up the longest blog I can remember writing (6 pages, single-spaced in Word if you're wondering), but there was so much to get to and probably more that I didn't get to.

I hope to see a lot of Red and Black at Klockner Stadium this weekend, but if you can't make it you can catch all of the ACC tournament action on ESPNU. Eamon McAnaney, who probably won't have Joe Cummings facing-off this weekend, and Quint Kessenich, who might have to turn in his Blue Jay alumnus card after being so complimentary of the Terps last Saturday, are on the call.

Game updates will also be available on the Maryland men's lacrosse Facebook and Twitter pages. Like and Follow to get updates sent to you no matter where you are.

That does it for this week's blog.

One last thing - VOTE for JOE! Don't forget to vote today and every day for Joe Cummings for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Click here to vote! You can also vote on your smartphone to double up your vote every day.

As always - Be The Best!