COLLEGE PARK, MD. - The ninth-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse team (7-4) travels to the northern end of Maryland to Emmitsburg to play at Mount St. Mary’s for the first time since 2008. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Wednesday, Arpil 25 at Waldron Family Stadium.

• Maryland (7-4, 1-2 ACC) is coming off of a hard-fought 6-5 loss to No. 3 Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament last Friday in Charlottesville, Va. The incredibly close game saw the Blue Devils take a two-goal lead early in the fourth quarter, but Joe Cummings scored with just over two minutes left to trim the lead to one. Maryland got off two shots on goal in the final seconds, but neither was able to find the net.

• For the season, Cummings leads the Terps in points, goals and assists with 30, 19 and 11, respectively. Six other Terps have totaled double-digit goals so far: Blye (14), Billy Gribbin (13), Michael Shakespeare (13), Jay Carlson (11), John Haus (11) and Drew Snider (11). Defensively, Niko Amato has stopped 57.9 percent of the shots put on goal by opponents and has a 6.94 goals-against average. Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt leads the team 22 caused turnovers and is second on the squad with 39 groundballs.

• The Mount is 4-7 on the year after snapping a three-game losing skid with a 9-8 win over Sacred Heart last Saturday at home. This season Mount St. Mary’s is led by junior attackman Andrew Scalley, who has 37 points on 18 goals and 18 assists. Senior midfielder Bryant Schmidt is the team leader in goals with 23, one more than twin brother, attackman Brett, who has 22. Sophomore Chris Klaiber has started all 11 of the Mount’s 11 games in cage and has a .464 save percentage and an 11.22 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 106-24 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .815 winning percentage.
8 … The Terps have scored double-digit goals in all eight games vs. the Mount.
7 … The Terps are ranked seventh in the current USILA poll and ninth in the current IL media poll.
6 … Six Terps have totaled at least 15 points so far in 2012.
5 … Joe Cummings has had five games this season with at least three points.
4 … Joe Cummings needs just four points to become just the 38th Terps to reach the 100-point mark.
3 … This will be just the third time Maryland has traveled to Emmitsburg to play Mount St. Mary’s.
2 … Two members of the current Terrapin program – fifth-year senior Drew Snider and volunteer coach Brian Phipps - played in the 2008 victory over the Mount.
1 … This will be the first game vs. Mount St. Mary’s as a head coach for Maryland’s John Tillman.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 40-28 career record for a 58.8 winning percentage. Tillman is 20-9 (.690) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• The Mount’s Tom Gravante is in his 16th season as a head coach, all at Mount St. Mary’s, and has a 120-143 (.456) record.

Series History vs. Mount St. Mary’s
• Maryland has won all eight meetings against Mount St. Mary’s dating back to the first match-up in 1988. The Terps topped the Mount 19-8 in that first game. They followed that with a 21-2 win in 1989, an 18-7 victory in 1994, a 19-3 blowout in the 2000 season opener and a 12-4 win at Emmitsburg on April 24, 2001. Maryland picked up its last shutout on Feb. 26, 2002 with an 18-0 victory. Maryland won back-to-back games in 2007 and 2008. The Terps took an 18-3 home win over the Mount on March 20, 2007 and then defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 17-7, in a downpour at Waldron Family Stadium in 2008.

• Maryland’s freshman attack trio of Travis Reed (4-1), Grant Catalino (3-1) and Ryan Young (2-1) combined to total 12 points to lead the Terps to a 17-7 victory at a rain-soaked Waldon Family Stadium in 2008. Bryn Holmes won 9-of-10 faceoffs, caused two turnovers and picked up five groundballs.

• Maryland’s 18-3 victory in 2007 featured a seven-point effort by Michael Phipps on a hat trick and four assists. In total, 13 Terps scored goals in the win.

• The series took a five-year hiatus since these two teams met in 2002. That game marks the last time Maryland has shutout an opponent. The 18-0 victory was the program’s first shutout since 1970. Five Terps scored two or more goals in the victory. Leading the way was senior captain Mike Morsell, who had a career-day with seven points on four goals and three assists.

• The 2001 game was the first between the teams at the Mount. In that game, 2001 grads Chris Malone (3 goals, 1 assist) and Andrew “Buggs” Combs (3 goals) led the offense. Dan LaMonica and Mike Mollot each had two goals.

• Maryland has outscored Mount St. Mary’s 125-27 in the seven games, never allowing the Mount more than seven goals.

• Against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Maryland is 9-0 all-time with seven wins coming against the Mount and one win each over Providence in 1999 and VMI in 1993..

Bernhardt, Murray Earn Annual ACC Awards
• Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and freshman defender Goran Murray were among the five student-athletes recognized as recipients of the annual ACC men’s lacrosse individual awards, the conference announced Tuesday.

• Bernhardt, a native of Longwood, Fla., shares the inaugural ACC Defensive Player of the Year award with Duke’s CJ Costabile. Bernhardt, who is also a 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, leads the Terps with 22 caused turnovers and leads the conference with 2.0 caused turnovers per game. He is also averaging 3.3 groundballs per game and is the captain of a Maryland defense that currently ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.45 goals per game.

• Murray, a native of Merion Station, Pa., becomes the seventh Terp to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year. He is the first since 2007 when Brian Phipps earned the honor and the first Maryland defender since Michael Howley won the honor. Murray was a long-pole midfielder coming into preseason practice, but was converted to close defense and has become Maryland’s shutdown defender. Murray has started all 11 games for the Terps and became the first freshman close defender to start a season opener since 2008. He currently ranks sixth in the conference with 1.1 caused turnovers per game.

• Virginia senior Steele Stanwick earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Duke’s John Danowski was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

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.

Going Purple
• Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse family last season with the passing of Maria Young on April 17.

• This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

• If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.

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.

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 88 of the 97 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .916 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012. 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 91.6 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 106-24 in games, for a .815 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 171 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.6 percent of the time.

Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 7-4 on the year and has shot 30% or better in six of the seven victories. The lone win the Terps have without shooting 30% or better is the 13-6 win over Navy when Maryland took 52 shots.

Hartford: 12 goals, 40 shots = 30%
at Georgetown: 16 goals, 41 shots = 39.0%
Duke: 10 goals, 28 shots = 35.7%
at UMBC: 7 goals, 30 shots = 23.3%
Marist: 17 goals, 43 shots = 39.5%
Villanova: 11 goals, 31 shots = 35.5%
at North Carolina: 10 goals, 35 shots = 28.6%
Virginia: 8 goals, 32 shots = 25%
Navy: 13 goals, 52 shots = 25%
at Johns Hopkins: 9 goals, 28 shots = 32.1%
vs. Duke: 5 goals, 31 shots = 16.1%

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 51-3 (.944) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The first game Maryland lost during that stretch was a 13-10 decision to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas). The second loss came in 2010 in the controversial 11-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia on April 3. The Terps shot 10 of 33 for 30.3%. The most recent came on April 16, 2011 in a 12-11 overtime loss to No. 3 Johns Hopkins.

Fast Starts
• Since 2002 only nine players (for a total of 14 times) have totaled 30 points or more in the first 11 games of a season. Only one of those is on the 2012 team.

• Joe Cummings has been a consistent threat during his tenure as a Terp, but since moving to his natural position of attack this season he has been an even more potent point producer. Through nine games Cummings has 30 points on 19 goals and 11 assists. Last year as a midfielder he had 25 points on 24 goals and one assist through 11 games.

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

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 735-251-4 (.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.

The Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 42 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 23-19 (.548) 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.

The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 35-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 64-76 (.457) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.

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.

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.

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)
Virginia (8): 2012 (10-3), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Cornell (7): 2011 (12-3), 2010 (12-6), 2009 (11-3), 2008 (11-4), 2007 (15-1), 2006 (11-3), 2005 (11-3)
Notre Dame (7): 2012 (10-1), 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (6): 2012 (13-3), 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)

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

Game Data

• Loyola University Maryland wraps up ECAC Lacrosse League play on Saturday, April 21, 2012 when it concludes a three-game road trip with a 12 noon face-off at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y.

Series History

• The Greyhounds will meet Hobart for the 15th time in series history when the teams take the field on Saturday and the eighth time as ECAC foes. Both programs joined the league for the 2005 season.
• Loyola holds an 11-3 advantage in the previous 14 games that have been played between the teams, including an 11-8 victory on April 23, 2011, at Ridley Athletic Complex. Four Greyhounds – Patrick Fanshaw, Matt Langan, Stephen Murray and Mike Sawyer – scored two goals each.

In The Polls

• The Greyhounds rose to No. 1 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and are tied for the top spot in the USILA Coaches ranking with fellow unbeaten Massachusetts. More on the rankings later.

Top Spot

• Loyola is ranked No. 1 in the nation (in the USILA poll) for the first time since May 10, 1999, when the Greyhounds completed a 12-0 regular-season. Loyola was ranked first in the final nine polls of that season, and it was No. 1 for two weeks during the 1994 season (April 12 and 19) and one week in 1992 (March 31).
• The Greyhounds are just the second team since the USILA poll was introduced in 1973 to go from being unranked to No. 1 in the same season. The other team to accomplish the feat was the 2007 Duke team that went from being unranked in the first poll of the year to No. 2 in the second and first in the third.
• Since the inception of the ECAC Lacrosse League in 2000, Loyola is the second conference member to attain a No. 1 ranking, joining former member Georgetown, which was in the top spot for a week in 2007.
• Loyola is also ranked first in the initial version of the RPI released by the NCAA.

Road Warriors

• Loyola has used second-half comebacks to win its first two games of its current ECAC road trip, scoring the last four gaols of the game to beat then-No. 14 Fairfield, 8-6, on April 7, before using a 5-1 run to close the game in a 12-9 win at then-No. 8 Denver.
• The Fairfield game was the first time this season Loyola had trailed in the fourth quarter, and the 4-4 tie going into the final stanza was the first time it had not led outright entering the frame.
• The Greyhounds held Fairfield scoreless for the final 11 minutes, 59 seconds of action, and they then kept Denver off the board for 22:32 in the third and fourth quarters while they scored four unanswered.

Defense Standing Tall

• The Greyhounds’ defense is ranked sixth in NCAA Division I, and tops in the ECAC, with a 7.18 goals allowed per game mark, as they have not allowed more than nine goals in a single game this season. The Greyhounds are one of three teams (Massachusetts and Notre Dame are the others) who have allowed fewer than 10 in each outing this season.

ECAC Spot Locked Up

• Loyola’s win at Denver secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ECAC Championships for the Greyhounds, as well as at least a share of the ECAC regular-season crown. It is Loyola’s third time sharing, or winning outright, the ECAC title since joining the conference in 2005.

Big Runs

• Loyola used runs of three-plus goals at important junctures of its first 11 games, helping the Greyhounds to wins each time. In all, Loyola has scored three or more in a row on 21 occasions this season.
• Loyola used four three-goal runs against Duke, including one three-goal streak that put Loyola up 4-1 at the beginning of the second quarter. The Greyhounds never trailed after that initial three-goal run and extended their lead to 13-5 after its fourth three-goal spurt of the game.
• The Greyhounds had their longest run in almost two years against Air Force, scoring 10 in a row to open the second half. The last time Loyola scored 10 or more in a row was on March 20, 2010, when it had 14 straight against Air Force.
• Loyola then used a 6-0 run to break a 5-5 tie early in the third quarter with Georgetown on the way to a 11-6 victory.
• The Greyhounds then scored seven in a row on the back end of a 10-1 run last Saturday at UMBC, and after falling behind 3-2 in the second quarter against Ohio State, the Greyhounds strung together four in a row to go ahead 6-3 by the end of the third quarter.
• At Fairfield, Loyola scored the final four goals of the game to rally from a 6-4 deficit to win 8-6. The Greyhounds then scored four in a row during the third and fourth quarters at Denver that brought them from down 8-7 to a 12-9 victory.

On The Flip Side

• Conversely, the Greyhounds have allowed a run of three or more goals just seven times this year, with the most recent coming when Denver scored three on two occasions.
• Only Fairfield (five) and Air Force (four) have scored more than three in a row this year.
• Following six of the seven opponent runs of three or more, Loyola has answered in kind with a run of 4-0 or better.

Taking Care Of The Ball

• Loyola was outshot, 39-34, and Denver had seven more ground balls (32-25) than the Greyhounds last Saturday, but Loyola used a significant turnover margin to its advantage in the win. The Greyhounds committed a season-low seven turnovers against the Pioneers who had 16.
• The Greyhounds lead the ECAC this year with the fewest turnovers per game, averaging 13.45, more than 1.5 fewer than Fairfield which is second with 15.17. Loyola is seventh nationally in the stat category.

Balanced Attack

• Nine Loyola players scored in the win over Denver with Mike Sawyer (3) and Eric Lusby (2) leading the way as the only players to score multiple times. Only once this season, Air Force (10) have more Loyola players scored in a game.
• This season, four Greyhounds – Mike Sawyer (36), Eric Lusby (29), Sean O’Sullivan (12) and Davis Butts (11) – have 10 or more goals, and four others have 10-plus points.

Transition Scoring

• Loyola used three goals in unsettled situations to its advantage on the way to the win at Denver. Long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff was involved in all three, scoring a goal and an assist, and clearing the ball for an unassisted Mike Sawyer dodge-and-goal in another.
• Ratliff, a Tewaaraton Award Nominee, is tops on the team in ground balls (45) and caused turnovers (24) and has scored five goals and assisted on three this season.

Defense Digs In Again

• Loyola’s defensive unit held Denver to more than three goals fewer than its season average. The Pioneers came into the game averaging nearly 12.7 goals per game, but the Greyhounds limited them to just nine.
• Denver’s Mark Matthews sported a 39-game goal scoring streak coming into the game, but Loyola held him to just a single assist, snapping what had been the nation’s second-longest streak.

Another Defensive Honor

• Loyola players have won six of this year’s nine ECAC Defensive Player of the Week awards and each of the last four. Scott Ratliff won the initial award following the season-opener against Delaware, and goalkeeper Jack Runkel earned the honor on March 12.
• Runkel again won the award on March 26, starting a four-week stretch in which he and defender Reid Acton have alternated garnering the honor.
• Acton was named the most recent recipient on Monday after he drew primary marking responsibilities on Denver’s Mark Matthews, holding the All-American without a goal for the first time in 40 games.

Sawyer, Lusby Form Rare Tandem

• Graduate student Eric Lusby and junior Mike Sawyer have formed the top attack tandem in the ECAC Lacrosse League this year and one of the most balanced in the nation. The Tewaaraton Award nominees have combined for 65 goals in 11 games this season, an average of 5.9 per game.
• Sawyer has scored 36 goals, and his 3.27 goals per game average is third-best in Division I. Lusby, meanwhile is right behind with 29 goals and a 2.64 goals per game mark, a number that is tied for the country. Loyola is the only school to have two players in the top 15 of goals per game nationally.
• The Greyhounds have not had two players score 29 or more goals in the same season since 2000 when Tim Goettelmann set the school single-season record with 50, and Gavin Prout tallied 41. As a side note, the Goettelmann-Prout duo has gone on to highly successful professional careers. Goettelman recently retired from Major League Lacrosse as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 268 goals in 11 seasons.Prout has been an MLL Champion and has scored 314 National Lacrosse League goals to go with 625 assists as a multiple-time all-star.

Runkel Moving Up Stats Charts

• Entering the final two games of the 2012 regular-season, sophomore goalkeeper Jack Runkel has risen to seventh in the nation with a 7.32 goals against average. In 10 games, eight starts, Runkel has made saves on 55.3-percent of shots on goal he’s faced, the No. 17 mark in the country.
• While Runkel has picked up three weekly conference awards this year, much of the credit can also go to the defensive unit as a whole. Opponents have taken 255 total shots while Runkel has been in goal this year, but just 141 have been on goal.

Causing Miscues

• Loyola’s defense is fourth in Division I in caused turnovers per game, averaging 9.64 a contest. Four Greyhounds – Scott Ratliff (2.1), Reid Acton (1.18), Dylan Grimm (1.18) Joe Fletcher and Dylan Grimm (both 1.0) – are averaging more than one per game. Ratliff ranks ninth in Division I in the category.

On The EMO

• Loyola continued its success on extra-man opportunities, going 2-of-2 against Denver last Saturday, both during the closing 5-1 run.
• This season, the Greyhounds are ranked second in the nation in man-up offense, scoring 54.8-percent of the time. Only Lehigh (.583) has a better mark this year. The last time Loyola finished above .500 in man-up offense was in 1997 when it converted 39-of-77 (.506).

Closer Calls

• Loyola’s 8-7 victory on March 31 against Ohio State marked the first time this year that the Greyhounds played a game decided by less than three goals. Previously, Loyola’s closest victory was 11-8 on March 3 at Bellarmine, and no other game was within five goals.
• Since then, however, all three of Loyola’s games have been decided by three or fewer goals.

Lusby, Ratliff Join Sawyer On Tewaaraton Watch List

• Loyola’s Eric Lusby and Scott Ratliff were named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, joining fellow Greyhound Mike Sawyer who was named to the group before the season. Lusby is second on the team with 29 goals and 38 points, while Ratliff paces the team in caused turnovers with 24 and ground balls, 45.

Second-Half Success

• Loyola continued a trend of strong second-half play this season by pulling away from Denver in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers, 6-4.
• The Greyhounds have now outscored opponents 41-5 in the third quarters of games and 73-38 overall this year in the second half.
• The second-half scoring continues a trend from the last two seasons. Last year, Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56 two years ago.

Toomey Wins 50th

• Head coach Charley Toomey earned his 50th-career win Wednesday, March 7, as Loyola beat 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 all seven seasons since coming to the Evergreen campus.

Bonitatibus, Runkel Both Win First Starts

• Junior Michael Bonitatibus made his first collegiate start in goal for the Greyhounds against Delaware after having played less than two minutes prior to this season.
• Bonitatibus, who played 65 seconds in his collegiate debut last year at Duke, made seven saves for the Greyhounds and allowed just eight goals. He also picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.
• Bonitatibus became the first Loyola goalkeeper to win his starting debut in nearly 11 years. The last was Mark Bloomquist who also defeated Delaware, 8-7, on February 24, 2001.
• Jack Runkel made his first career start against Michigan and also won his initial outing as a starter. He tallied five saves against the Wolverines, and he then posted a career-high 12 against Duke.

Record At Ridley

• After going 4-1 at Ridley Athletic Complex last season, the Greyhounds have opened their third year at the stadium with six wins at home. Loyola is now 14-3 all-time at Ridley.

What’s Next

• Loyola returns to Ridley Athletic Complex for its final regular-season game on Saturday, April 28. The Greyhounds will host Johns Hopkins University in a 1 o’clock face-off.

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 – Loyola University Maryland Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jimmy Patsos announced the addition of three student-athletes to the Greyhounds’ 2012-13 freshman class, Jarred Jones (Havre de Grace, Md./John Carroll School), Eric Laster (Smyrna, Del./Polytech H.S.) and SeanTuohy Jr. (Memphis, Tenn./Briarcrest Christian H.S.).

The trio will join fellow incoming freshmen Josh Forney (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy) and Will Rassman (Takoma Park, Md./Gonzaga College H.S.), who signed with Loyola in the fall.

“We’re excited to have Jarred, Eric and S.J. join our program,” Patsos said. “With Jarred, we are bringing in another player who knows what it takes to be successful in the Baltimore Catholic League, one of the top high school conferences around, and Eric certainly had a terrific senior year in Delaware. S.J. comes from a highly successful high school program, and he is a pass-first guy who has also been on excellent teams.”

Jones played his high school basketball locally at John Carroll and will be the fifth player from Baltimore on the men’s basketball roster next year, joining this year’s sophomores Dylon Cormier (Cardinal Gibbons) and Jordan Latham (City), freshman R.J. Williams (St. Frances) and Forney.

A 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward, Jones averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game his senior year while being named to The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro First Team.

Jones led John Carroll to the 2012 MIAA ‘A’ Conference title, scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots in this year’s championship game against Mount St. Joseph’s.

Jones was a second-team All-Metro selection by The Sun as a junior in 2011 while helping the Patriots to the MIAA and Baltimore Catholic League championships. He also played for local AAU powerhouse Nike Baltimore Elite.

Laster was recently named the 2011-12 Gatorade Delaware Boys Basketball Player of the Year, which recognizes both athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court.

Laster, who checks in at 6-foot-6, 195 pounds, averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists per game as a senior.

He led Polytech to the state tournament quarterfinals and was an All-State First Team selection. He also scored a game-high 15 points in a, 55-36, win over Smyma High School to help the Panthers capture the 2012 Henlopen Conference championship.

Tuohy Jr. helped Briarcrest Christian to a 23-6 record as a senior point guard, averaging over six assists per game for the Saints. This spring, he played with an international touring team that traveled to Europe and played games against teams in Italy.

A Scholar-Athlete Award winner at Briarcrest, Tuohy is the son of Sean Tuohy, the all-time assist leader at the University of Mississippi. Tuohy Jr. was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie “The Blind Side” as S.J., whose adoptive older brother is Michael Oher, starting offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens.

The Game: Third-ranked Johns Hopkins (9-1) plays host to the greatest rivalry in college lacrosse as the Blue Jays welcome ninth-ranked Maryland (6-3) to Homewood Field.

Last Time Out: Johns Hopkins and Maryland both got back on the winning side of things with wins last week. Hopkins bounced back from a loss to North Carolina with a 17-6 win over Albany last Thursday, while Maryland ended a two-game slide with a 13-6 victory over Navy last Friday night in College Park.

Series History: Johns Hopkins and Maryland are meeting for the 108th time in a series that dates to a 10-0 Johns Hopkins victory in 1895. The Blue Jays hold a commanding 68-38-1 advantage against the Terps and have won 10 of the last 13 meetings A complete series review can be found at the back of this week’s note packet.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Maryland with an all-time record of 921-295-15 (.754). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

A Win For Johns Hopkins Would …
• Give the Blue Jays 10 wins for the ninth time in 12 seasons under head coach Dave Pietramala.
• Give JHU 10 wins for the 33rd time in school hsitory.
• Improve JHU’s home winning streak to 13 games.
• Improve head coach Dave Pietramala’s overall record to 100 games over .500. He is currently 158-59.
• Be the ninth for JHU in 12 games against Maryland since Dave Pietramala took over in 2001.
• Improve JHU’s record to 56-4 against teams from the state of Maryland since Dave Pietramala took over in 2001.
• Improve Johns Hopkins’ reocrd to 50-8 in games played in April under Dave Pietramala.

Career Win Number 150: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala picked up career win number 150 with the 12-6 victory vs. Towson in the season opener. He now sports an all-time record of 158-59 (.728), including a 135-42 (.763) record at Johns Hopkins. He ranks second all-time in school history in career coaching victories as only Hall of Fame coach Bob Scott (158 wins from 1955-74) has more victories than Pietramala while patrolling the sidelines at Homewood.

About the Start: Although Johns Hopkins had its eight-game season-opening winning streak snapped with the loss to North Carolina on April 1, good things could be in store for the Blue Jays down the road. Since 1977 the Blue Jays have opened a season with eight straight wins seven times (including this season). JHU has won the national championship three times in the previous six years, made two other trips to the title game and advanced to the NCAA semifinals the other year.

April Reign: Flipping the calendar to April has usually been a good sign for the Blue Jays, who are 49-8 (.860) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played in April. JHU is 28-3 at home, 19-3 on the road and 2-2 on a neutral field in April under Pietramala’s guidance.

Marching Orders: Johns Hopkins closed out the March portion of its 2012 schedule at Virginia on March 24. The Blue Jays posted their first perfect record in the month of March (5-0) since 2005, when they also won all five of their games played in the month. Since 1972, JHU has posted a perfect record in the month of March 15 times (not including this season). In six of those years the Blue Jays went on to win the national championship and in seven other instances JHU finished as national runner-up.

Streaking – Part 1: In case you didn’t notice, Johns Hopkins is 17-2 in its last 19 games, 22-4 since the start of the 2011 season and 24-6 in its last 30 games.

Streaking – Part 2: Johns Hopkins is 110-30 (.786) in its last 140 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 127-38 (.770) overall since the start of the 2002 season.

13-Win Seasons: With a 13-3 record last season, Johns Hopkins reached the 13-win mark for the fifth time under head coach Dave Pietramala and the 12th time in school history.

Home Cookin’: Johns Hopkins ran its home winning streak to 12 games with the 17-6 win over Albany on April 1. The streak is the second-longest under head coach Dave Pietramala, who picked up his 75th career victory at Homewood Field with the win earlier this season against Delaware. Hopkins sports a gaudy 79-12 (.869) record in home games during his career at JHU. JHU won a school and national-record 37 straight home games from 2001-06 under Pietramala’s guidance and the current 12-game home winning streak is the fourth home streak of seven wins or more since he arrived.

More Home Cookin’: In addition to boasting the second-longest home winning streak of the Dave Pietramala era, Johns Hopkins’ current 12-game winning streak at Homewood Field is also the second longest active home winning streak in the nation. Only Cornell, which has won 14 straight at Schoellkopf Field, has a longer current streak in the home whites than Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins’ win at Virginia on March 24 snapped UVA’s 14-game home winning streak, which had stood as the longest in the nation.

Striking the First Blow: Johns Hopkins scored on its first shot of the game seven times in 2011 and has already turned the trick four times this season. JHU has scored on its first shot of the game four times and its second shot of the game four times as well this season. Johns Hopkins has failed to score on one of its first two shots twice this season – against Manhattan and Virginia. In both of those games, the Blue Jays scored on their fourth shot.

Balancing Act: Johns Hopkins has employed virtually the same first and second midfield units throughout the first 10 games and those units have proven to be steady in terms of production. JHU’s first unit of Rob Guida (12), John Ranagan (12) and John Greeley (7) has combined for 31 goals, while the second unit of Lee Coppersmith (11), Mark Goodrich (6) and Greg Edmonds (2) has 19 goals to its credit. The major difference between the two groups has been with assists. The unit of Guida, Ranagan and Greeley has combined for 16 assists. Edmonds’ assist against North Carolina was the first assist of the season from the trio on the second midfield, which now has two assists to its credit.

Attack Oriented: Despite being forced to start five different players in three different combinations, the starting attack units the Blue Jays have trotted out have been effective and efficient. The unit has combined for 51 goals and 36 assists (8.7 points per game) through 10 games.

On the Flip Side: While the Blue Jay attack is collectively averaging more than eight points per game, the Blue Jay defense has not been nearly as giving. In fact, the starting attack units Johns Hopkins has faced this season have totaled just 32 goals and 20 assists (5.2 points per game).

Bassett Now 22-4 in Last 26 Starts: Junior goalie Pierce Bassett picked up his 25th career victory in goal with the 17-6 win vs. Albany as he posted 11 saves in just over 55 minutes of action. Including the win over the Great Danes he is 22-4 in his last 26 starts dating back to the start of the 2011 season and counts a 25-8 career record to his credit. Through 10 games Bassett currently ranks fourth in the nation in goals against average (6.69) and 10th in save percentage (.578). Bassett concluded his first full season as the starter for the Blue Jays last season and posted a 7.07 goals against average and a .570 save percentage. He finished fifth in the nation in GAA and 10th in save percentage. Bassett’s 7.07 goals against average is the second best by a JHU goalie since 1993 (Jesse Schwartman’s 6.68 GAA in 2005 is the best since records became available in ‘93).

Boland Returns: Senior attackman Chris Boland returned to the lineup against North Carolina after missing seven consecutive games with an injury he suffered 35 minutes into the season opener against Towson. Boland scored twice and dished out a pair of assists against the Tar Heels and came back with a three-goal, two-assist showing against Albany to push his season totals to nine goals and four assists in just three games. Boland’s three-goal, two-assist showing vs. Albany pushed his career totals to 75 goals and 42 assists for 117 points. It was also his 10th career hat trick, 27th career multi-point game and 18th game with four points or more.

Stanwick in Rare Company: Freshman Wells Stanwick ran his streak of consecutive multi-point games to seven with one goal and two assists in the win over Albany. His run of seven straight multi-point games to open his career is the longest by a Johns Hopkins player (freshmen only – not transfers) since all-time leading scorer Terry Riordan opened his career with 18 consecutive multi-point games from 1992-93. Stanwick has six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in seven games played. He missed three games early in the season with an injury, but is still tied for third on the team in scoring and ranks second in assists.

Jumping Right In: Junior John Kaestner had played in 12 career games and hadn’t so much as taken a shot before getting the starting nod at Princeton with freshman Wells Stanwick out. No worries, all Kaestner did was stick the first two goals of his career during a 4-1 fourth-quarter run that fueled JHU’s 10-8 win. He came back with one goal and one assist in the win vs. Manhattan and duplicated that effort in the win over UMBC.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays check in at number three in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week. The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll to represent JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. Prior to falling out of the top 20 of the USILA Poll on April 26 and May 3, 2010 (JHU was receiving votes in both polls), the Blue Jays had been ranked in the top 20 in 367 consecutive polls dating back to the first poll in 1973.

More Poll Position: Including this week’s USILA Poll, there have been 392 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 390 of those 392 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 369 of the 392 and the top five in 295 of those 392. Johns Hopkins has been ranked number one 104 times since the poll debuted in 1973.

State Rivalries: Without question the Blue Jays play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation and a big part of the schedule are the in-state rivalries the Blue Jays have. Including wins this season vs. Towson and UMBC, JHU is 55-4 (.932) against teams from Maryland under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Offensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest about the JHU offense:
• JHU has scored at least one goal in 38 of 40 quarters this season and two or more in 33 of the 40 quarters.
• For all the talk about JHU being a slow down team, the Blue Jays are averaging 36.7 shots per game. That number compares favorably to JHU’s averages in 2005 (38.1) and 2007 (36.3) – the most recent years in which Johns Hopkins won the national championship.
• Johns Hopkins ranks 16th in the nation in scoring offense (11.00), 10th in extra-man offense (.472) and sixth in scoring margin (+4.40).

Defensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest about the JHU defense:
• Hopkins is surrending an average of just 29.6 shots per game.
• JHU has held the opposition scoreless in 13 of 40 quarters this season (32.5%).
• The Blue Jays rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense (6.60), 20th in man-down defense (.697) and sixth in scoring margin (+4.40) this season.
• Johns Hopkins has held each of its 10 opponents scoreless for a stretch of at least 14:52 and nine of the 10 have gone scoreless for 19:30 or longer.

Now That’s a Drought: The Johns Hopkins defense did not allow an even-strength goal for an amazing stretch of 116:37 from late in the win at Princeton through early in the fourth quarter of the win over UMBC. The Retrievers did score a pair of extra-man goals in the first half, but the first six-on-six goal they scored came 34 seconds into the fourth quarter.

About the Shutout: Shutouts in college lacrosse are rare, but JHU notched one with the 11-0 victory over Manhattan on March 6. Prior to that, the Blue Jays had last posted a shutout on March 26, 1988, when they knocked off Princeton, 9-0. The shutout vs. Manhattan was the 61st in school history with 57 of those 61 shutouts coming prior to 1950.

Noting JHU in the NCAA Tournament: Johns Hopkins made its 40th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. By comparison, the next six longest active streaks of qualifying for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament add up to exactly 40 consecutive appearances (Maryland-9, Cornell-8, Virginia-7, Notre Dame-6, Duke-5, North Carolina-5).

First to 900: Johns Hopkins’ 10-6 win at Towson in the 2011 season opener not only got the season off on the right foot for the Blue Jays, but also made history. The win was the 900th all-time in school history, making Johns Hopkins the first program to record 900 all-time wins. JHU now has 921 all-time wins.

That’s 625 Games Over .500: The Blue Jays’ all-time record is now 921-295-15 (.754) … that’s 626 games over .500. To put this in perspective: JHU has played an average of just over 15 games per season under head coach Dave Pietramala. Using a 15-game season as a reference, if the Blue Jays posted a 5-10 record for 125 straight seasons, they would still be six games over .500.

Game Data

Loyola University Maryland will play the middle game of a three-game road trip on Saturday, April 14, in The Centennial State. The Greyhounds will take on Denver University at 7 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) at Peter Barton Stadium.

Series History

Denver has won the first two meetings between the teams, each coming in the last two seasons since the Pioneers joined the ECAC Lacrosse League. Denver won the first meeting, 12-4, at Invesco Field in 2010, and the Pioneers then took a 12-8 decision last season in Baltimore.

In The Polls

Loyola checked in at No. 4 for the third week in a row in the USILA Coaches’ Poll this week, and the Greyhounds are in the same No. 4 spot of the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media rankings for the second-consecutive week.. The coaches’ poll mark is Loyola’s highest ranking since it was third in the April 1, 2002, poll with a 7-0 record after downing Towson, 15-7.

Denver is currently ranked 10th in the coaches version, and eighth in the media poll.

Rally Caps

Loyola used a late rally to win its 10th game of the season last Saturday, an 8-6 victory at then-No. 14 Fairfield. The Greyhounds scored the last four goals of the game to come back from a 6-4 fourth-quarter deficit.

It was the first time this year that Loyola had trailed in the fourth quarter, and the 4-4 tie going into the final stanza was the first time it had not led outright entering the frame.

The Greyhounds held Fairfield scoreless for the final 11 minutes, 59 seconds of action.

Defense Standing Tall

The Greyhounds’ defense is ranked fifth in NCAA Division I with a 7.0 goals allowed per game mark, as they have not allowed more than eight goals in a single game this season.

Loyola is the only team in the nation with the distinction of not having allowed eight or more goals in a game. The Greyhounds are one of three teams (Massachusetts and Notre Dame are the others) who have allowed fewer than 10 in each outing this season.

Ward Steps Up Scoring

Justin Ward has raised his scoring numbers over Loyola’s last two games, complimenting fellow attack members Mike Sawyer and Eric Lusby. Against Ohio State and Fairfield, Ward combined for three goals and four assists for a team-high seven points during that stretch.

Of his three goals, two were during critical fourth-quarter stretches in both games. Against Ohio State, he rolled around a Sean O’Sullivan screen at goal-line extended, stepped in and shot from seven yards out, scoring to put Loyola up 7-5.

At Fairfield, Ward tied the game at 6-6, after Loyola had trailed 6-4, with his second goal of the game at 7:19, and he then assisted on Mike Sawyer’s eventual game-winner less than two minutes later.

Ward, who had one assist as a freshman last season, leads the Greyhounds with 17 assists this season, and he is third on the team with 23 points.

Runkel Honored For Third Time

Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Runkel was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in five weeks on Monday after posting 12 saves and allowing just six goals against Fairfield.

Runkel, who took over as the Greyhounds’ starter in the fourth game of the season, is the only ECAC defender to be honored on more than one occasion this year, and along with Scott Ratliff and Reid Acton, Loyola defenders have earned the award in five of seven weeks.

In just under 500 minutes of action between the pipes this season, Runkel has played to a 7.10 goals against average and a .565 save percentage. He is sixth in Division I in goals against average and 14th in save percentage.

Defensive Unit Helping Out

While Jack Runkel has picked up three conference awards this year, much of the credit can also go to the defensive unit as a whole. Opponents have taken 216 total shots while Runkel has been in goal this year, but just 124 have been on goal.

In all, opponents have managed just 152 shots on goal against the Greyhounds this year. Loyola is holding opponents to a .260 shot percentage, 11th best in the nation.

Causing Miscues

Loyola’s defense is fourth in Division I in caused turnovers per game, averaging 9.7 a contest. Four Greyhounds – Scott Ratliff (2.1), Reid Acton (1.3), Joe Fletcher and Dylan Grimm (both 1.1) – are averaging more than one per game. Ratliff ranks 11th in Division I in the category.

Close Call

Loyola’s 8-7 victory on March 31 against Ohio State marked the first time this year that the Greyhounds have played a game decided by less than three goals. Previously, Loyola’s closest victory was 11-8 on March 3 at Bellarmine, and no other game was within five goals.

Ten Or More Streak Snapped

The Greyhounds had scored at least 11 goals in each of their first eight games of the 2012 season, marking the longest stretch of games with 10 or more goals they have put together since March 24-May 12, 2001. Ohio State, however, held Loyola to just eight goals.

New Feeling

Loyola was outshot for the first time this season against Ohio State, as the Buckeyes tallied 33 shots to the Greyhounds’ 27.

Ohio State, however, managed to put just 15 shots on goal, and goalkeeper Jack Runkel made saves on eight.

Loyola, meanwhile, had 20 shots on goal, a season-best 74-percent of its overall shots. Previously, Loyola had outshot opponents by a minimum of nine in the first eight games of the year.

Acton Draws Recognition

Junior defender Reid Acton was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording five ground balls and a career-best five caused turnovers against Ohio State.

Acton’s primary marking responsibility against the Buckeyes was leading scorer Logan Schuss who entered the game averaging 3+ goals and 4+ points per game. Acton limited him to two goals and an assist, and his final goal came with just nine seconds left and Loyola leading by three.

Big Runs

Loyola used runs of three-plus goals at important junctures of its first 10 games, helping the Greyhounds to wins each time. In all, Loyola has scored three or more in a row on 20 occasions this season.

Loyola used four three-goal runs against Duke, including one three-goal streak that put Loyola up 4-1 at the beginning of the second quarter. The Greyhounds never trailed after that initial three-goal run and extended their lead to 13-5 after its fourth three-goal spurt of the game.

The Greyhounds had their longest run in almost two years against Air Force, scoring 10 in a row to open the second half. The last time Loyola scored 10 or more in a row was on March 20, 2010, when it had 14 straight against Air Force.

Loyola then used a 6-0 run to break a 5-5 tie early in the third quarter with Georgetown on the way to a 11-6 victory.

The Greyhounds then scored seven in a row on the back end of a 10-1 run last Saturday at UMBC, and after falling behind 3-2 in the second quarter against Ohio State, the Greyhounds strung together four in a row to go ahead 6-3 by the end of the third quarter.

At Fairfield, Loyola scored the final four goals of the game to rally from a 6-4 deficit to win 8-6.

On The Flip Side

Conversely, the Greyhounds have allowed a run of three or more goals just five times this year, with the most recent coming when Fairfield scored five unanswered. Only the Stags (five) and Air Force (four) have scored more than three in a row this year.

Every time an opponent has logged those runs, Loyola has answered in kind with a run of 4-0 or better.

Lusby, Ratliff Join Tewaaraton Watch List

Loyola’s Eric Lusby and Scott Ratliff were named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, joining fellow Greyhound Mike Sawyer who was named to the group before the season.

Lusby is second on the team with 27 goals and 35 points, while Ratliff paces the team in caused turnovers with 17, and his 39 ground balls are tied for the team lead.

Second-Half Success

Loyola continued a trend of strong second-half play this season by outscoring Fairfield, 4-2, in the fourth quarter

The Greyhounds have now outscored opponents 37-12 in the third quarters of games and 67-33 overall this year in the second half.

The second-half scoring continues a trend from the last two seasons. Last year, Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56 two years ago.

Lusby Matches Career-High

Eric Lusby scored three times during Loyola’s second half run and finished the Georgetown game with five goals, matching his career-high set on March 3 at Bellarmine. He followed that with his fifth hat trick of the season, scoring three at UMBC.

Lusby has scored at least one goal in each of Loyola’s eight games this season. The graduate student returned to game action in the season-opener after missing all but two games of the 2011 season. Now a graduate student, Lusby tore his right ACL in the 2010 NCAA First Round game against Cornell. He attempted to come back last year, but he saw limited action against Navy and Towson and was shut down to rehab the injury for the remainder of the season.

Lusby burst back onto the scene against Delaware, scoring the Greyhounds’ first goal of the game on an extra-man opportunity, and the 2010 All-ECAC First Team member tallied three more in the second half.

Lusby reset his career-high at Bellarmine, tallying five goals in the victory to go with one assist, and added two more at Michigan.

Through Loyola’s first eight games, Lusby is second on the team with 27 goals and 35 points.

Sawyer, Runkel Honored Again

For the second time this season, Mike Sawyer and Jack Runkel earned ECAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors on the same day, as the pair was honored on Monday following the Greyhounds’ wins over Georgetown and UMBC.

Sawyer scored three goals against the Hoyas, and he then scored four-straight Loyola goals and finished with five at UMBC. Sawyer also matched his career-best with two assists against the Retrievers.

Runkel paced the Loyola defense in the two games, playing to a 5.50 goals against average. He made a career-best 13 saves in the win over UMBC.

Toomey Wins 50th

Head coach Charley Toomey earned his 50th-career win Wednesday, March 7, as Loyola beat 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 all seven seasons since coming to the Evergreen campus.

Sawyer Shows Same Form

Mike Sawyer has picked up where he left off a year ago, leading the team with 29 goals and 36 points through the first eight games. Sawyer led Loyola last season with 31 goals and 38 points.

Sawyer tied a then-career-high with five goals in the team’s, 15-8, win at Michigan, before scoring a new personal-best six goals against Duke.

After scoring five goals against UMBC, he now has 16 career multi-goal games and the 19 multi-point effort of his tenure at Loyola.

Before the season, Sawyer was named to the Preseason All-ECAC Team and was named to the Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America Honorable Mention. He also was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.

Ratliff Honored For Second Time

Loyola long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff was named the ECAC Co-Specialist of the Week on March 19 after turning in impressive numbers in a win over Air Force. Ratliff scored twice and had an assist while picking up seven ground balls against the Falcons. Earlier this season, Ratliff earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week laurels after the Greyhounds’ opener against Delaware.

Ratliff is currently sixth among active long poles in career scoring. He has seven goals and five assists for 12 points. This year, he has three goals and two assists, as well as a team-leading 32 ground balls.

Bonitatibus, Runkel Both Win First Starts

Junior Michael Bonitatibus made his first collegiate start in goal for the Greyhounds against Delaware after having played less than two minutes prior to this season.

Bonitatibus, who played 65 seconds in his collegiate debut last year at Duke, made seven saves for the Greyhounds and allowed just eight goals. He also picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Bonitatibus became the first Loyola goalkeeper to win his starting debut in nearly 11 years. The last was Mark Bloomquist who also defeated Delaware, 8-7, on February 24, 2001.

Jack Runkel made his first career start against Michigan and also won his initial outing as a starter. He tallied five saves against the Wolverines, and he then posted a career-high 12 against Duke.

Record At Ridley

After going 4-1 at Ridley Athletic Complex last season, the Greyhounds have opened their third year at the stadium with six wins at home. Loyola is now 14-3 all-time at Ridley.

What’s Next

The Greyhounds wrap up their three-game road trip with an excursion on April 21 to Geneva, N.Y., where they will wrap up ECAC play with a 12 noon game at Hobart.

Game Data

The Greyhounds embark on a three-game roadtrip that will take them from Connecticut to Colorado in ECAC Lacrosse League action when they play at 1 o’clock on Saturday, April 7, at Fairfield University.

Series History

Loyola and the Stags will meet for the 14th time when they face-off on Lessing Field Saturday. The Greyhounds hold an 11-2 lead in the all-time series, but the teams split two meetings last year with Loyola winning, 7-6, in overtime during the regular-season, but Fairfield picking up a 10-9 decision in the ECAC Semifinals in Denver.

In The Polls

Loyola checked in at No. 4 for the second week in a row in the USILA Coaches’ Poll this week, and the Greyhounds moved up one spot in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media rankings to No. 4. The coaches’ poll mark is Loyola’s highest ranking since it checked in at third in the April 1, 2002, poll with a 7-0 record after downing Towson, 15-7.

Fairfield, meanwhile, is ranked 14th in both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse polls.

Close Call

Loyola’s 8-7 victory last Saturday against Ohio State marked the first time this year that the Greyhounds have played a game decided by less than three goals. Previously, Loyola’s closest victory was 11-8 on March 3 at Bellarmine, and no other game was within five goals.

Ten Or More Streak Snapped

The Greyhounds had scored at least 11 goals in each of their first eight games of the 2012 season, marking the longest stretch of games with 10 or more goals they have put together since March 24-May 12, 2001. Ohio State, however, held Loyola to just eight goals when the teams met last Saturday.

New Feeling

Loyola was outshot for the first time this season on Saturday against Ohio State, as the Buckeyes tallied 33 shots to the Greyhounds’ 27.

Ohio State, however, managed to put just 15 shots on goal, and goalkeeper Jack Runkel made saves on eight.

Loyola, meanwhile, had 20 shots on goal, a season-best 74-percent of its overall shots.

Previously, Loyola had outshot opponents by a minimum of nine in the first eight games of the year.

Acton Draws Recognition

Junior defender Reid Acton was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording five ground balls and a career-best five caused turnovers last Saturday against Ohio State.

Acton’s primary marking responsibility against the Buckeyes was leading scorer Logan Schuss who entered the game averaging 3+ goals and 4+ points per game. Acton limited him to two goals and an assist, and his final goal came with just nine seconds left and Loyola leading by three.

Near The Top Of The Rankings

While Loyola had its season-low total of eight goals on Saturday against Ohio State, the Greyhounds’ defense played nearly to its season average by allowing just seven goals.

As of this Monday, Loyola is ranked sixth in NCAA Division I with an average of 7.11 goals allowed per game. The Greyhounds slipped to ninth (from a tie for fifth last week) in scoring offense, as they are now averaging 12.44 goals per game through nine contests.

Loyola is second nationally in scoring margin (+5.33), just behind Massachusetts (+6.22).

Sharing The Rock

No Loyola player has more than 6 assists (Justin Ward) through nine games, but nine players have at least four assists, and 14 have two or more. In addition to Ward’s 6, Sean O’Sullivan has nine, Davis Butts and Eric Lusby have eight, Mike Sawyer has seven, Chris Layne checks in with six, and Nikko Pontrello has five and J.P. Dalton and Pat Byrnes have four each.

With 78 assists this season, the Greyhounds lead Division I with 8.78 per game.

Ward Distributes

Justin Ward posted three assists in the win over Ohio State, two off his career-high of five set earlier this season against Towson. He now leads the team with 16 assists and is third with 20 points.

Ward also tallied a big goal for the Greyhounds, coming around screens by Mike Sawyer and Sean O’Sullivan to rip a seven-yard shot that put Loyola ahead 7-5 late.

More Than Last Year

This year’s team has already eclipsed last year’s total of 62 assists in just eight games. The Greyhounds’ 112 goals this season are already more than the 110 the 2011 team put up in 13 games a year ago.

Big Runs

Loyola used runs of three-plus goals at important junctures of its first nine games, helping the Greyhounds to wins each time. In all, Loyola has scored three or more in a row on 18 occasions this season.

Loyola used four three-goal runs against Duke, including one three-goal streak that put Loyola up 4-1 at the beginning of the second quarter. The Greyhounds never trailed after that initial three-goal run and extended their lead to 13-5 after its fourth three-goal spurt of the game.

The Greyhounds had their longest run in almost two years against Air Force, scoring 10 in a row to open the second half. The last time Loyola scored 10 or more in a row was on March 20, 2010, when it had 14 straight against Air Force.

Loyola then used a 6-0 run to break a 5-5 tie early in the third quarter with Georgetown on the way to a 11-6 victory.

The Greyhounds then scored seven in a row on the back end of a 10-1 run last Saturday at UMBC.

After falling behind 3-2 in the second quarter against Ohio State, the Greyhounds strung together four in a row to go ahead 6-3 by the end of the third quarter.

On The Flip Side

Conversely, the Greyhounds have allowed a run of three or more goals just four times this year, the most recent coming when Ohio State tallied three unanswered in the second quarter last Saturday to go up 3-2. Only one team (Air Force) has scored four in a row.

Every time an opponent has logged those runs, Loyola has answered in kind with a run of 4-0 or better.

Lusby, Ratliff Join Tewaaraton Watch List

On Wednesday, Loyola’s Eric Lusby and Scott Ratliff were named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, joining fellow Greyhound Mike Sawyer who was named to the group before the season.

Lusby is second on the team with 27 goals and 35 points, while Ratliff paces the team in caused turnovers with 17, and his 39 ground balls are tied for the team lead.

Second-Half Success

Loyola continued a trend of strong second-half play this season by outscoring Ohio State, 3-0, in the third quarter.

The Greyhounds have now outscored opponents 37-10 in the third quarters of games and 63-29 overall this year in the second half.

The second-half scoring continues a trend from the last two seasons. Last year, Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56 two years ago.

Lusby Matches Career-High

Eric Lusby scored three times during Loyola’s second half run and finished the Georgetown game with five goals, matching his career-high set on March 3 at Bellarmine. He followed that with his fifth hat trick of the season, scoring three at UMBC.

Lusby has scored at least one goal in each of Loyola’s eight games this season. The graduate student returned to game action in the season-opener after missing all but two games of the 2011 season. Now a graduate student, Lusby tore his right ACL in the 2010 NCAA First Round game against Cornell. He attempted to come back last year, but he saw limited action against Navy and Towson and was shut down to rehab the injury for the remainder of the season.

Lusby burst back onto the scene against Delaware, scoring the Greyhounds’ first goal of the game on an extra-man opportunity, and the 2010 All-ECAC First Team member tallied three more in the second half.

Lusby reset his career-high at Bellarmine, tallying five goals in the victory to go with one assist, and added two more at Michigan.

Through Loyola’s first eight games, Lusby is second on the team with 27 goals and 35 points.

Sawyer, Runkel Honored Again

For the second time this season, Mike Sawyer and Jack Runkel earned ECAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors on the same day, as the pair was honored on Monday following the Greyhounds’ wins over Georgetown and UMBC.

Sawyer scored three goals against the Hoyas, and he then scored four-straight Loyola goals and finished with five at UMBC. Sawyer also matched his career-best with two assists against the Retrievers.

Runkel paced the Loyola defense in the two games, playing to a 5.50 goals against average. He made a career-best 13 saves in the win over UMBC.

Toomey Wins 50th

Head coach Charley Toomey earned his 50th-career win Wednesday, March 7, as Loyola beat 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 all seven seasons since coming to the Evergreen campus.

Sawyer Shows Same Form

Mike Sawyer has picked up where he left off a year ago, leading the team with 29 goals and 36 points through the first eight games. Sawyer led Loyola last season with 31 goals and 38 points.

Sawyer tied a then-career-high with five goals in the team’s, 15-8, win at Michigan, before scoring a new personal-best six goals against Duke.

After scoring five goals against UMBC, he now has 16 career multi-goal games and the 19 multi-point effort of his tenure at Loyola.

Before the season, Sawyer was named to the Preseason All-ECAC Team and was named to the Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America Honorable Mention. He also was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.

Dominant At The ‘X’

In his first year as the Greyhounds’ primary face-off man, senior J.P. Dalton has continued Loyola’s tradition of excellence at the ‘X’.

Through eight games, Dalton ranks eighth nationally in face-off percentage, winning restarts at a .620 clip (124-of-200). As a unit, the Greyhounds entered the week fourth-best in the nation at .612.

Dalton is tied for the team lead with 39 ground balls with one of his primary wings, Scott Ratliff. Josh Hawkins, who returned from injury to make his season-debut on March 10 against Duke, has 24 in five games, and Pat Laconi has 15. Davis Butts has also seen time on the wing and has 23 ground balls this season.

Ratliff Honored For Second Time

Loyola long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff was named the ECAC Co-Specialist of the Week on Monday after turning in impressive numbers in last Saturday’s win over Air Force. Ratliff scored twice and had an assist while picking up seven ground balls against the Falcons.

Earlier this season, Ratliff earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week laurels after the Greyhounds’ opener against Delaware.

Ratliff is currently sixth among active long poles in career scoring. He has seven goals and five assists for 12 points. This year, he has three goals and two assists, as well as a team-leading 32 ground balls.

Sawyer, Runkel Earn ECAC Honors

Mike Sawyer and Jack Runkel were honored as ECAC Lacrosse Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week on March 12 following wins at Michigan and against Duke.

Sawyer scored 11 goals and had 14 points, setting career highs in both categories. He scored five goals and had six points in Michigan’s first-ever home game, before breaking those personal records with six goals and eight points in a win over Duke. He also picked up a career-high six ground balls, finishing the week with nine ground balls.

Runkel made the first two starts of his collegiate career, posting an 8.00 goals-against average and .515 save percentage to help the Greyhounds in two wins. 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 then made a career-high 12 saves against a Duke team that has played in the last five Final Fours.

Bonitatibus, Runkel Both Win First Starts

Junior Michael Bonitatibus made his first collegiate start in goal for the Greyhounds against Delaware after having played less than two minutes prior to this season.

Bonitatibus, who played 65 seconds in his collegiate debut last year at Duke, made seven saves for the Greyhounds and allowed just eight goals. He also picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Bonitatibus became the first Loyola goalkeeper to win his starting debut in nearly 11 years. The last was Mark Bloomquist who also defeated Delaware, 8-7, on February 24, 2001.

Jack Runkel made his first career start against Michigan and also won his initial outing as a starter. He tallied five saves against the Wolverines, and he then posted a career-high 12 against Duke.

Record At Ridley

After going 4-1 at Ridley Athletic Complex last season, the Greyhounds have opened their third year at the stadium with six wins at home. Loyola is now 14-3 all-time at Ridley.

What’s Next

Loyola continues its stretch of road games with a 7 o’clock (Mountain) game at Denver on Saturday, April 14.

The Game: Third-ranked Johns Hopkins (8-1) returns home to host Albany (1-7) in a rare Thursday night game for the Blue Jays.

Last Time Out: Johns Hopkins had its 15-game regular season winning streak snapped as the Blue Jays fell to North Carolina, 13-9, in the Big City Classic on Sunday. Albany picked up its first win of the season last Saturday with a 12-11 victory over Binghamton.

Series History: Johns Hopkins and Albany are meeting for the 11th time in a series that dates to a 10-4 Johns Hopkins victory in 2002. The Blue Jays lead the all-time series 9-1 and all 11 games (including this season’s matchup) have been played at Homewood Field.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Albany with an all-time record of 920-295-15 (.754). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

Career Win Number 150: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala picked up career win number 150 with the 12-6 victory vs. Towson in the season opener. He now sports an all-time record of 157-59 (.726), including a 134-42 (.761) record at Johns Hopkins. He ranks second all-time in school history in career coaching victories as only Hall of Fame coach Bob Scott (158 wins from 1955-74) has more victories than Pietramala while patrolling the sidelines at Homewood.

About the Start: Although Johns Hopkins had its eight-game season-opening winning streak snapped with the loss to North Carolina on Sunday, good things could be in store for the Blue Jays down the road. Since 1977 the Blue Jays have opened a season with eight straight wins seven times (including this season). JHU has won the national championship three times in the previous six years, made two other trips to the title game and advanced to the NCAA semifinals the other year.

Program Ties: Albany is coached by Scott Marr, a 1991 Johns Hopkins graduate. Marr was a member of the Blue Jays’ 1987 NCAA Championship team and played at JHU with current Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala and current JHU associate head coach Bill Dwan.

Marching Orders: Johns Hopkins closed out the March portion of its 2012 schedule at Virginia on March 24. The Blue Jays posted their first perfect record in the month of March (5-0) since 2005, when they also won all five of their games played in the month. Since 1972, JHU has posted a perfect record in the month of March 15 times (not including this season). In six of those years the Blue Jays went on to win the national championship and in seven other instances JHU finished as national runner-up.

April Reign: Flipping the calendar to April has usually been a good sign for the Blue Jays, who are 48-8 (.857) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played in April. JHU is 27-3 at home, 19-3 on the road and 2-2 on a neutral field in April under Pietramala’s guidance.

Streaking – Part 1: In case you didn’t notice, Johns Hopkins is 16-2 in its last 18 games, 21-4 since the start of the 2011 season and 23-6 in its last 29 games.

Streaking – Part 2: Johns Hopkins is 109-30 (.784) in its last 139 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 126-38 (.768) overall since the start of the 2002 season.

13-Win Seasons: With a 13-3 record last season, Johns Hopkins reached the 13-win mark for the fifth time under head coach Dave Pietramala and the 12th time in school history.

Home Cookin’: Johns Hopkins ran its home winning streak to 11 games with the 11-7 win over sixth-ranked Syracuse on March 17. The streak is the second-longest under head coach Dave Pietramala, who picked up his 75th career victory at Homewood Field with the win earlier this season against Delaware. Hopkins sports a gaudy 78-12 (.867) record in home games during his career at JHU.
JHU won a school and national-record 37 straight home games from 2001-06 under Pietramala’s guidance and the current 11-game home winning streak is the fourth home streak of seven wins or more since he arrived.

More Home Cookin’: In addition to boasting the second-longest home winning streak of the Dave Pietramala era, Johns Hopkins’ current 11-game winning streak at Homewood Field is also the second longest active home winning streak in the nation. Only Cornell, which has won 12 straight at Schoellkopf Field, has a longer current streak in the home whites than Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins’ win at Virginia on March 24 snapped UVA’s 14-game home winning streak, which had stood as the longest in the nation.

Balancing Act: Johns Hopkins has employed virtually the same first and second midfield units throughout the first nine games and those units have proven to be steady in terms of production. JHU’s first unit of Rob Guida (11), John Ranagan (8) and John Greeley (6) has combined for 25 goals, while the second unit of Lee Coppersmith (10), Mark Goodrich (5) and Greg Edmonds (2) has 17 goals to its credit. The major difference between the two groups has been with assists. The unit of Guida, Ranagan and Greeley has combined for 16 assists. Edmonds’ assist against North Carolina was the first assist of the season from the trio on the second midfield.

Jumping Right In: Junior John Kaestner had played in 12 career games and hadn’t so much as taken a shot before getting the starting nod at Princeton with freshman Wells Stanwick out. No worries, all Kaestner did was stick the first two goals of his career during a 4-1 fourth-quarter run that fueled JHU’s 10-8 win. He came back with one goal and one assist in the win vs. Manhattan and duplicated that effort in the win over UMBC.

Bassett Now 21-4 in Last 25 Starts: Junior goalie Pierce Bassett picked up his 24th career victory in goal with the 11-10 win at Virginia as he posted nine saves in the overtime victory. Including the loss to UNC he is 21-4 in his last 25 starts dating back to the start of the 2011 season and counts a 24-8 career record to his credit. Through nine games Bassett currently ranks fifth in the nation in goals against average (6.82) and 14th in save percentage (.565).
Bassett concluded his first full season as the starter for the Blue Jays last season and posted a 7.07 goals against average and a .570 save percentage. He finished fifth in the nation in GAA and 10th in save percentage. Bassett’s 7.07 goals against average is the second best by a JHU goalie since 1993 (Jesse Schwartman’s 6.68 GAA in 2005 is the best since records became available in ‘93).

Boland Returns: Senior attackman Chris Boland returned to the lineup against North Carolina after missing seven consecutive games with an injury he suffered 35 minutes into the season opener against Towson. Boland scored twice and dished out a pair of assists to push his season totals to six goals and two assists in just two games. Boland’s two-goal, two-assist showing vs. North Carolina pushed his career totals to 72 goals and 40 assists for 112 points. It was also his 26th career multi-point game and 17th game with four points or more.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays check in at number three in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week. The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll to represent JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. Prior to falling out of the top 20 of the USILA Poll on April 26 and May 3, 2010 (JHU was receiving votes in both polls), the Blue Jays had been ranked in the top 20 in 367 consecutive polls dating back to the first poll in 1973.

More Poll Position: Including this week’s USILA Poll, there have been 391 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 389 of those 391 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 368 of the 391 and the top five in 294 of those 391. Johns Hopkins has been ranked number one 104 times since the poll debuted in 1973.

State Rivalries: Without question the Blue Jays play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation and a big part of the schedule are the in-state rivalries the Blue Jays have. Including wins this season vs. Towson and UMBC, JHU is 55-4 (.932) against teams from Maryland under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Offensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest about the JHU offense:
• JHU has scored at least one goal in 34 of 36 quarters this season and two or more in 29 of the 36 quarters.
• For all the talk about JHU being a slow down team, the Blue Jays are averaging 36.1 shots per game. That number compares favorably to JHU’s averages in 2005 (38.1) and 2007 (36.3) – the most recent years in which Johns Hopkins won the national championship.
• Johns Hopkins ranks 20th in the nation in scoring offense (10.33), 14th in extra-man offense (.455) and ninth in scoring margin (+3.66).

Defensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest about the JHU defense:
• Hopkins held Towson to just 18 shots and Manhattan to just 14. Hopkins is surrending an average of just 29.9 shots per game.
• Johns Hopkins has held each of its nine opponents scoreless for a stretch of at least 14:52 – eight of the nine have gone scoreless for 19:30 or longer.
• JHU has held the opposition scoreless in 12 of 36 quarters this season (33.3%).
• The Blue Jays rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense (6.67), 22nd in man-down defense (.677) and ninth in scoring margin (+3.66) this season.

Now That’s a Drought: The Johns Hopkins defense did not allow an even-strength goal for an amazing stretch of 116:37 from late in the win at Princeton through early in the fourth quarter of the win over UMBC. The Retrievers did score a pair of extra-man goals in the first half, but the first six-on-six goal they scored came 34 seconds into the fourth quarter.

About the Shutout: Shutouts in college lacrosse are rare, but JHU notched one with the 11-0 victory over Manhattan on March 6. Prior to that, the Blue Jays had last posted a shutout on March 26, 1988, when they knocked off Princeton, 9-0. The shutout vs. Manhattan was the 61st in school history with 57 of those 61 shutouts coming prior to 1950.

Noting JHU in the NCAA Tournament: Johns Hopkins made its 40th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. By comparison, the next six longest active streaks of qualifying for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament add up to exactly 40 consecutive appearances (Maryland-9, Cornell-8, Virginia-7, Notre Dame-6, Duke-5, North Carolina-5).

First to 900: Johns Hopkins’ 10-6 win at Towson in the 2011 season opener not only got the season off on the right foot for the Blue Jays, but also made history. The win was the 900th all-time in school history, making Johns Hopkins the first program to record 900 all-time wins. JHU now has 920 all-time wins.

That’s 625 Games Over .500: The Blue Jays’ all-time record is now 920-295-15 (.754) … that’s 625 games over .500. To put this in perspective: JHU has played an average of just over 15 games per season under head coach Dave Pietramala. Using a 15-game season as a reference, if the Blue Jays posted a 5-10 record for 125 straight seasons, they would still be five games over .500.

Opening Face-Off Seeking its fifth straight win Wednesday, Towson welcomes crosstown rival UMBC to Johnny Unitas® Stadium. The Tigers are coming off the largest fourth quarter comeback in the 53-year history of the program on Saturday at Hofstra. Towson trailed by six goals with 11:27 left in the game, but it mounted a furious rally and won the game, 10-9, in double overtime on a Justin Mabus strike. Wednesday’s game against the Retrievers will be the final non-conference contest for the Tigers this season. The game is also sponsored by the University Store and they will be providing 200 rally towels to the first 200 fans in attendance. Opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and fans can catch the game live on WNST-AM 1570 with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Towson (6-3, 2-0), which is ranked No. 19 in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, has won four straight games, including each of its first two CAA contests. The Tigers are off to their best start since opening the 2007 season at 7-3 before advancing to the NCAA Tournament that year. Sophomore Thomas DeNapoli is coming off a career night at Hofstra. The midfielder had a career-high six points (3g, 3a) to lead Towson to a dramatic come-from-behind win. Of the sophomore’s three goals, two came in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying tally with two seconds remaining in regulation. DeNapoli’s three goals tied his career-high and his three assists set a new career best.

Scouting the Retrievers
UMBC (3-4, 1-0 America East) was listed as receiving votes in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll after topping Hartford, 16-12, on Saturday. The 16 goals scored was a season high for the Retrievers. Junior attackman Scott Jones, who scored four goals against Hartford, leads UMBC with 21 points. Jones has scored in 13 consecutive games and has multiple points in 12 of those contests. Junior attackman Joe Lustgarten posted a career-high five goals and eight total points in the win over Hartford on Saturday. Lustgarten, the current America East Player of the Week, leads his team with 11 assists and is second with 18 points. Junior goalkeeper Adam Cohen is sixth in the nation with 12.29 saves per game.

Towson-UMBC Series History
The Tigers and Retrievers will be meeting for the 43rd time tonight. Towson has only played Loyola (54) and Delaware (53) more often in its history. The Tigers own a 27-15 advantage in the all-time series, including a 10-7 win the last time these squads met at Unitas Stadium on April 7, 2010.

Joining the Rankings
The Towson men’s lacrosse team broke into the national rankings this week. The Tigers find themselves ranked No. 19 in this week’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. It’s the first time Towson has been ranked since checking in at No. 20 in the May 3, 2010 poll. The Tigers narrowly missed being ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll as they are the top squad in the receiving vote’s category. The Colonial Athletic Association boasts three schools in the Top 20 as Towson joins No. 2 Massachusetts and No. 16 Penn State in the rankings.

Stellar Rookie
Freshman midfielder Justin Mabus was selected as the CAA Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Week for the second time in as many weeks, it was announced by league officials on Monday. Mabus, who is tied for the team lead with nine assists this season, did his damage this past week at No. 20 Hofstra by netting the biggest goal of his young career. The freshman capped off the largest fourth quarter comeback in the 53-year history of the program by scoring the game-winning goal with just 38 seconds remaining in double overtime.