COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Head coach John Tillman leads the Maryland men’s lacrosse team into the 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Terps will take on No. 1 seed Duke in the first game of the semifinal doubleheader at 5 p.m at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The second semifinal game features No. 2 seed Virginia battling No. 3 seed North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. The winners of the two games will meet in the finals on Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m.

• Maryland (7-3, 1-2 ACC) is coming off of an 9-6 come-from-behind win at then-No. 3 Johns Hopkins last Saturday at a soldout Homewood Field. Maryland trailed by three goals less than a minute into the third quarter, but the Terrapin defense didn’t surrender a goal to the Blue Jays over the final 29:17. That allowed the Maryland offense to stage a comeback, which was led by Owen Blye, who tallied all four of his goals in the decisive 6-0 scoring run. Kevin Cooper was the only other Terp with multiple points with three on two goals and an assist.

• For the season, Joe Cummings leads the Terps in points, goals and assists with 28, 17 and 11, respectively. Six other Terps have totaled double-digit goals so far: Blye (14), Billy Gribbin (13), Michael Shakespeare (13), Jay Carlson (11) and John Haus (10) Defensively, Amato has stopped 58.6 percent of the shots put on goal by opponents and has a 7.15 goals-against average. Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt leads the team with 37 groundballs and 18 caused turnovers.

• The Blue Devils are 11-3 on the year and have won their last eight games after dropping back-to-back decisions at Maryland and Loyola in early March. This season Duke is led by sophomore attackman Jordan Wolf, who has 50 points on 26 goals and 24 assists. Junior Dan Wigrizer has started nine of the Blue Devils’ 14 games in cage, including the last six, and has a .547 save percentage and an 8.68 goals-against average.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 88 of the 96 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .916 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 106-23 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .822 winning percentage.
8 … This will be the eighth meeting between the Terps and the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament semifinals.
7 … The Terps are ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering just 7.6 goals per game.
6 … The Terps have shot 30% or better in six of their seven wins in 2012.
5 … John Haus has five goals in ACC tournament play.
4 … In four career games vs. the Blue Devils, Niko Amato has a .655 save percentage.
3 … Three Terps (Joe Cummings, John Haus & Drew Snider) have at least four career goals vs. Duke.
2 … Maryland has played in the last two ACC tournament championship games.
1 … This will be the first time Maryland and Duke have met in the semifinals of the ACC tournament since 2004.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 40-27 career record for a 59.7 winning percentage. Tillman is 20-8 (.714) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Duke’s John Danowski is in his 30th season as a head coach and holds an all-time record of 310-161 (.658). He is in his sixth season at Duke and has a 91-22 (.805) record with the Blue Devils.

• Tillman has a 5-3 career record against Duke while coaching at Maryland and Harvard, all against Danowski. His first win vs. the Blue Devils came in the 2009 season opener at Harvard. The Crimson upset No. 5 Duke, 9-6, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham. Since becoming the Terps’ head coach, Maryland has defeated Duke, 11-9, in the ACC championship game at Koskinen Stadium, 9-4, in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and then again in the 2012 regular season, 10-7, in College Park.

Series History vs. Duke
• Maryland and Duke have played 78 times. The Terps hold a 59-19 edge (.756) in the series that dates back to 1940. Maryland’s 58 wins against the Blue Devils are the most against any opponent.

• The Terps raced out to a 4-0 lead halfway through the first quarter and coasted to a 10-7 victory over No. 8 Duke at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. Drew Snider led the Maryland offense with a hat trick. Niko Amato was spectacular in cage, making nine of his 14 saves in the fourth quarter.

• The stakes were much higher in the 2011 rubber match as unseeded Maryland defeated No. 5 seed Duke, 9-4, in a tough, physical game in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Grant Catalino led the offensive attack for the Terps with three goals, while Joe Cummings added two goals and an assist. The Terrapin defense was terrific in holding the Blue Devils to just four goals with Niko Amato making 13 saves to send the Terps to their first NCAA title-game appearance since 1998.

• The 2011 rematch took place again at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium, but this time the stakes were a bit higher – the ACC championship. This time it was the Terps coming away with an 11-9 victory to take its first conference crown since 2005. Ryan Young scored the first game-winning goal of his career when he jumped in the air to redirect a John Haus pass from behind the cage. Grant Catalino earned tournament MVP honors after scoring three goals vs. the Blue Devils in the title game.

• For the second time in two years the Terps and the Blue Devils needed overtime to decide things, but in 2011 in Durham it was Duke that pulled out a 9-8 victory on freshman Jordan Wolf’s game-winning goal 1:01 into the first OT. The Blue Devils held a 7-4 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but four-straight goals by Landon Carr, Michael Shakespeare, Joe Cummings and John Haus, who finished with three goals in the game, gave Maryland a one-goal lead with 3:48 to go. Maryland appeared to have the game wrapped up in the final seconds when Carr forced a Blue Devil turnover, but a controversial holding call gave Duke another chance and Zach Howell scored with 0:03 left to send the game into overtime. Both goalies were sensational in the game with Maryland’s Niko Amato making 19 saves and Duke’s Dan Wigrizer stopped 17 shots.

• The 2010 meeting will go down as one of the most memorable in the series as the Terps pulled out an 11-10 overtime victory at the 2010 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Grant Catalino was the star of the game for the Terps, netting a career-best five goals, including the game-winner. Duke scored the final three goals of regulation to send the game into OT and then controlled possession for all but eight seconds of overtime, but that’s all the Terps needed for Bryn Holmes to cause a turnover, Brian Farrell to scoop a groundball and Dean Hart to push the transition and find Catalino on the left wing for the game-winning shot. Senior goalie Brian Phipps made 15 saves in the win.

• Maryland won an 11-8 decision over the Blue Devils at the 2009 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Jeff Reynolds was the key factor for the Terps in the victory. He scored a goal and had an assist, but he won three key face-offs that led directly to goals that spurred Maryland onto the win. Grant Catalino had six points on two goals and four assists, while Ryan Young had five points on a pair of scores and three helpers.

• In 2008 the Blue Devils defeated the Terps, 15-7, in Durham, N.C. Travis Reed totaled three goals for the Terps in the defeat.

• The 2007 meeting was the first road game for the Blue Devils since their 2006 season was cancelled. Duke responded with a 14-7 victory behind a six-goal, seven-point effort from Matt Danowski. Max Ritz led the Terps in the game with a three-point effort on two goals and an assist.

• The 2006 season saw the rivalry escalate even more as the teams entered the game ranked first and second in the nation. The game more than lived up to the hype as the two squads battled and needed overtime to decide the victor. In that overtime, Xander Ritz sent the Terps home with the 8-7 win after scoring his fifth goal of the game with 1:14 remaining in the first extra period.

• In 2005 the two teams played three times with the Blue Devils winning two of the three games. It was the second time in the series the two squads played three times in a season. In 1992 the two teams played in early March, again in the ACC Tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland won all three games that season.

• In the 2005 NCAA Semifinals, Duke ended Maryland’s season with a 18-9 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill McGlone gave the Terps a 1-0 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with nine unanswered goals and took a 10-3 lead into halftime. Joe Walters scored three times in the third quarter, but Maryland could not close the deficit.

• In 2005′s ACC Final, Maryland turned in its finest defensive effort of the year. The Terps held Duke, the nation’s highest scoring offense, scoreless for more than 40 minutes en route to a 9-5 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 1. ACC Tournament MVP Harry Alford made 15 saves on the afternoon, while freshman Will Dalton helped the Terps control the ball on face-offs, winning 7-of-10 draws. Offensively Maryland was led by All-American Joe Walters who scored his second straight hat trick vs. the Blue Devils, while adding an assist. Freshman attackman Max Ritz also chipped in a pair for goals in the victory.

• The 2005 regular season game saw Maryland dominate Duke at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, but the Blue Devils found a way to get out of College Park with a 10-8 victory. All-American Joe Walters scored a hat trick for the Terps, but Duke outscored Maryland 6-3 in the second half to secure the win. Michael Phipps scored two goals and added an assist for his second career three-point game.

• The Terps dominated the series from 1955 through 1988, winning all 27 meetings.

• The teams have met four times in the NCAA Tournament with Maryland winning 13-11 in 1992, Duke retaliating 14-9 in 1994, and the Blue Devils taking the 2005 match-up 18-9. Maryland took the most recent NCAA meeting, 9-4, in the 2011 Final Four in Baltimore.

Maryland vs. Duke In The ACC Tournament
• This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Terrapins and the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament. Each team enters this season’s game with five victories.

• Maryland and Duke met in the semifinals in the very first ACC tournament in 1989 with the Blue Devils edging the Terps, 7-6, in Chapel Hill. The two teams didn’t meet again in the tourney until 1992, when the Terrapins evened things with an 8-6 victory at home in the semis.

• The 1997 semis saw the Blue Devils win, 17-10, in the highest scoring tournament game between the two schools.

• The two teams played each other in six-straight tournaments from 2000-05. During that span, each team won three times, including one victory each in the championship game (Duke in 2001 and Maryland in 2005).

• After that six-year run, Maryland and Duke did not meet again in the tournament until last season when the Terps defeated the Blue Devils on their home field, 11-9, to claim their first ACC title since 2005.

League-Best Four Terps Named To All-ACC Team
• Maryland placed a league-high four players on the 2012 All-ACC Men’s Lacrosse Team, which was announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Senior attackman Joe Cummings and sophomore goalie Niko Amato made the team for the second-straight season, while junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and junior midfielder John Haus are first-time selections.

• All four ACC men’s programs are represented on the annual All-ACC team, which was determined by a vote of the four head coaches. Maryland’s four honorees were the most by any school. Duke and Virginia each had three selections, while North Carolina had one player make the team.

The Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 41 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 23-18 (.561) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps will have at least four games (at UNC, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkis, at ACC tournament) Maryland will play on ESPNU in 2012.

BALTIMORE - A dominating defensive performance and four goals from junior Owen Blye propelled the No. 10 Maryland men’s lacrosse team to a 9-6 victory over No. 3 Johns Hopkins in the 108th meeting of Lacrosse’s Greatest Rivalry Saturday evening in front of a sold-out crowd at Homewood Field.

The victory lifts Maryland to 7-3 on the season, while Hopkins stands at 9-2.

The first quarter started off rocky for the Terps as the Blue Jays took an early 2-0 lead, capitalizing on some saves by Hopkins goalie Pierce Bassett. Rob Guida scored the first for JHU less than three minutes into the quarter. Lee Coppersmith upped the lead to 2-0 at the 11:41 mark with an unassisted goal.

But Maryland used a patient offense and clamped down on the defensive end to stay within striking distance and the Terps closed the quarter with two scores in the final 1:23 to tie the game heading into the second.

Junior Kevin Cooper put Maryland on the board with a terrific jumping left-hand shot from the right alley. He took the ball from Blye and Cooper then beat Guida to the inside and slipped the ball inside the near pipe.

The Blue Jays had the ball with the clock winding down, but they stepped out of the box after a stall warning was issued giving the ball to the Terps. Junior Landon Carr picked up the ball for the quick restart and raced down the right side of the field. He pulled up and beat Bassett low from 14 yards out to knot the score with just 20 seconds left in the quarter.

Hopkins regained the lead at the 10:34 mark of the second when Greg Edmonds scored from the right side.

Sophomore Niko Amato made a save on a John Ranagan shot, but a turnover on the clear attempt gave Hopkins another possession and this time Ranagan connected with 9:27 left, making it a 4-2 JHU lead.

Amato made another terrific save at the 5:11 mark on a Chris Boland shot and sophomore Brian Cooper came up with the tough groundball, but a quick turnover gave Hopkins another crack at the Terps and Brandon Benn capitalized with a quick shot off a feed from Boland to up the Blue Jay lead to 5-2 with 3:35 remaining in the second.

The tables were turned when Hopkins’ John Greeley turned the ball over to the Terps just under the 2:00 mark. Brian Cooper again scooped up the groundball and Maryland’s offense took over. Senior Drew Snider dodged down the left side from the high slot and passed back to junior John Haus. Haus fired a quick pass from near the top of the box to the top-right of the crease where junior Billy Gribbin lost his defender. Gribbin then beat Bassett to make the score 5-3 with 54 seconds left.

Hopkins’ Mike Poppleton won the opening faceoff of the third quarter and Boland quickly made it a 6-3 Blue Jay advantage, scoring off a feed from Greeley just 43 seconds into the third.

The Terps responded with a terrific look by Mike Chanenchuk to the right side of the crease for Blye. Maryland’s good ball movement moved the Blue Jay defense out of position and Blye had enough time to make six fakes before slipping a bouncer past Bassett with 9:04 remaining.

Terrific defensive pressure by junior Jesse Bernhardt created a turnover for the Terps and Blye scored his second straight to make it a one-goal Maryland deficit. The goal was in question for a moment as Hopkins’ defender Robert Enright got tangled in the net tracking Blye from behind the cage and actually pulled the net onto its side as Blye shot. The officials counted the goal, making it a 6-5 game at the 6:16 mark.

The Terps continued their comeback as the third quarter came to a close. Kevin Cooper took the ball behind the net and initiated the offense with around 20 seconds left on the clock. He went around the right side and moved the ball on the senior Michael Shakespeare, who was able to step into a high-to-low shot from the right alley, tying the game at 6-6 going into the fourth quarter.

It appeared as if Wells Stanwick regained the lead for the Blue Jays with under 10 minutes to play, but he was ruled to be in the crease, which waived off the goal.

Maryland capitalized on the opportunity as Blye scored for the third time to give the Terrapins their first lead of the game at the 8:46 mark. Blye started from behind the cage and came around the left side of the goal. He continued up the field, creating some space to get his hands free and his shot beat Bassett low.

A slashing call on sophomore Michael Ehrhardt put the Blue Jays up a man, but sophomore Emmett Cahill picked off a pass by Boland and Carr raced the ball into Maryland’s offensive zone, ending the threat.

Maryland killed off the remaining time on the penalty and was given a stall call as the Terps worked the clock up by a goal. That didn’t stop Blye from exploiting a mismatch with Hopkins shortie Nikhon Schuler and beating Bassett low again for an 8-6 Terrapin lead with 5:05 remaining.

Some terrific transition lacrosse gave the Terps a three-goal lead with 2:31 to go in the game. Haus picked up a loose ball inside the Maryland defensive box and quickly found Bernhardt breaking up the field. Bernhardt pump-faked the Blue Jay defense, drawing them to him. He moved the ball to senior Joe Cummings, who made the one-more pass to Kevin Cooper on the doorstep for the easy goal.

Hopkins had one last chance to get back in the game, but Amato rose to the occasion, stopping a shot by Boland with 49 seconds left. Amato finished with a flourish, making eight saves for the game.

Maryland’s defense dominated the second half, holding the Blue Jay offense, which entered the game scoring 11.0 goals per game, to just one goal in the second half and none over the game’s final 29:17.

Maryland next heads to the ACC tournament as the No. 4 seed where it will meet up with No. 1 seed Duke. The Terps and Blue Devils will play in the 5 p.m. game, while No. 2 seed Virginia and No. 3 seed North Carolina play in the 7:30 p.m. game at the Cavaliers’ Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

Game Notes:
• With today’s 9-6 win, Maryland is now 39-61-1 all-time vs. Johns Hopkins.
• The victory is the first for Maryland at Homewood Field since 2006.
• With four points on four goals, junior Owen Blye now has three hat tricks, 17 multi-point and 11 multi-goal games for his career.
• With three points on two goals and an assist, junior Kevin Cooper now has eight multi-point and three multi-goal games for his career.
• Maryland shutout the Blue Jays in the fourth quarter, which marks the fourth time this season the Terps have held an opponent scoreless for a quarter.

It’s “Slow Your Roll” Monday on the MobTown Sports Beat, and we’re handing out speed warnings to those who may feel compelled based on recent successes or failures to get ahead of their proverbial selves. Here’s a look at who needs to “Slow Down” as we begin another week.

Duke Basketball

Slow your roll Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils, as your season is now next season as this season has reached its unceremonious end. Duke fell to Lehigh on Friday, which wasn’t “Two’s day”, by a 75-70 score and in handing it to them, the Mountain Hawks not only gave Duke a head start on their off-season plans, but they also did their patriotic duty by freeing up Coach K to concentrate more fully on his Team USA squad and Olympic preparation. It seems that the star treatment that Duke often gets in ACC play did them no favors in the tourney and outside the scope of ACC officials. It turns out that the contact that Duke players have been getting away with all season on screen hedges actually is a foul as some ACC fans have maintained and those calls, along with the foul trouble that accompanied them for Duke’s bigs, put the Devils in a hole they couldn’t escape from. Their inability to manufacture open looks in the half court without the help of Austin Rivers who too often seems only interested in creating for himself came to roost and Duke paid the price against a 15^th seed. Duke will bounce back, they always do, but for now it gives me great pleasure to advise Coach K and his Dukees to slow their roll and enjoy what remains of the tourney like the rest of us…from the couch.

Mountain West Conference

Slow down Mountain West (or those like myself prematurely claiming it as an awakening hoops giant). Wichita State and UNLV not only failed to win a single game in this year’s tourney, but both bowed out to double digit seeds in Thursday’s only upsets. San Diego State followed suit on Friday with only New Mexico picking up a single win before bowing out in the round of 32 to Louisville, thus ending MWC inclusion from the big dance. In fact all schools west of the central time zone have been sent packing at this early stage in the game. We already knew of the PAC-12’s issues and weren’t altogether sold on the WCC, but in you Mountain West…we believed and you failed us. Next time someone points west and specifically to the Mountain West Conference touting hoops hype, don’t believe the hype and tell them to slow down.

CENTERVILLE, Mass. - Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse junior Mike Sawyer was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, while sophomore Jack Runkel was named Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday.

Sawyer scored 11 goals and had 14 points, setting career highs in both categories during back-to-back Loyola victories. He scored five goals and had six points as the Greyhounds spoiled Michigan’s first-ever home game on Wednesday night.

He then broke those personal records with six goals and eight points in a 13-8 win over No. 11/9 Duke Saturday afternoon. In the Michigan game, Sawyer picked up a career-high six ground balls. He also had nine ground balls on the week.

Making the first two starts of his collegiate career, Runkel posted an 8.00 goals-against average and .515 save percentage to help the Greyhounds pick up wins at Michigan and at home versus Duke. Playing less than three minutes between the pipes as a freshman last season, he started the Michigan game and held the Wolverines to eight goals while making five saves.

He was outstanding then in the Saturday win over Duke, making a career-high 12 saves against a team that has played in the last five Final Fours.

The Greyhounds are back at home on Saturday when they take on ECAC foe Air Force at noon.

BALTIMORE – Mike Sawyer scored a career-high six goals and eight points Saturday afternoon, leading the No. 9/12 Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse team to a 13-8 victory over No. 11/9 Duke University at Ridley Athletic Complex.

The Greyhounds built a 12-5 lead by the end of the third quarter and coasted to their first 5-0 start in 10 seasons.

Sawyer had his second game in a row with five or more goals after scored five on Wednesday night at the University of Michigan, his previous career-best. He now has four games with three or more goals in five outings this season.

Loyola built a 3-1 lead in the first quarter as Sawyer put the Greyhounds on the board 2:28 into the contest with a 7-yard shot from the left side. Duke (3-3) tied the game with 8:19 to play in the quarter when Blue Devils defender Chris Hipps scored in transition after a Loyola turnover.

Sean O’Sullivan rolled right to left and put Loyola up 2-1 with a goal at 3:51, and Phil Dobson scored his first of a career-high two with 2:26 to play in the quarter.

Chris Layne quickly made it a 4-1 Loyola lead 32 seconds into the fourth quarter when he bounced a shot over the shoulder of Duke goalkeeper Dan Wigrizer and into the top right corner of the goal.

Duke rallied, scoring a pair of goals in the span of just four seconds to get with in a goal. Robert Rotanz dodged down the right alley and dumped a pass to a waiting Jordan Wolf who scored on the doorstep at 11:17.

C.J. Costabile won the face-off to himself and scored in an unsettled situation to pull Duke within 4-3 four seconds after Wolf’s goal.

Loyola went on a 3-0 run after that, sparked by a pair of Sawyer scores. He used a stutter-step at goal-line extended on the left side after O’Sullivan threaded a pass around a Duke defender, and Saywer scored at 10:17 to make it 5-3 Loyola.

He then scored a high-to-high shot over Wigrizer’s shoulder at 4:11, pushing Loyola back up by three.

Exactly a minute later, Eric Lusby made it 7-3 Loyola off a Saywer assist on an extra-man opportunity. The Greyhounds looked to take the lead into the locker room, but Duke’s Josh Dionne turned and scored from four yards in front of the cage to make it 7-4 with 14 seconds left in the half.

The Blue Devils could not maintain the momentum, however, in the second half, as Sawyer picked up a ground ball on a failed Duke clear and scored into an empty net 3:07 into the half.

Lusby added his second of the game, also off a Sawyer assist, to make it 9-4 Loyola with 6:38 to play in the third, and Dobson tallied his second of the game on a low-to-high shot off Nikko Pontrello’s pass, pushing the advantage to 10-4.

Jake Tripucka momentarily stopped the run for Duke with a goal at 2:30, but J.P. Dalton won the face-off to himself for the Greyhounds, and he fed Lusby on the right side of the crease, and Lusby finished off his third goal of the game six seconds past Tripucka’s goal.

Loyola scored quickly after that, as Dalton won the face-off, and Sawyer scored 14 ticks later. He added his sixth of the game with 11:35 to play, giving the Greyhounds a 13-5 advantage.

The Greyhounds controlled a close 33-31 lead in groundballs, as Josh Hawkins returned to action after missing the first four games with an injury. He led Loyola ground balls, while Lusby and Reid Acton each had four. Scott Ratliff and Pat Laconi each had three ground balls, and Ratliffcaused four turnovers.

Jack Runkel made his second career start in goal for Loyola and finished with a career-high 12 saves.

The win was Loyola’s third in eight days, and the Greyhounds will have the week off from competition before taking on the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday, March 17, at 12 noon in ECAC Lacrosse League action.

Game Data
• Loyola University Maryland returns home to battle No. 11/9 Duke University on Saturday, March 10, at Ridley Athletic Complex at noon.
• The Greyhounds are off to their first 4-0 start since 2002 when the squad won its first seven games.

Series History
• This is the 24th meeting all-time between the Blue Devils and the Greyhounds, with Duke holding a 14-9 advantage in the series.
• Duke has won five-straight over Loyola and eight of the last nine, including topping the Greyhounds, 11-9, in the first-ever game played at Ridley Athletic Complex on March 13, 2010.
• The last time the Greyhounds defeated the Blue Devils was on March 10, 2007, when Loyola beat Duke, 8-7, in The First Four held in San Diego Calif.
• The Blue Devils beat Loyola, 14-9, in Durham, N.C. last season. Mike Sawyer scored five goals for the Greyhounds in the loss.
• The series dates back to 1946 and the team’s have played at least once every season since 2000.

In The Polls
• Loyola moved up to No. 9 in the USILA Coaches’ Poll, and 12th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Rankings after its 11-8 victory at Bellarmine. The Greyhounds are one of four ECAC teams in the polls, joining Denver (13/11), Ohio State (20/18) and Fairfield (17/17).

Finding The Back Of The Net
• Loyola has posted 10 or more goals through the first four games to open the season, marking the first time since 2001 that the team has scored 10-plus goals in four-straight games.
• The Greyhounds tallied 10 or more goals for seven-straight games in 2001, going 5-2 in those contests.
• Through the first four games, the Greyhounds rank 12th in NCAA Division I in goals per game (13.00) as of the March 5 rankings.

Toomey Wins 50th
• Head coach Chaley Toomey recorded his 50th-career win on Wednesday night as the Greyhounds defeated Michigan, 15-8.
• Toomey, who is in his seventh season, has led Loyola to eight-plus wins in each of the last three seasons and has had the Greyhounds finish .500 or better in al seven seasons since coming to Baltimore.

Record At Ridley
• After going 4-1 at Ridley Athletic Complex last season, the Greyhounds opened their third year at the stadium with a 13-8 win over then-No. 19 Delaware and a 13-6 victory against Towson. Loyola is now 10-3 all-time at Ridley.

What’s Next
• Loyola plays its second of three-straight at home when the Greyhounds battle ECAC-foe Air Force on Saturday, March 17 at noon.
• The Greyhounds host Georgetown on Wednesday, March 21, at 7 p.m.

Honorable Mention: Boxing-Orlando Salido vs. Juan Manuel Lopez (Saturday 10pm from San Juan, Puerto Rico live on Showtime); Mixed Martial Arts: Bellator Fighting Championships 60 (Friday 8pm from Hammond, IN live on MTV2); Soccer: MISL Eastern Division Final-Rochester Lancers @ Baltimore Blast (Saturday 7:35pm 1st Mariner Arena, Leg 2 Monday 7pm in Rochester); Tennis: ATP Tour/WTA Tour BNP Paribas Open (Saturday-Monday 2pm from Indian Wells, CA live on Tennis Channel); Charm City Roller Girls (Saturday 5:30pm Du Burns Arena)

10. Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys (Friday 8pm Verizon Center); Boyce Avenue (Wednesday 6:30pm Rams Head Live), Pat Green (Friday 8pm Rams Head Live), moe. (Saturday 8pm Rams Head Live), Orgy (Sunday 6:30pm Rams Head Live); Cris Jacobs Band (Friday 8pm 8×10 Club), Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers (Saturday 8pm 8×10 Club); Kindred the Family Soul (Friday 7:30pm Baltimore Soundstage); Playing for Change Band (Wednesday 8pm Rams Head on Stage); Mutemath (Saturday 7pm 9:30 Club), Young The Giant/Grouplove (Sunday 7pm 9:30 Club); Experience Hendrix feat. Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Tuesday 8pm Strathmore); Travis Tritt (Tuesday 7:30pm Birchmere); North Mississippi All-Stars (Saturday 9pm State Theatre); Bruce Springsteen “Wrecking Ball” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

The Black Keys sold out the Verizon Center. That’s amazing. I’ll most look forward to the part where the place that usually houses smelly Caps fans turns into one large Phoenix Coyotes rally…

Boyce Avenue is not an act I should ever voluntarily admit to enjoying. I should ABSOLUTELY never admit to enjoying their cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella”…

The PFC band is fantastic. You’ll probably remember this…

Young The Giant authored perhaps the single most underrated song of 2011…

9. Bill Bellamy (Thursday-Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Kevin Pollak (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); Todd Glass (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); Baltimore St. Patrick’s Day Parade/Shamrock 5K (Sunday 1:15pm Inner Harbor/Downtown Baltimore); “Friends With Kids” opens in theaters (Friday)

One-I love a good St. Patty’s Day throw down a week before the 17th. In honor of that, I think I’ll make a stop at the Tilted Kilt in White Marsh after the parade…

Note: I’m aware that’s a Scotish thing. It’s late. I’m tired.

Note 2: Does it really matter anyway?

And since we’re here, I actually think “Friends With Kids” has a bit of a “watchable chick flick” feel. It also has Jon Hamm. As in THIS Jon Hamm…

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Senior Drew Snider had a hat trick to lead the No. 5 Maryland men’s lacrosse team to at 10-7 victory over No. 8 Duke in front of 4,137 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Maryland moves to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play, while the Blue Devils fall to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

The Terps started off the scoring less than a minute into the game, with Snider scoring an unassisted goal with a drive down the right alley at 14:07.

The home team scored again almost a minute later, with junior Kevin Cooper running down the left alley and beating Blue Devils goalie Kyle Turri with another high shot at 13:02.

Maryland continued its scoring run at 10:25 when junior Owen Blye dodged from behind the cage and beat the keeper on the right side to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Terps capped their early 4-0 scoring run at 7:32 when senior Joe Cummings netted his sixth goal of the season on an inside roll from a dodge behind the cage.

The Blue Devils got on the board at 7:09 on a goal by Justin Turri, but the Terps finished the first quarter strong when junior John Haus scored from the right alley from junior Billy Gribbin to extend the lead, 5-1.

Snider started off the scoring in the second, netting his second goal of the game off an assist from Gribbin, converting an extra-man opportunity at 14:32. The defense picked up for both teams, with each team scoring one goal each in the remainder of the half. The Blue Devils’ Christian Walsh scored at 11:58, but Snider completed his hat trick with a man-up goal at 3:26 to give the Terps a 7-2 lead going into halftime.

Duke’s offense came out first in the second half with Josh Dionne scoring at 11:02. Maryland followed that with two straight goals to up its lead six.

The first came from freshman Jay Carlson at 6:04 in the third. Kyle Turri stopped a shot by senior Michael Shakespeare, but couldn’t control the rebound and Carlson put the loss ball back into the net.

At 3:34, Gribbin scored one of his own off a Blue Devils’ turnover. Junior Jesse Bernhardt pushed the ball in transition and got it to senior David Miller about 10 yards from the goal. The Duke defense collapsed to stop Miller and he quickly moved the ball to Gribbin on the right side where he finished from eight yards out.

On the ensuing faceoff, Duke capped the third quarter scoring at 3:09 with a goal from CJ Costabile.

Duke attempted to stage a comeback in the fourth, but Maryland’s defense held strong. The Blue Devils scored three goals to the Terps’ one, which came from senior Michael Shakespeare on a shot from the outside that bounced past the keeper at 12:10.

Despite Duke’s goal flurry, sophomore goalie Niko Amato held strong, making nine of his 14 saves in the final quarter.

Freshman Goran Murray was outstanding defensively for the Terps. He was charged with guarding Duke All-American Jordan Wolf and held the ACC’s leading scorer to just one assist, which came on the Blue Devils’ final goal of the game.

Maryland’s other starting close defensemen were also terrific. Sophomoe Michael Ehrhardt caused four Duke turnovers, while sophomore Brian Cooper had two groundballs and two caused turnovers.

The Terps finished the game 2-for-2 in extra-man opportunities. Both second quarter goals came on Duke penalties. Duke had four man-up opportunities in the fourth, but only capitalized on one of them. For the game, the Blue Devils were 1-for-5.

The ACC match was a “Purple Out,” with awareness being raised for the fight against pancreatic cancer. Former Terp Ryan Young and twin brother Kevin, a former Blue Devil player, lost their mother, Maria, last year to pancreatic cancer.

The Terps have a quick turnaround as they will head up I-95 to play local rival UMBC on Tuesday night, March 6. That game is set for a 7 p.m. start at the UMBC Stadium.

Game Notes:
• With the 10-7 win, Maryland is now 59-19 all-time vs. Duke.
• With three points on three goals, senior Drew Snider now has three hat tricks, 10 multi-point and seven multi-goal games for his career.
• With three points on a goal and two assists, junior Billy Gribbin now has three multi-point games for his Maryland career.
• With 14 saves, sophomore goalie Niko Amato now had nine double-digit saves for his career. It was this third double-digit save performance vs. the Blue Devils in four career meetings.

COLLEGE PARK, MD. – The fifth-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse team opens its ACC schedule with No. 8 Duke on March 3 at 1 p.m. The game will be the first time since 2007 that the Terrapins and the Blue Devils will play on Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. The game will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com with Booker Corrigan and Ryan Boyle handling the announcing duties.

• Maryland is 2-0 so far and is coming off of a 16-11 thumping of Georgetown last Friday, Feb. 24, in Washington, D.C. Senior Joe Cummings set his career high with six points on four goals and two assists to lead the Terrapins, who never trailed in the game. Junior John Haus had another four-point game, his second of 2012, with a goal and three assists. The starting close defense shutdown the Hoya attack unit, allowing just one goal in 6-on-6 play. Junior Landon Carr had a terrific outing, scoring a goal and picking-up a career-best six groundball.

• The Blue Devils are 3-1 on the season after sweeping a pair of games last weekend vs. Penn and Jacksonville. Duke’s lone loss of the season came in its only road game, a 7-3 decision at Notre Dame on Feb. 18. The Blue Devils are led offensively by sophomore Jordan Wolf, who leads the ACC with 14 points on nine goals and five assists. Long pole CJ Costabile has been tremendous at the face-off X, winning 60 percent of his draws and has a team-leading 19 groundballs. Dan Wigrizer was solid in goal in the first two games of the season, but Kyle Turri started both games last weekend.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 84 of the 91 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .923 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 101-22 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .821 winning percentage.
8 … Over the past eight seasons, Maryland and Duke have played 11 times with the Terps holding a 6-5 series lead since 2005.
7 … John Haus has seven career points vs. the Blue Devils in four meetings.
6 … Six of the last 10 all-time meetings between Maryland and Duke have been played at a neutral site.
5 … In the last 10 regular season meetings between Duke and Maryland each team has five wins.
4 … Duke has already played four games this season.
3 … In the last 10 regular season meetings between Duke and Maryland the goal-differential is just three goals (101-98 Duke).
2 … This will be the second of two Maryland games streamed on WatchESPN.com this season.
1 … This will be the first regular season game between Duke and Maryland played in Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium since 2007.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 35-24 career record for a 59.3 winning percentage. Tillman is 15-5 as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Duke’s John Danowski is in his 30th season as a head coach and holds an all-time record of 302-159 (.655). He is in his sixth season at Duke and has a 83-20 (.806) record with the Blue Devils.

• Tillman has a 4-3 career record against Duke while coaching at Maryland and Harvard, all against Danowski. His first win vs. the Blue Devils came in the 2009 season opener at Harvard. The Crimson upset No. 5 Duke, 9-6, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham. Last season, Tillman’s Terps defeated Duke, 11-9, in the ACC championship game at Koskinen Stadium and then again, 9-4, in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore..

Series History vs. Duke
• Maryland and Duke have played 77 times. The Terps hold a 58-19 edge (.753) in the series that dates back to 1940. Maryland’s 58 wins against the Blue Devils are the most against any opponent.

• The stakes were much higher in the 2011 rubber match as unseeded Maryland defeated No. 5 seed Duke, 9-4, in a tough, physical game in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Grant Catalino led the offensive attack for the Terps with three goals, while Joe Cummings added two goals and an assist. The Terrapin defense was terrific in holding the Blue Devils to just four goals with Niko Amato making 13 saves to send the Terps to their first NCAA title-game appearance since 1998.

• The 2011 rematch took place again at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium, but this time the stakes were a bit higher – the ACC championship. This time it was the Terps coming away with an 11-9 victory to take its first conference crown since 2005. Ryan Young scored the first game-winning goal of his career when he jumped in the air to redirect a John Haus pass from behind the cage. Grant Catalino earned tournament MVP honors after scoring three goals vs. the Blue Devils in the title game.

• For the second time in two years the Terps and the Blue Devils needed overtime to decide things, but in 2011 in Durham it was Duke that pulled out a 9-8 victory on freshman Jordan Wolf’s game-winning goal 1:01 into the first OT. The Blue Devils held a 7-4 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but four-straight goals by Landon Carr, Michael Shakespeare, Joe Cummings and John Haus, who finished with three goals in the game, gave Maryland a one-goal lead with 3:48 to go. Maryland appeared to have the game wrapped up in the final seconds when Carr forced a Blue Devil turnover, but a controversial holding call gave Duke another chance and Zach Howell scored with 0:03 left to send the game into overtime. Both goalies were sensational in the game with Maryland’s Niko Amato making 19 saves and Duke’s Dan Wigrizer stopped 17 shots.

• The 2010 meeting will go down as one of the most memorable in the series as the Terps pulled out an 11-10 overtime victory at the 2010 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Grant Catalino was the star of the game for the Terps, netting a career-best five goals, including the game-winner. Duke scored the final three goals of regulation to send the game into OT and then controlled possession for all but eight seconds of overtime, but that’s all the Terps needed for Bryn Holmes to cause a turnover, Brian Farrell to scoop a groundball and Dean Hart to push the transition and find Catalino on the left wing for the game-winning shot. Senior goalie Brian Phipps made 15 saves in the win.

• Maryland won an 11-8 decision over the Blue Devils at the 2009 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Jeff Reynolds was the key factor for the Terps in the victory. He scored a goal and had an assist, but he won three key face-offs that led directly to goals that spurred Maryland onto the win. Grant Catalino had six points on two goals and four assists, while Ryan Young had five points on a pair of scores and three helpers.

• In 2008 the Blue Devils defeated the Terps, 15-7, in Durham, N.C. Travis Reed totaled three goals for the Terps in the defeat.

• The 2007 meeting was the first road game for the Blue Devils since their 2006 season was cancelled. Duke responded with a 14-7 victory behind a six-goal, seven-point effort from Matt Danowski. Max Ritz led the Terps in the game with a three-point effort on two goals and an assist.

• The 2006 season saw the rivalry escalate even more as the teams entered the game ranked first and second in the nation. The game more than lived up to the hype as the two squads battled and needed overtime to decide the victor. In that overtime, Xander Ritz sent the Terps home with the 8-7 win after scoring his fifth goal of the game with 1:14 remaining in the first extra period.

• In 2005 the two teams played three times with the Blue Devils winning two of the three games. It was the second time in the series the two squads played three times in a season. In 1992 the two teams played in early March, again in the ACC Tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland won all three games that season.

• In the 2005 NCAA Semifinals, Duke ended Maryland’s season with a 18-9 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill McGlone gave the Terps a 1-0 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with nine unanswered goals and took a 10-3 lead into halftime. Joe Walters scored three times in the third quarter, but Maryland could not close the deficit.

• In 2005′s ACC Final, Maryland turned in its finest defensive effort of the year. The Terps held Duke, the nation’s highest scoring offense, scoreless for more than 40 minutes en route to a 9-5 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on May 1. ACC Tournament MVP Harry Alford made 15 saves on the afternoon, while freshman Will Dalton helped the Terps control the ball on face-offs, winning 7-of-10 draws. Offensively Maryland was led by All-American Joe Walters who scored his second straight hat trick vs. the Blue Devils, while adding an assist. Freshman attackman Max Ritz also chipped in a pair for goals in the victory.

• The 2005 regular season game saw Maryland dominate Duke at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, but the Blue Devils found a way to get out of College Park with a 10-8 victory. All-American Joe Walters scored a hat trick for the Terps, but Duke outscored Maryland 6-3 in the second half to secure the win. Michael Phipps scored two goals and added an assist for his second career three-point game.

• The Terps dominated the series from 1955 through 1988, winning all 27 meetings.

• The teams have met four times in the NCAA Tournament with Maryland winning 13-11 in 1992, Duke retaliating 14-9 in 1994, and the Blue Devils taking the 2005 match-up 18-9. Maryland took the most recent NCAA meeting, 9-4, in the 2011 Final Four in Baltimore.

Going Purple For A Good Cause
· Saturday’s game vs. Duke on March 3 is a “Purple Out.” All fans are encouraged to wear purple to the game to help raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.

Going Gray
· Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

· If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 83-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

19 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Hartford to open the 2012 season the Terps have an 19-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s, Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 19-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 267-99 (an average score of 14.1-5.2) in those games.

· The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 18 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 78 different opponents in its 87 seasons. The 2012 season added Hartford (a 12-6 win on 2/18) and will add Marist (3/10) to that list. In the Terps’ 78 first-time meetings Maryland is 74-4 (.949) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.

Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 84 of the 91 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .923 winning percentage.

· The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision..

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 92.2 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 101-22 in games, for a .821 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 161 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 76.4 percent of the time.

Youth Is Served
• Maryland started two sophomores (Michael Ehrhardt and Brian Cooper) and a freshman (Goran Murray) at close defense in the 2012 season-opening win over Hartford. The last time Maryland’s defense had two sophomore and one freshman starting was 2005 when sophomores Steve Whittenberg and Ray Megill started alongside freshman Joe Cinosky. The first game that group started together was April 23, 2005 at Fairfield (a 9-6 Terrapin win).

• Goran Murray became the first Maryland freshman to start at close defense in a season opener since 2008 when Max Schmidt started in an 11-6 win at Georgetown.

Face-Off Firsts
• Junior Curtis Holmes’ 19-of-20 (.950) performance facing-off vs. Hartford in the 2012 season opener is just the fifth time since 2000 that a Maryland face-off man has won at least 90% of his draws with at least 10 attempts.

• Holmes joins Andy Claxton and Brian Haggerty as the only Terps with multiple games of 19 or more face-off wins. Claxton did it three times (27 at Towson in 1991, 21 vs. Duke in 1991 and 19 at Brown in 1991), while Haggerty did it twice (20 vs. Butler in 1998 and 19 vs. Virginia in 1998). Holmes had 20 wins vs. Georgetown last season to go along with his 19 vs. the Hawks, which makes him the only Terp to win 19 or more face-offs in different seasons.

• The last 90% performance was in 2008 when Bryn Holmes, Curtis’ older brother, won 9-of-10 face-offs at Mount St. Mary’s.

• The last time a Terp faced-off with a winning percentage above 90% was on March 21, 2006 when David Tamberrino won 12-of-13 in a 14-2 win over Dartmouth.

Best Face-Off Performances Since 2000
Curtis Holmes – 19/20 (.950) vs. Hartford 2/18/12
Brian Carroll – 12/13 (.923) at Delaware 3/17/01
Davin Tamberrino – 12/13 (.923) vs. Dartmouth 3/21/06
Jeremy Pastula – 11/12 (.917) at Towson 3/8/03
Bryn Holmes – 9/10 (.900) at Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/08
Bryn Holmes – 12/14 (.857) vs. Presbyterian 2/13/09
Brian Carroll – 11/13 (.846) vs. Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/02
Bryn Holmes – 11/13 (.846) vs. Air Force 2/14/09
Ryan Moran – 10/12 (.833) vs. Bucknell 3/11/03
Will Dalton – 18/22 (.818) vs. Vermont 2/20/07
Curtis Holmes – 17/21 (.810) vs. Detroit Mercy 2/19/11

Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
· The 11-9 victory over Duke on April 24, 2011 was the 10th of the year for Maryland, giving it nine straight seasons with double-digit wins. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1Scourse.com).

· How does that stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least five-straight 10-win seasons:
Maryland (9): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-4), 2009 (10-7), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6), 2006 (12-5), 2005 (11-6), 2004 (13-3), 2003 (12-4)
Cornell (7): 2011 (12-3), 2010 (12-6), 2009 (11-3), 2008 (11-4), 2007 (15-1), 2006 (11-3), 2005 (11-3)
Virginia (7): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Notre Dame (6): 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (5): 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (5): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)

The 700 Club
· Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

· Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 87th Season Of Lacrosse
· The Terps boast an all-time record of 730-247-4 (.746), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 85 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

· During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010′s for a .735 winning percentage.

A Family Affair
· Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Jake & Jesse Bernhardt: 2010-11-12
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009-10-11
Brian & Kevin Cooper: 2011-12
Billy & Bobby Gribbin: 2012
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Curtis Holmes: 2010
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06
Mark & Michael White: 2008-09-10-11

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maryland women’s basketball sophomore Alyssa Thomas was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, announced by ACC Commissioner John Swofford Thursday. The conference’s top individual honor is voted on by the league’s “Blue Ribbon Panel,” which consists of national and local media members, as well as school representatives.

Thomas, a native of Harrisburg, Pa., is just the second sophomore ever to be honored with the league’s top honor in its 29-year history. Duke’s Alana Beard won in 2002 as a sophomore. Beard and Thomas were both named ACC Rookie of the Year in their respective freshman seasons.

She is the fourth Terrapin to win the honor and the third in the last five years. Vicky Bullett won in 1989, Crystal Langhorne was honored in 2008 and Kristi Toliver won in 2009.

“First, I have to thank my teammates and our coaches. They push me every single day and we play hard for each other,” Thomas said. “This is such an honor because there’s so many great players in our league.”

Thomas, the ACC’s leading scorer, is averaging 17.0 points per game and 17.7 points per conference game. Her 8.5 rebounds per ACC game are fifth-best in the league. She was named ACC Player of the Week Monday and recorded a total of four weekly honors this season – more than any other player in the league.

“What a tremendous honor for Alyssa and we’re really appreciative that the voters recognized the incredible season she’s had for Maryland,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “We also know that there were other worthy candidates. I think Alyssa’s had more legendary-type moments in one season than most have in a lifetime. Her will to win is unsurpassed and I don’t think anyone plays harder for her team. She’s easy to coach and she responds to being challenged. Of course, this could not have happened without her tremendous teammates and the staff.”

“We feel like we’ve helped her improve, but really, what you see from Alyssa all started back home in Harrisburg, where she was raised by an incredible family and community. As a person and a player, she’s one of the people you want to wear your uniform and to represent your school. We’re incredibly proud and happy for her and our program.”

Thomas proved to be a game-changer for the Terrapins. In their third ACC contest of the season, Thomas scored 18 second half points, including the winning jumper with 17.0 seconds left, to help Maryland come back from a 20-point deficit to top Georgia Tech. Two days later, she made a reverse layup at the buzzer to force overtime at North Carolina. The Terps would go on to win 76-72.

In the Terrapins’ 63-61 win over No. 5 Duke on Feb. 19, Thomas pulled in 12 rebounds but made one of the best defensive plays of the season on the last play. With four seconds left in the game and the Terps with a two-point lead, Thomas helped get a stop in the paint to force the ball outside. As the Blue Devils swung it around the arc to Haley Peters on the opposite side of the court from Thomas, she sprinted to Peters and blocked the potential game-winning shot as the buzzer expired, sealing the win for the Terrapins. It would be Duke’s lone loss in ACC play.

A week later, she scored 22 of her 24 points in the second half to lead Maryland to a 65-50 win at North Carolina State in the regular season finale. In one 10-minute span in the second half, she rattled off 16 straight points for the Terrapins and finished with a career-high 17 blocks and four rebounds.

Thomas has scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games this season with eight double-doubles. The Terrapins won four straight to end the regular season. In that four-game span, Thomas averaged 17.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and four assists per game.

“What Alyssa has done this year against some stiff competition is nothing short of remarkable and has been so much fun to watch,” Maryland director of athletics Kevin Anderson said. “Alyssa represents all that we are here at Maryland with her incredible work ethic, love for her team and leadership on and off the court. Congratulations to her and her teammates, Coach Frese and the rest of the program for their part in this special award.”

Four members of the fifth-ranked Terrapins squad were named to the All-ACC Teams announced Monday. Thomas earned first team honors, while Tianna Hawkins made the second team. Lynetta Kizer and Laurin Mincy each earned honorable mention honors and Kizer was enamed the ACC’s Sixth Player of the Year. Brene Moseley was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team Tuesday and Alicia DeVaughn was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team Wednesday.

The Terrapins (25-4, 11-4 ACC) will open play in the 35th Annual ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday evening at approximately 8 p.m. as the No. 3 seed. They will play either sixth-seeded Virginia or 11th-seeded Boston College, depending on Thursday’s result.

All eight games on Thursday and Friday will be broadcast on the league’s regional sports network (RSN), which includes Comcast SportsNet +, Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Florida and the New England Sports Network. Friday’s contest can be seen locally on Comcast SportsNet +. The entire tournament can also be seen on ESPN3 and Maryland’s games will also be shown online on the Terps’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MarylandWomensBasketballFans.

For more information, visit the official site of the 2012 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at www.theACC.com/SheCanPlay. Fans can also follow the upcoming Tournament games on Twitter at @ACCwbb.

Maryland is ranked No. 5 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Division I Top 25 Coaches’ poll and No. 6 in this week’s Associated Press rankings.