OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Stevenson junior attack Tyler Reid (Clinton, Conn./Xavier) netted a hat trick, and scored the eventual game-winning goal with 7:46 remaining, as the fourth-ranked Mustangs advanced to the title game of the CAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, 10-8, Wednesday night at Mustang Stadium.

Tonight’s victory sets up the 10th meeting between Stevenson and Salisbury in the last four seasons and the final time the two schools
will meet in the CAC Championship as Stevenson departs for the Middle Atlantic Conference.

The two teams have met in the Championship every season the Mustangs have been a member of the CAC except 2007, when they were ousted by the Seahawks, 8-7, in the semifinals.

Stevenson (14-3) would extend their lead to the largest of the game at 7-2 on an unassisted tally by senior midfielder Kenny Whittaker
(Dundalk, Md./Archbishop Curley) with 6:07 left in the third quarter.

The Seahawks (10-6) would score six of the next seven goals over the next 11:40 to knot the game at 8-8 after being held scoreless for over 28 minutes.

An otherwise statistically even game, both teams fired off 28 shots, while Stevenson held a slight edge in ground balls, 31-27.  St. Mary’s
(Md.) held more than a 2-to-1 edge in faceoffs and capitalized on both extra-man opportunities.  The Seahawks turned the ball over 23 times, four more than the Mustangs, including a critical turnover by Justin Harty with 1:00 remaining, that sealed the victory for Stevenson.

Senior goalkeeper Ian Bolland (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) made six saves, while his counterpart Stu Wheeler made nine.

The CAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be held at Salisbury on Saturday.  Opening face-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

BALTIMORE – UMBC junior attackman Scott Jones (Port CoquiItlam, B.C.) capped a miraculous rally with a goal at the 1:43 mark of overtime and the Retrievers edged Albany, 17-16, at UMBC Stadium.

With the victory, UMBC (5-6, 3-1 America East) clinched a spot in the America East four-team playoffs for the ninth time in nine conference seasons. Albany, also assured of a berth in the championships, fell to 3-9, 3-1.

The Retrievers trailed the Great Danes, 16-11, in the wild affair with under six minutes remaining in regulation. But UMBC reeled off five goals in a span of 2:18 and tied the score on a goal by junior midfielder Dave Brown (Coopersburg, Pa.) with 2:57 remaining, setting the stage for Jones’ heroics.

“I saw this team grow up,” head coach Don Zimmerman said.  “That’s a very good team that we just played out there.  We have been waiting and waiting and waiting for it to kick in and I thought we kicked into gear and came of age.”

Jones, UMBC’s America East Player of the Game, and sophomore attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) scored four goals each to lead UMBC. Three Great Danes- senior attackman Joe Resetarits, and sophomore attackmen Miles and Ty Thompson- scored four goals each, with Resetarits leading all scores with seven total points.

Sophomore face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) tied a school record by winning 22 face-offs. Poe attempted all 37 draws on the day and won 9-of-11 in the fourth quarter.

Miles Thompson finished a fast break on a pass from Ty Thompson with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the visitors a five-goal bulge. UMBC responded with on a goal by junior midfielder Scott Hopmann (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) with 5:15 to play and the Retrievers got an extra surge when Poe controlled the draw and scored eight seconds later to trim the deficit to 16-13.

After a holding call on Albany, Hopmann scored again, just 34 seconds after the 13th goal, and after Gregoire turned the corner and scored with 3:29 remaining, the Retrievers were within a goal. Poe beat UA long-stick Doug Eich on the draw and Brown fired a high blazer past Dane netminder Max Huber with 2:57 remaining to tie the score for the first time since it was even at 6-all.

Both teams had one offensive possession in the final moments of regulation, but could not score. Albany won the opening draw in overtime, but a Lyle Thompson shot sailed over the goal and possession went over to the Retrievers. Playing on Senior Day, senior midfielder Rob Grimm (Black River, N.Y.) fed Jones on the left wing ,and the Retrievers leading scorer dipped inside his defender and bounced a shot past Huber, setting off a wild celebration by the Retrievers.

The 17 goals scored by UMBC was its most since a 17-10 win over Rutgers in 2009. The 33 goals combined by the two squads was the most in a Retriever contest since an 18-15 loss at Towson early in the 1998 campaign.

Grimm, junior attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y.) and freshman midfielder Derek Bertolini (Madison, Conn.) each had three assists for UMBC. Grimm and Bertolini added a goal piece to finish with four-point efforts. Hopmann and sophomore midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St.Paul’s) scored two goals each for the hosts.

UMBC led only once before scoring the game-winning goal, scoring three consecutive first quarter goals after Albany had taken a quick 2-0 advantage. Albany led, 5-3, after one quarter, and 6-3 early in the second stanza before the Retrievers evened the affair on Grimm’s lone tally of the day on a man-up situation with 9:23 to play in the half.

But the Danes ended the first half of  3-0 run, punctuated by a Resetarits score from in front of the cage with six seconds to play in the half to give the guests a 9-6 halftime edge.

The Retrievers outscored UA, 4-3, in the third quarter and got as close as 12-10 before the Danes stretched out the margin to five goals.

Both teams had 37 shots in the game. Huber made nine saves for Albany, while UMBC junior netminder Adam Cohen (Arnold, Md./Severn) had a season-low six saves for his side. But Cohen made three key fourth quarter saves to allow the Retrievers to complete the rally.

UMBC hit on 3-of-4 man-up chances, while UA was 1-for-1.

The Retrievers, who fell to Stony Brook last Saturday, have never lost back-to-back games in 46 America East regular season games. UMBC is 16-6 in Zimmerman’s tenure in overtime games.

Jones has scored 17 goals in his last five outings and became the first Retrievers since Alex Hopmann (36) in 2009 to reach the 30-goal plateau with 31 scores.

The four goals were a career-high for Gregoire, who has 11 goals in his five starts in 2012.

UMBC completes the regular season at Binghamton on April 28.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Stevenson men’s lacrosse senior Justin Lea (Elkridge, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) finished with five points on three goals and two assists while senior Doug Reidt (Towson, Md./Herford) won 8-of-8 face-offs as the fourth-ranked Mustangs posted a 17-4 victory over Frostburg State Wednesday at Mustang Stadium on Senior Night.

With the win, the Mustangs (13-3, 7-1 CAC) secured the No. 2-seed and a first-round bye in the 2012 CAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship which begins this Saturday. As a result, Stevenson will host a semifinal contest next Wednesday, April 25.

The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game as the Mustangs outscored the Bobcats 9-1 while winning 9-of-11 face-offs and
holding a 15-3 advantage in shots. Eight different players scored in the quarter for Stevenson, including freshman Michael Crowe (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) who scored twice.

The Mustangs led 12-3 at the half before back-to-back goals from junior Tyler Reid (Clinton, Conn./Xavier) sparked a 5-0 run as they
stretched the lead to 17-3 after three.

Reid finished the game with three goals while senior Kenny Whittaker (Dundalk, Md./Archbishop Curley) and sophomore Chris Dashiell (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) each had two goals and one assist. Junior Andrew Bishop (Lothian, Md./Southern) scored twice, netting his first two goals since he also had two on March 24 at Mary Washington.

Senior Ian Bolland (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) made three saves in his 33 minutes in goal and was one of five goalies used by Stevenson. Junior Mark Salerno (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) also had three saves while freshman Alex Hrycak (Gaithersburg,
Md./Gaithersburg) made his first career appearance.

Junior Kyle Holechek (Reisterstown, Md./Loyola Blakefield) totaled four caused turnovers and three ground balls while picking up his
second assist of the season from his defensive position.

The Mustangs held their opponent to four goals or less for the fifth time this season.

Four different players had one goal apiece for Frostburg State (2-14, 0-8 CAC) while Alex Sharrer made 12 saves.

BRISTOL, Conn. - Point guard Anjale Barrett and center Lynetta Kizer of the Maryland women’s basketball team were both selected in the Top 30 of the WNBA Draft Monday afternoon.

Barrett was selected 26th overall and went to the Washington Mystics and will join former teammate Crystal Langhorne in Washington. Kizer went to the Tulsa Shock two picks later.

Barrett finished her senior season second in the ACC in assists (4.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.8) this season and ended her four-year career fifth in Maryland history in assists with 486.

Kizer was a three-time All-ACC Team honoree and the league Sixth Player of the Year in her senior season. Her 1,621 career points put her at No. 8 in school record books and her 958 career rebounds makes her No. 4 in Maryland history in rebounds.

Barrett spent a total of five seasons in College Park and was a member of three NCAA Elite Eight teams and two ACC title teams. Kizer helped lead Maryland to three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Elite Eights and two ACC championships.

Maryland (31-5) ended its 2012 season winning 10 of its last 11 games. The Terrapins won the program’s 10th ACC title earlier this month and notched the fourth 30-win season in school history. They advanced to their ninth Elite Eight and fourth in head coach Brenda Frese’s 10 years.

BALTIMORE- UMBC junior attackman Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) tied a career-high with five goals and led a furious comeback, but the host Retrievers fell to Stony Brook, 10-8, before 960 fans at UMBC Stadium.

The Seawolves won their 17^th consecutive regular season contest and improved to 3-0 in the conference and 4-7 overall, while UMBC slipped to 2-1 in league play and 4-6 overall.

Jones was UMBC’s America East Player of the Game, while Stony Brook senior midfielder Robbie Campbell earned the honor for his side. Campbell scored four goals and shared the spotlight with junior goalkeeper Sean Brady, who made 14 saves for the visitors.

The Retrievers trailed, 9-2, late in the third quarter, but exploded for five goals in the span of 3:11 to trim the deficit to 9-7 with 12:17 remaining. Jones started the surge by converting a Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y.) feed with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.

Sophomore face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) won all seven fourth quarter draws and UMBC capitalized early in the fourth. Sophomore midfielder Conor Finch (Westminster,Md./Boys’ Latin) scored 52 seconds into the period, and after an SBU violation on the ensuing draw, Poe fed sophomore attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River), who scored to cut the deficit to 9-5.

Gregoire picked off a Stony Brook clearing pass and fed Jones on the left doorstep for UMBC’s sixth goal at the 13:16 mark and Jones’ rocket from a sharp left angle on freshman Derek Bertolini’s (Madison, Conn.) pass brought the hosts to within 9-7 with 12:17 to play.

The Retrievers had two possessions to cut the lead to one, but committed turnovers in each case. The second miscue led to a Seawolf fast break and freshman attackman Mike Rooney scored to restore a three-goal visitor margin at 10-7 with 8:11 to play.

Jones scored his team-leading 27^th goal on a cross-field feed from junior middie Scott Hopmann (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) to pull UMBC to within a pair with 2:23 to play. But Bertolini’s shot with 1:47 remaining was easily handled by Brady and the Retrievers never regained possession.

Lustgarten had a goal and two helpers for UMBC and now has 10 assists in his last four outings.

Poe won 15 of 22 face-offs and led all players with eight ground balls. But UMBC suffered 21 turnovers in the game, mostly in the offensive end, as they only failed to clear on one of 16 opportunities.

Rooney also scored four times for Stony Brook.

Stony Brook scored the game’s first three goals and UMBC did not get on the board until 2:54 remained in the first quarter, when Lustgarten scored an unassisted goal. The Seawolves led, 5-1 after 15 minutes and 6-2 at halftime.

Shots were even at 30 apiece and UMBC junior goalkeeper Adam Cohen (Arnold, Md../Severn) made 10 stops for the Retrievers.

The Retrievers have another opportunity to take on an undefeated America East squad when they face Albany at home next Saturday, April 21.

Penn State Coaches Caravan To Hit The Road This Spring

Coaches Bill O’Brien and Patrick Chambers to Headline Seven State Bus Tour

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 11, 2012 – The Nittany Lion Club and the Penn State Alumni Association will team up to provide fans the chance to meet and hear from some of the leaders of Penn State Athletics this spring when the Penn State Coaches Caravan hits the road for destinations across Nittany Nation, encompassing seven states and Washington, D.C.

Nittany Lion football coach Bill O’Brien will headline the bus tour of many Penn State alumni strongholds across Pennsylvania and the East Coast. The first-year head coach is scheduled to participate in all 18 Coaches Caravan stops across nine days in late April and early May.

O’Brien will be joined by several other Penn State head coaches on varying Coaches Caravan stops, including Nittany Lion basketball coach Patrick Chambers during the first week, which begins with two events in Philadelphia on Monday, April 30.

O’Brien and selected coaches will speak and answer questions from Penn State fans at every Coaches Caravan stop. Field hockey coach Char Morett also is confirmed for Philadelphia and other Penn State head coaches and the events they are attending will be announced later this month.

The Penn State Coaches Caravan will feature two stops on each of nine days of the tour spread over three consecutive weeks this spring, starting April 30 in Philadelphia. Three of the Coaches Caravan events will be held at Penn State Commonwealth campuses in Altoona, Erie and Hazleton.

Complete details and registration information for every stop on the Penn State Coaches Caravan tour are available at www.GoPSUsports.com and www.alumni.psu.edu/coachescaravan.

Penn State Coaches Caravan schedule:

April 30      Philadelphia (lunch)

                          Drexel Hill, Pa. (evening)

May 1         Baltimore (lunch)

                          Washington, D.C. (evening)

May 2         Richmond, Va. (breakfast)

                          Harrisburg/Hershey, Pa. (evening)

May 8         Penn State Hazleton (lunch)

                          Lehigh Valley, Pa. (evening)

May 9         Woodbridge, N.J. (lunch)

                          New York City (evening)

May 10       Hartford, Conn. (lunch)

                          Scranton, Pa. (evening)

May 14       Penn State Altoona (breakfast)

                          Pittsburgh (evening)

May 15       Youngstown, Ohio (lunch)

                          Cleveland, Ohio (evening)

May 16       Penn State Erie, The Behrend College (lunch)

                          Buffalo, N.Y. (evening)

Tigers Add Guthrie & Marshall To Recruiting Class
Rafriel Guthrie and Marquis Marshall Sign National Letters Of Intent To Play For Towson

TOWSON, Md. - Towson head men’s basketball coach Pat Skerry has announced the addition of Rafriel Guthrie and Marquis Marshall to the Tigers’ 2012-13 recruiting class. Guthrie, a Washington, D.C. native, is a 6-3, 200-pound physical wing and Marshall is a 6-5, 170-pound versatile sharp-shooting guard from Reading, Pa.

Guthrie, who spent this past season playing for the College of Southern Idaho, will be a junior at Towson and can play immediately with two years of eligibility remaining. Marshall committed to Towson during the late signing period after starring for Berks Catholic High School.

“Rafriel Guthrie provides us with a level of tenaciousness that we sorely need,” said Skerry. “He can score, rebound and defend, but most importantly he plays extremely hard at all times. Marquis Marshall comes from great genes and is a terrific long-range shooter. He has a tremendous upside as he develops physically.”

During the 2011-12 season, Guthrie played in all 36 games with 34 starts at Southern Idaho, helping the Golden Eagles to a 31-5 overall record, a SWAC and Region 18 Championship and an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament. The sophomore averaged 15.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and had 47 steals, all ranking second on the team. He also shot 49.0 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc en route to being named an honorable mention National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American.

Guthrie came to CSI from Seward County Community College where he started 27 of the team’s 34 games as a freshman in 2010-11. He averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while helping the Saints to a 27-7 overall record.

Prior to his time at Seward County CC, Guthrie starred at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C. During his senior year, Guthrie averaged 28.2 points and 8.0 rebounds for the Clerks. He also was a member of the Cardozo football team where he played outside linebacker and wide receiver.

Marshall led his high school team to a 28-3 record and the Berks County and District III championship in 2012. He was named All-County and Third Team All-State (Pa.) after averaging 16.0 points per game during his senior season.

Marshall is listed as a two-star recruit and has been rated as one of the Top 20 players coming out of the state of Pennsylvania this year.

Marshall’s father, Donyell, played in the National Basketball Association for 18 years. An All-American at the University of Connecticut, he finished his collegiate career by being selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Year in 1994. Donyell was drafted after his junior year at UConn by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the fourth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. He played for eight different NBA teams from 1994-2009 and averaged double figures in scoring in a season on 10 separate occasions.

Guthrie and Marshall join Towson’s early signees – Barrington Alston, Jerome Hairston, Frank Mason and Timajh Parker-Rivera to make up the Tigers’ six-man 2012-13 recruiting class. Towson’s recruiting class was listed as the best in the Colonial Athletic Association and No. 6 among non-BCS schools by CBS Sports during the early signing period. Towson will also gain the services of BIG EAST transfers Jerrelle Benimon and Mike Burwell, who both sat out the 2011-12 season per NCAA transfer rules.

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Loyola University Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Jack Runkel was named the ECAC Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, the conference office announced this afternoon.

Runkel made 12 saves on 18 shots on goal Saturday as the fourth-ranked Greyhounds rallied to defeat No. 14 Fairfield University, 8-6, on the road in league action. Playing in his hometown of Fairfield, Conn., Runkel posted a .667 save percentage, allowing just six goals in the game.

He made several tough stops, highlighted by a save on a John Snellman shot from inside five yards when Snellman came off a screen and was open with the Stags trailing by just one goal with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Runkel made the save and helped clear the ball, setting up Loyola’s eighth goal, an insurance tally that came from Sean O’Sullivan.

The Loyola goalkeeper has won three of the seven ECAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season and is the only player to be honored multiple times. Two other Loyola players – Scott Ratliff and Reid Acton – have won the award, making Loyola 5-of-7 in the category this year.

In nine games this season, seven starts, Runkel has posted a 7.10 goals against average and .565 saves percentage.

As a unit, the Loyola defense is ranked fifth in Division I with a 7.00 goals allowed per game. The Greyhounds are the only team in thecountry who have not allowed more than eight goals in a game this season and one of just three that have held all of their opponents to 10 or fewer.

Loyola (10-0 overall, 4-0 ECAC) continues its three-game road trip on Saturday, April 14, when it travels to Denver University for a 7 o’clock (Mountain Time) game.

No. 4 Men’s Lax Scores 4 In Fourth To Top No. 14 Stags

FAIRFIELD, Conn. —  All season, the Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse team has used second-half runs to defeat their opponents, and Saturday’s game at No. 14 Fairfield University was no different.

The fourth-ranked Greyhounds improved to 10-0 for the first time since 1999 by scoring the game’s final four goals to rally from a two-goal fourth-quarter hole, defeating the Stags, 8-6, in ECAC Lacrosse League action Saturday afternoon at Lessing Field.

Loyola’s win clinched a spot for the Greyhounds in the ECAC Championships that will be held May 2-4 in Denver. The Greyhounds also notched their 10^th win of the year for the first time since the 2001 season.

The Stags (9-2 overall, 2-1 ECAC) used a 5-0 run – the longest of the season by a Loyola opponent – that spanned the second, third and fourth quarters to go up 6-4 on a John Snellman goal with 11:59 remaining in regulation.

Loyola (10-0, 4-0) won the ensuing face-off, however, and in an unsettled situation, Davis Butts fed a crashing J.P. Dalton who scored eight seconds after Snellman’s goal to pull the Greyhounds within a goal.

Minutes later, Loyola’s Jack Runkel, who had 12 saves, made a stop on a Colin McLinden shot, and Reid Acton picked up the ground ball for the Greyhounds.

Two Sean O’Sullivan shots were off cage for Loyola, but the Greyhounds had both attempts backed up, retaining possession.

Off the second restart, Eric Lusby found Justin Ward who scored his second goal of the game, tying the score at 7:19.

The Stags got the ground ball on the next restart, but after running more than 90 seconds of offense, Scott Ratliff caused a Fairfield turnover, and Joe Fletcher came away with the ground ball.

Loyola cleared it effectively, and Ward fed Mike Sawyer who scored his second of the afternoon, making the Greyhounds’ advantage, 7-6, with 5:24 to go.

Fairfield again got the ball on the face-off – the Stags won 15-of-19 at the ‘X’ – but Drew Federico had a shot blocked. The Stags then ran a play, and Eric Warden got free topside, but Runkel made a save on his shot from inside five yards.

Sixty-eight seconds after Runkel’s save, O’Sullivan ripped a shot to give Loyola a two-goal cushion with 2:47 remaining in regulation.

The Greyhounds forced two Fairfield turnovers, thereafter, and both Stag shot attempts went wide.

“We didn’t let the two-goal deficit stop us today, even though Fairfield had all of the momentum going their way,” Head Coach Charley Toomey said. “We made some good things happen on defense, like Scott Ratliff causing a big turnover, and (Jack) Runkel really standing tall in goal for us. The offense fed off that, and we got some good looks to convert on late in the game.”

Ward finished the game as Loyola’s leading scorer with three points on two goals and an assist, while Sawyer had a pair of goals. Butts recorded a goal and an assist, as well.

Ratliff posted four caused turnovers, a game-high, while Hawkins led Loyola with five ground balls.

Loyola took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter after Chris Layne and Ward scored first-quarter goals, and Butts tallied an unassisted score 3:29 into the second stanza.

Eric Warden broke through for the Stags with a goal at 6:01, but Sawyer answered with a Loyola goal 2:52 before halftime, making it 4-1 Greyhounds.

Fairfield drew within two 26 seconds later on a Sam Snow score, the first goal of the Stags’ 5-0 run.

Shawn Honovich and Warden each scored for Fairfield in the third quarter, as the Stags shut out the Greyhounds in the frame, and McLinden tallied a go-ahead goal for the Stags 39 ticks into the fourth quarter.

The Greyhounds limited Fairfield’s leading scorer, Brett Adams to just two assists in the game, led by the defense by Ratliff. Snellman, who came into the game with a team-high 25 goals, was marked by Acton and held to just one goal.

Loyola is back in action next Saturday, April 14, when they travel to Colorado to face Denver University at 7 p.m. (Mountain Time).