Game Preview
• Fresh off its 12-7 victory over Patriot League foe Lafayette this past Saturday, the Navy men’s lacrosse team will step away from conference action to face Towson on Tuesday evening … meeting for just the 11th time in series history, the Mids and Tigers will face off at 7:30 pm at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
• The Mids are coming off their most complete game of the season which featured a balanced offensive attack … eight different players scored goals for the Midshipmen, including Tucker Hull, who pitched his fourth hat trick of the season, and rookie middie Gabe Voumard and sophomore long pole Pat Kiernan, who scored two goals apiece … the Mids dismantled a Lafayette defense that came into the game as the nation’s third-ranked scoring defense, giving up fewer than seven goals.
• Towson is coming off a 10-8 win over Mount St. Mary’s, but needed a three-goal fourth quarter to capture the win … the Mount held an 8-7 lead with nine minutes to go in the game, but the Tigers scored three in a row, including the game-winner by Matt Hughes with four minutes remaining.

Taking the Field In …
10    Navy has lost just five games (48-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season … Navy is 2-0 this season when reaching 10 goals.
9    Sophomore attackman Sam Jones pushed his point-scoring streak to nine-straight games after dealing out an assist against Lafayette last Saturday … he opened the season with a remarkable nine-point (5-4) effort against VMI … it’s the most points scored by a Navy player since Dennis Nealon produced 12 points against Washington College  on March 20, 1991.
8    Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull has recorded eight hat tricks in his 18-game Navy career, including four this season … Hull has also produced eight points in a game twice this season, including a three-goal, five-assist effort against Lafayette.
7    The Mids’ two wins this season have been when they held their foe to seven goals.
6    Four players lead Navy with six takeaways apiece this season, including sophomore long pole Pat Kiernan who force four Lafayette turnovers on Saturday.
5    Five of Navy’s 2012 opponents are ranked in the 2012 USILA Coaches Poll – Johns Hopkins (2), Maryland (7), North Carolina (T11), Lehigh (T11) and Colgate (17) – while Bucknell is also receiving votes.
4    Navy has lost four of the five games against Towson which were played on the Tigers’ home field … Navy’s lone win at Towson was an 8-7 decision on April 17, 1993 … the Mids have lost three in a row in Towson.
3    Sophomore midfielder Erik Hoffstadt has scored points in each of the last three games and all three points (1G, 2A) have come on extra-man.
2    Six different players scored two goals (Nikk Davis, Tucker Hull, Sam Jones, Jay Mann, Taylor Reynolds, Andy Warner) in last year’s 14-11 win over Towson.
1    Over the last four seasons, 23 (9-14) of the Mids’ 65 contests have been decided by one goal … Navy has lost five-straight one-goal games.

More on the Tigers
• First-year head coach Shawn Nadelen has led the tigers to a 2-2 record, nearly equalling last year’s win total (3-10) … the Tigers have bookend wins over Jacksonville (12-10) and Mount St. Mary’s (10-8) with losses to nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins (12-6) and Loyola (13-6) in between).
• Eleven different players have scored goals for the Tigers this season, including senior attackman Sean Maguire who has produced 10 points on a team-high eight goals and two assists … meanwhile second-year midfielder Thomas DeNapoli stands second in scoring with nine points on seven goals and two assists … DeNapoli is coming off a strong performance against Mount St. Mary’s, netting a hat trick.
• Sharing time in goal are senior Travis Love and junior Andrew Wascavage … Wascavage has played in all four games, giving up 34 goals (11.33 GAA) and making 33 stops (49.3) … Love has played in two games, surrendering nine goals (9.00) and posting 12 saves (57.1).
• Junior Matt Thomas has handled the majority of the faceoff duties (26-57, 45.6), while juniors Warren Kalkstein (6-19, 31.6) and Ian Mills (7-11, 63.6) have also pitched in.
• Towson, meanwhile, is ranked No. 2 nationally in shot percentage (37.4) and is seventh in extra-man offense (57.1) … the Tigers struggle mightily on man-down, however, as they are ranked 60th (41.7).

Series History
• Tuesday’s contest between Navy and Towson marks only the 11th game in a series that, prior to 2010, was discontinued following the 1997 campaign.
• Navy holds a narrow 6-4 advantage, losing four of the five  games played at Towson … conversely, the Mids are 5-0 in games played in Annapolis.
• The inaugural meeting was won by Navy, 13-9, but a regular series was not set up until the 1991 campaign … Navy and Towson met seven straight years before the series stalled out.
• Navy head coach Rick Sowell owns a 1-2 record against Towson … he was 1-1 against the Tigers at Stony Brook and lost the only meeting with Towson while at Dartmouth.

2011 Navy-Towson Recap
• Navy scored the game’s final six goals while the defense held Towson scoreless over the last 18 minutes of play to earn a 14-11 victory over the Tigers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
• Both teams utilized extended runs throughout the game, as momentum shifted from one sideline to the other.  Towson opened up a 3-0 lead with under five minutes to go in the opening frame, before the Mids heated up and poked in a pair of goals, including a beautiful lefty shot from freshman Sam Jones on the right wing with under 40 seconds to play.
• The Mids knotted the game at 3-3 when junior attackman Taylor Reynolds used his speed to wrap around the left side of the cage and fire off a rocket to the right post.  Not only did the shot come hard an fast out of Reynolds’ stick, he had almost no angle as was witnessed by keeper Travis Love who never budged.
• The two teams would trade goals over the next two minutes before Towson would once again mount a run that featured sophomore attackman Matt Hughes scoring the first of his game-high three goals.
• Trailing 7-4 with five minutes remaining in the opening half, the Mids, much like the Bucknell game, rallied and scored three goals in the final three minutes including two in the final minute.  Sophomore middie Jay Mann stuck his five-yard shot in at the three-minute mark, followed by a well-executed extra-man goal by Jones on the crease with 51.8 seconds left.  Navy evened the score at seven-all when senior midfielder Andy Warner found rookie attackman Tucker Hull open just behind the plane of the goal and Hull turned his shoulder and sent his ankle-biter in with just 1.7 seconds before intermission.  Warner was credited with assists on all three goals just before the half.
• Scoring its fourth-consecutive goal, Navy struck first in the second half as Warner sent his pass across the field to junior midfielder Nikk Davis who then found Hull for the goal at 13:46.
• Navy’s lead, however, would be short-lived, as an extra-man goal by senior attackman Tommy Beach at the 9:36 mark triggered a four-goal run by the Tigers.  Hughes would score two of the four goals, including the last in the run that had Navy’s coaching staff bewildered.  Junior midfielder Carl Iacona was clearly offside, so obvious, in fact, that Iacona dropped the ball because he thought the official had whistled him for the infraction.  Once the madness subdued, Iacona wisely snatched the ball up and took off for the goal.  Chased down around the crease, he made a diving pass to Hughes, who curled around the left side of the net and sent his shot past Navy junior keeper RJ Wickham.
• With 3:04 remaining in the third quarter, Towson held an 1-8 advantage.  Remarkably, it would be the Tigers’ final goal of the game.
• Meanwhile, after being held scoreless for better than 12 minutes, Navy finally got on the scoreboard when freshman Harrison Chaires’ shot on extra-man bounced off the keeper’s stick and over his head for the goal.
• While Chaires’ goal certainly pushed the momentum in the Mids’ favor, Navy went on to score three goals in three minutes to start the final quarter, including a goal by Warner with 10:06 to play that put the lead back in Navy’s hands.  Meanwhile the goal just 32 seconds prior to Warner’s was a high-to-low beauty that hugged the left post by senior midfielder Kevin Doyle  who notched his first goal of the season.
• Navy extended its lead with an unassisted goal by Mann with 3:55 remaining and Warner put the game out of reach when he broke free from a double-team that included the goalkeeper, and punched in his second goal of the evening on an open goal.
• Warner led all players with a career-high eight points on two goals and six assists.  He is the first Navy player to register eight points in a game since Jon Birsner dealt out eight assists against Colgate on March 19, 2005.  Meanwhile, the six assists by Warner are the most by a Navy player since Birsner produced six helpers against Holy Cross on March 26, 2006.
• While Navy’s offense continued to shine, so, too did faceoff specialist Logan West, who finished the contest just one win shy of tying the school’s all-time single-game record.  West won 19 of the 29 draws and picked up eight ground balls along the way.

Towson Ties
• Mark Goers, the Director of Physical Education Operations who has been with the Navy lacrosse program since 2002, is a 1995 graduate of Towson … he is the Tigers’ all-time leader in faceoff win percentage (70.2) and ranks fourth with 375 faceoff wins.
• First-year Towson assistant coach Anthony Gilardi served as an assistant coach at Navy from 2009-11 under Richie Meade.

Navy-Lafayette Rewind
• In a game that featured three times and three lead changes, the Mids utilized a four-goal run in the second half to take the lead for good and capture their first Patriot League victory of the Rick Sowell era.
• The win snapped a three-game losing streak by the Mids who had last seen a win nearly a month prior against VMI on Feb. 11.
• The win also snapped a two-game road losing streak dating back to last season when the Midshipmen were a dismal 1-6 on the road.
• Sophomore attackman Sam Jones, who dealt out an assist in the second quarter, extended his point-scoring streak to nine-straight games.  His goal-scoring streak, however, was snapped at five games as he came up empty against the Leopards.
• Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull scored three goals and added five assists en route to producing his eighth-career hat trick and the fourth this year (VMI-6, Jacksonville-3, Bucknell-3, Lafayette-3).
• Freshman Gabe Voumard turned in back-to-back goals for the Mids early in the game, marking his first-collegiate points.
• Second-year long pole Pat Kiernan played his most complete game, causing a team-high four turnovers, picking up five ground balls and scoring a career-high two goals.
• Sophomore attackman Austin Heneveld scored his first goal of the season, while junior Jordan Seivold, who is playing both ways this season, recorded his first point in what was his first appearance of the year.

Meet the Mids
• Navy will hold its annual “Meet the Mids” event this Saturday following its game against Holy Cross (12:00 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Patriot League Boasts Nation’s Top Two Scorers
• The nation’s top two point producers hail from Patriot League institutions according to this week’s NCAA statistics report.
• Colgate junior Peter Baum is leading the country with his 5.83 points per game (26G, 9A), while Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull stands second, averaging 5.40 points per contest (15G, 12A).
• Baum is also the nation’s top goal producer (4.33), while Hull is tied for ninth, scoring 3.00 goals per game.
• Hull has registered hat tricks in four of the five games this season.
• Hull is also ranked among the top 10 in assist per game, dealing out 2.40 per contest.

A Tip of the Hat
• Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull is tied for 18th among the nation’s career hat trick leaders.
• Hull has punched in three or more goals in eight of the 18 games over his two-year career, including four of the five contests this season.
• Hull is the only sophomore listed among the top 20.
• Hull stands alongside Siena’s Danny Martinsen and Chris Roth.
• Siena’s Bryan Neufeld leads the pack with 24-career hat tricks, while Denver senior Mark Matthews is just one behind.

Mirror, Mirror
• Through five games, Navy has scored 79 points on 50 goals and 29 assists … so, too, has Navy’s opponents … as in the exact same totals, 79 points on 50 goals and 29 assists.
• Having played just two Patriot League games, Navy has scored 21 goals, as has its foes, Bucknell (14) and Lafayette (7).

Opening Face-Off
Towson will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season as the Tigers host Navy at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Tuesday evening. The game, which is sponsored by Under Armour, will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570 with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Now 2-2 on the season, the Tigers will be looking to remain perfect at home after topping Mount St. Mary’s 10-8 in their home opener March 3. Sophomore Thomas DeNapoli tallied a team-high three goals to lead Towson past The Mount and the midfielder is now second on the squad with seven goals. Senior attackman Sean Maguire tallied his third multi-goal game of the season in the win and he now leads Towson with eight goals and 10 points.

Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy snapped its three-game losing streak Saturday by topping Lafayette, 12-7, on the road. After opening the year with a win at VMI, the Midshipmen dropped contests against Jacksonville, No. 4 North Carolina and Bucknell. Navy’s only common opponent thus far with Towson is Jacksonville. The Midshipmen lost by a 13-7 score while the Tigers upended the Dolphins 12-10 in their season opener. Both games were played in Jacksonville. Navy is led by standout sophomore Tucker Hull, who has a remarkable 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists. Classmate Sam Jones is second on the squad with 16 points on nine goals and seven assists.

Last Year’s Towson-Navy Meeting
After four lead changes and five ties Navy executed a late 6-0 run to rally from a three-goal third quarter deficit and hand Towson a 14-11 loss in Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. The 10th meeting between the two schools on the lacrosse field more resembled a ping-pong game with back-and-forth lead changes and momentum swings. But Navy mounted the final charge that erased an 11-8 Tigers’ lead with 3:04 left in the third quarter that lifted the Midshipmen to victory. Matt Hughes led the Tigers with three goals in the loss.

Towson-Navy Series History
The Tigers and Midshipmen will be meeting for the 11th time on the lacrosse field tonight. Navy owns a 6-4 advantage in the series, but Towson has won two of the last three meetings.

COLLEGE PARK, MD. – The fourth-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse team will look to rebound from its first loss of the season when it hosts Marist on March 10 at 1 p.m. at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

• Maryland (3-1, 1-0 ACC) is coming off of an 8-7 loss at UMBC on Tuesday night that saw the Terps surrender five straight goals in the fourth quarter. John Haus led the offense with two goals and one assist.

• For the season, the Terps are led offensively by All-American John Haus, who has 12 points on six goals and a team-leading six assists. Senior All-American Joe Cummings is the team’s leading goal scorer with seven tallies. Defensively, Amato has stopped 57.8 percent of the shots put on goal by opponents and has a 6.88 goals-against average. Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt leads the team with 10 caused turnovers and is second on the squad with 18 groundballs. Junior Curtis Holmes is winning 56.0 percent of his face-offs and is the team leader in groundballs with 19.

• The Red Foxes are off to a 2-0 start with road wins over Sacred Heart (12-10, Feb. 26) and Stony Brook (10-9, Mar. 3). Conor Rice leads Marist with 10 points on five goals and five assists, while Jack Doherty leads the Red Foxes with six goals. Craig Goodermote has started both games in cage for the Red Foxes and has an 8.00 goals-against average and a 55.6 save percentage.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 85 of the 92 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .924 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 102-23 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .816 winning percentage.
8 … Eight Terps have scored at least four goals so far this season.
7 … Maryland is outscoring opponents by seven goals in the first quarter this season.
6 … Four Terps have combined to score six man-up goals in 2012.
5 … In the past five seasons Maryland is 18-5 following a loss.
4 … Maryland has only lost four games in its 87-year history to first-time opponents.
3 … John Haus is leading the team with an average of three points per game.
2 … Marist is the second of two first-time opponents Maryland will play in 2012.
1 … Joe Cummings’ man-down goal at UMBC was Maryland’s first man-down goal since 2009.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 36-25 career record for a 59.0 winning percentage. Tillman is 16-6 (.727) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Keegan Wilkinson is in his first season season as a head coach and is 2-0 (1.000). Prior to taking over as the head coach of the Red Foxes this year, he was Marist’s top assistant the previous four seasons.

Series History vs. Marist
• This will be the first-ever meeting between the Terps and the Red Foxes.

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.

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 85 of the 92 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .924 winning percentage.

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

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

• Since 2002 Maryland is 102-23 in games, for a .816 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 166 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.3 percent of the time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)
Cornell (7): 2011 (12-3), 2010 (12-6), 2009 (11-3), 2008 (11-4), 2007 (15-1), 2006 (11-3), 2005 (11-3)
Virginia (7): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Notre Dame (6): 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (5): 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (5): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)

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

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

Terps’ 87th Season Of Lacrosse
· The Terps boast an all-time record of 731-247-4 (.746), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 85 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

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

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

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

Three Taken In MLL Draft
· Three University of Maryland men’s lacrosse seniors were selected in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Midfielder Jake Bernhardt was the highest pick, being selected with the 12th overall selection by the Hamilton Nationals. Midfielder/attackman Joe Cummings was the next Terp taken, going 17th overall to the Rochester Rattlers (his rights have since been traded to the Chesapeake Bayhawks). Midfielder Drew Snider went 45th overall by the Bayhawks.

2012 Team Captains
· Five players have been named team captains for the 2012 season. The quintet, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Jake Bernhardt, Joe Cummings and Drew Snider and juniors Jesse Bernhardt and Owen Blye. Blye and Jesse Bernhardt are the first pair of juniors to be named team captains since Bob Ott and Randy Ratliff were among four captains in 1978.

The Game: Second-ranked Johns Hopkins (4-0) returns home to host Manhattan (1-2) in a rare Tuesday afternoon game for the Blue Jays.

Last Time Out: Johns Hopkins improved to 4-0 with a 10-8 win at 12th-ranked Princeton last Friday evening. Manhattan picked up its first win of the season on Saturday as the Jaspers knocked off Providence, 11-9.

Series History: Johns Hopkins and Manhattan are meeting for just the third time in a series that dates to a 14-3 Johns Hopkins victory in the 2010 season opener. JHU has held the Jaspers to exactly three goals in both previous meetings, taking the 14-3 win in 2010 and a 10-3 victory last season.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Manhattan with an all-time record of 916-294-15 (.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 153-58 (.725), including a 130-41 (.760) 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 4-0 Start: Johns Hopkins is 4-0 for the first time since 2005 and just the second time under head coach Dave Pietramala (2004). Prior to opening at 4-0 in 2004 and 2005, JHU hadn’t opened a season with four straight wins since 1995. Since 1977 the Blue Jays have opened a season with four straight wins 14 times (including this season). JHU has won the national championship six times in those 14 years, made five other trips to the title game and advanced to the NCAA semifinals in the other two years.

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 916 all-time wins.

That’s 622 Games Over .500: The Blue Jays’ all-time record is now 916-294-15 (.754) … that’s 622 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 two games over .500.

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 nine games with the 9-5 win over Siena on February 25. 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 and sports a gaudy 76-12 (.860) 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 nine-game home winning streak is the fourth home streak of seven wins or more since he arrived.

Striking the First Blow: Johns Hopkins scored on its first shot of the game seven times in 2011 and has already turned the trick twice this season. After not scoring all the way until their second shot of the game against Towson, the Blue Jays netted their first goal of the game against Delaware (Brandon Benn) and Siena (Wells Stanwick) on their first shot. JHU scored on its second shot of the game at Princeton.

Eleven Straight: Johns Hopkins ran its regular season winning streak to 11 games with the 10-8 win over Princeton. This is the longest regular season winning streak for JHU since a 19-game run that bridged the 2004 and 2006 seasons.

Attack Oriented: The starting attack unit of senior Chris Boland, junior Zach Palmer and sophomore Brandon Benn combined for nine goals and three assists in the 12-6 win vs. Towson. Add in two assists by freshman Wells Stanwick,who played a regular role throughout the game, and JHU got nine goals and five assists from its four primary attackmen.
In a tighter game against Delaware, it was Benn (3g, 1a), Stanwick (1g, 2a) and Palmer (1a) leading the way with a combined four goals and four assists, while the same trio combined for five goals and three assists against Siena. Forced to juggle the lineup against vs. Princeton, Palmer (1g, 3a), Benn (1g) and junior John Kaestner (2g) combined for four goals and three 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 is stick the first two goals of his career during a 4-1 fourth-quarter run that fueled JHU’s 10-8 win.

Bassett Now 17-3 in Last 20 Starts: Sophomore goalie Pierce Bassett picked up his 20th career victory in goal with the 10-8 win at Princeton as he posted nine saves and allowed eight goals to improve to 20-7 in his 27 career starts. He is 17-3 in his last 20 starts dating back to the start of the 2011 season.
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. His fifth-place finish in GAA is the highest by a JHU goalie since Jesse Schwartzman led the nation in 2005 (6.68), while he is just the third Blue Jay to finish in the top 10 in save percentage since the NCAA began tracking men’s lacrosse statistics in 2000.
Bassett’s 7.07 goals against average is the second best by a JHU goalie since 1993 (Schwartman’s 6.68 GAA in 2005 is the best since records became available in ‘93).

Poppleton, Kennedy Fuel Success at the X: Freshman Drew Kennedy did a solid job on faceoffs in the season-opener vs. Towson as he won 9-of-14 in the absence of junior Mike Poppleton. Poppleton returned against Delaware and has been solid in three games since. After winning 10-of-16 vs. Delaware, he won 15-of-18 against Siena and 11-of-21 at Princeton and is now 36-of-54 (.667) on the year. As a team, JHU is 45-of-78 (.577) on faceoffs this season.

Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 105-29 (.784) in its last 134 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 122-37 (.767) overall since the start of the 2002 season.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays check in at number two 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 387 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 385 of those 387 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 364 of the 387 and the top five in 290 of those 387.
Offensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes about the JHU offense:
• JHU has scored at least one goal in every quarter this season and two or more in 13 of the 16 quarters.
• Hopkins fired 42 shots on Towson. JHU generated 40 or more shots just four times last season.
• The Blue Jays scored on their first shot of the game seven times last season and have done the same vs. Delaware and Siena this season.
• Johns Hopkins finished 10th in the nation in scoring offense (11.25), second in scoring margin (+4.0), 12th in assists per game (6.19) and 10th in points per game (17.44) last season.

Defensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest concerning the JHU defense:
• Hopkins held Towson to just 18 shots – the fewest the Blue Jays have surrendered since holding Mount St. Mary’s to 16 shots on April 27, 2009.
• JHU held Towson scoreless for a stretch of 31:05 midway through the game and then held Delaware off the board for 29:32 midway through the game. Siena failed to score for the final 19:30 and Princeton failed to score for a stretch of 25:20 midway through the game.
• JHU has held the opposition scoreless in five of 16 quarters this season (.313). • Johns Hopkins held the opposition scoreless for a stretch of 15 minutes or longer 16 times in 16 games last season. The Blue Jays held the opposition scoreless for 10 minutes or longer 33 times.
• The Blue Jays rank among the national leaders in scoring defense (6.25) this season.
• The starting attack units the Blue Jays faced last season combined for a total of 39 goals and 36 assists (4.69 points per game). Six of those units were held to three points or less and only five generated more than five points. The JHU starting defense (Tucker Durkin, Chris Lightner and Gavin Crisafulli) picked up where it left off last season as Towson’s starting attack totaled just two goals and two assists against JHU, while Delaware’s added three goals and three assists.

Game Data

Loyola University Maryland will make its second appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Game, and its first since March 7, 1994, when it takes on Fairfield University on Monday, March 5, at 7 o’clock.

Springfield, Mass., and the MassMutual Center will host all games in the tournament.

Watch Or Listen

The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen calling the play-by-play and Len Elmore providing the analysis. It will also be broadcast worldwide on ESPN3.com.

Been A Little While

Loyola is making its first trip to the MAAC Championship Game in 18 seasons, a span of 17 years, 11 months and 27 days. In all, it will have been 6,573 days between MAAC Championship Games for the Greyhounds.

This year’s freshmen – Tyler Hubbard and R.J. Williams – were less than one year old the last time Loyola played in the title match.

MAAC Championships History

Loyola is competing in the MAAC Championships for the 23rd year. The Greyhounds are 10-21 all-time in the championships.

Sunday was just Loyola fifth trip to the MAAC semifinals, joining the teams from 1994, 1998, 2007 and 2008. The Greyhounds are now 2-3 all-time in the semifinals.

The Greyhounds won their only MAAC Championship Game appearance, as the late Skip Prosser coached Loyola to an 80-75 win over Manhattan.

Series History

Loyola and Fairfield will meet for the 53rd time on the hardwood Monday night with the Stags entering the game with a 36-16 advantage in the previous meetings.

The teams split the regular-season meetings with each winning on the other’s home court.

Fairfield defeated Loyola, 68-51, when the Stags visited Reitz Arena on February 12. Four Stag starters scored in double figures, led by Rakim Sanders’ 13. Robert Olson and Erik Etherly both finished with 17 for the Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds won the first meeting between the two, 66-63, on January 13, at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. Loyola rallied form a 15-point halftime deficit in the second half to win.. The Greyhounds trailed by seven with 2:07 left when Olson scored seven in a row to tie the game with 1:19 to go. Five of his points came as the direct result of Dylon Cormier steals in the backcourt. Etherly led all players with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Olson finished with 15, Cormier added 12, and Justin Drummond scored 10. Sanders had 17 for Fairfield.

Hitting 21 Twice

Erik Etherly has posted back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career over the Greyhounds two MAAC Championships games. He finished with 21 against both Niagara and Siena, leading Loyola against the Saints.

In the two games, Etherly has made 16-of-26 (.615) field goals and 9-of-12 (.750) from the foul line. On Sunday against Siena, Etherly drained the third 3-pointer of his collegiate career, all this season, with the shot clock winding down on a second-half possession.

Hot Shooting

Loyola recorded its best shooting performance of the season on Saturday night against Niagara, going 29-of-46 from the floor, good for 63-percent.

The outing was 10 percentage points better than the Greyhounds’ previous best this season when they shot 52.9-percent from the field (27-of-51) at Bucknell on December 28, 2011.

Loyola’s 29 field goals made were its second-most of the year, behind the 32 it made on February 10 against Iona.

The Greyhounds continued their good shooting in the MAAC Semifinal against Siena, making 50.9-percent of their shots (27-of-53). Loyola also converted on 7-of-13 3-pointers, for its second-best 3-point percentage of the season, 53.8-percent.

Sharing The Rock

Loyola matched its season-high with 18 assists against Siena, tying the mark it posted in two games against Canisius and in a non-conference game versus Florida Gulf Coast, all Greyhound wins.

Three Loyola players – Robert Olson (6), R.J. Williams (5) and Anthony Winbush (3) – combined for 14 of the assists.

Olson’s six were a career-best, and it brought his MAAC Championships total to five after he matched his previous career-high with five in the quarterfinal.

The Greyhounds improved to 8-0 this season when Williams has four or more assists.

Big Buckets By Bush

Anthony Winbush has scored only nine points in the Greyhounds’ two MAAC Championships games, but three of his field goals have come at critical junctures in the victories.

On Sunday, he tallied Loyola’s fifth and sixth points of the game, scoring in the paint at 12:13 to stop an 11-0 Siena run that had the Saints ahead 11-4. He then made a jumper at 6:31 that put the Greyhounds ahead 17-16 in the first half.

In Friday night’s victory, Winbush’s first half basket with 2:32 on the clock broke a 31-31 tie.

Stretch Of Threes

When Kyle Downey cut through the lane and laid in a basket with 16:42 to go in regulation, it pulled Siena within three, 32-29. Robert Olson responded for the Greyhounds, however, knocking down a three at 16:25 that started a 12-4 Greyhounds run that saw the Greyhounds go 4-of-4 from 3-point range.

Dylon Cormier and Shane Walker each hit threes during the span, and Olson capped it with a three off the dribble at 14:12, making Loyola’s lead 44-33.

Against The Nation’s Leading Rebounder

Loyola held Siena’s O.D. Anosike, the leading rebounder in NCAA Division I, to a season-low five boards. It was just the fourth time this season Anoskie, who entered the game averaging 12.8 rebounds per game, was held to single-digits on the glass. His previous low this season was eight.

Last Time Out

Siena, which led by eight early in the first half, cut Loyola’s second-half advantage to 32-29 on a Kyle Downey layup, but Robert Olson hit a three on the ensuing possession, triggering a 12-4 Loyola run that saw the Greyhounds make four-straight threes.

The Saints got within seven at two points after Olson’s second three capped the run, but they could not draw closer.

Erik Etherly led all scorers with 21 points, and three other Greyhounds joined him in double-figures. Shane Walker and Robert Olson each had 12 points, and Justin Drummond added 10.

Cormier & Etherly Over 20

For the third time this season, Dylon Cormier and Erik Etherly both eclipsed the 20-point mark in the same game. Cormier finished with a game-high 23, and Etherly had 21.

The duo previously topped 20 together at UMBC and at home against Iona, both Greyhounds’ wins. Etherly now has four 20-point games this season after tallying 21 against Siena. Cormier has hit the plateau eight times this year.

Walker’s Double-Double

Shane Walker notched his third double-double of the season on Saturday night, going for 13 points and 12 rebounds. He scored nine of his points in the first half, scoring seven of Loyola’s first nine points of the game. He also had four assists and blocked two shots in 37 minutes of action.

Bouncing Back From Three

It took over 22 minutes of game action against Niagara, but the Greyhounds hit their first 3-pointer since Justin Drummond made one with 7:59 to play at Rider on Friday, February 24. The Greyhounds snapped a streak of 331 games with at least one 3-pointer last Sunday when they went 0-of-8 against Manhattan.

In all, the Greyhounds went more than 70 minutes without sinking a three until Dylon Cormier hit one with 17:51 to play in regulation. That shot also gave Loyola the lead for good in the game.

Loyola broke out of the slump in the second half, going 5-of-7 from behind the arc after the break.

First Time As A Two

Loyola entered the MAAC Championships as a No. 2 seed for the first time in 23 trips to the tournament. Prior to this year, the Greyhounds had never been higher than a three seed, the slot they held in 2006-2007.

Best MAAC Finish

Loyola defeated Manhattan last Sunday afternoon to earn its 13th Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory of the season, setting a program record in the process.

The Greyhounds twice finished their MAAC schedule 12-6 (2006-2007 and 2007-2008), a game shy of this year’s record.

Loyola also finished alone in second place in the conference standings, improving on its previous best finish when it tied for second with a 10-4 league mark in 1996-1997.

20-Win Season

The Greyhounds’ victory over Boston University on February 19 was their 20th of the season, setting a school Division I record.

Loyola, which moved to NCAA Division I in 1981-1982, had won 19 games in 2007-2008 and 18 in 2006-2007.

The overall school record for victories, 25, game in 1948-1949.

Patsos Named Coach Of The Year

On Thursday night, Jimmy Patsos became the first Loyola coach to earn The Rock/Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors by a vote of his peers in the league.

Patsos has guided the Greyhounds to a school Division I high 23 wins and a program MAAC record 13 victories. He earned his 100th career coaching victory in November and led the Greyhounds to the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships.

Drummond Picks Up 6th Man Award

Justin Drummond became the fifth Loyola player to earn MAAC 6th Man Of the Year honors in the last eight seasons when he picked up the award on Thursday night. He led all bench players in the league with 11.1 points, fourth on the team, and he was third on the squad with 4.2 rebounds per game.

Drummond joins Charlie Bell (2005), Michael Tuck (2007), Marquis Sullivan (2008) and J’hared Hall (2011) as Jimmy Patsos-coached players to win the award.

All-MAAC Honors

For the first time since the league expanded to three All-MAAC teams in 1998, four Greyhounds received all-league honors, topping all teams in the conference. Erik Etherly was named to the All-MAAC First Team, Dylon Cormier to the Second, and Justin Drummond and Robert Olson to the Third.

Loyola led all teams in the MAAC with its four selections, just in front of Iona’s three.

The Greyhounds’ previous high was at the end of the 1997-1998 season when Mike Powell (1st), Jason Rowe (2nd) and Roderick Platt (3rd) earned All-MAAC honors.

Etherly led Loyola in scoring (13.3) and rebounding (7.4) during conference play, and he is second overall on the team with 13.4 points per game. He also is tied for fourth in the league with teammate Shane Walker with 39 blocked shots, and he is fourth in field-goal percentage (.540).

Cormier has led the team throughout the season in scoring with a 13.9 points, and he has shot 46.5-percent from the field. Cormier is third in the conference with 1.7 steals per game, and he has topped the 20-point mark eight times this year.

Drummond has come off the bench in 26 of the Greyhounds’ 30 games this year and is fourth on the team with 11.1 points per game. The guard is also third in rebounding (4.2). He has scored in double figures 15 times this year.

Olson has been one of the top 3-point shooters in the conference this year. He has shot .440 from behind the arc, second-best in the MAAC, and has averaged 11.3 points per game. The junior guard entered the month of January averaging less than nine points per game, but since then he has been the team’s second-leading scorer at nearly 13 a contest.

More Than 60 Years

The last time the Loyola men’s basketball program won 20 games in a season, 1948-1949, the following things were going on in the world, 63 years ago:

Harry Truman began his first full term as President of the United States.

Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman premiered on Broadway.

NATO was formed.

The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League merged to form the NBA.

The first jet-powered airliner, the de Havilland Comet, took flight.

Billy Joel, Joe Theismann, Bruce Springsteen & Meryl Streep were born.

Milestones And Firsts

Loyola has accomplished several milestones and firsts throughout the 2011-2012 season. Here is a sample of a few:

First 20-win season in Division I history.

Program MAAC record with 13 league wins and best conference finish (2nd).

Tied school Division I record with eight non-conference wins (1993-1994).

Longest winning streak in school Division I history (8, Nov. 14-Dec. 10). Also, second longest winning streak in D-I history (7, Jan. 19-Feb. 10).

First back-to-back sellouts of Reitz Arena since the venue opened in 1984 (Feb. 3 and 10).

Snapped Bucknell’s 18-game home court winning streak.

Winning Without A Three

Loyola completed a rare accomplishment at Manhattan, defeating the Jaspers despite not making a 3-pointer in the game. The Greyhounds attempted just eight from behind the arc.

The last time the Greyhounds won a game without making a 3-pointer was February 27, 1996, when they defeated Siena, 67-53, in Reitz Arena, a span of 438 games. Loyola was 0-of-9 in that win over the Saints.

No Starters In Double-Figures

Loyola also won the Manhattan game without a starter in double-figures. Dylon Cormier and Erik Etherly each scored nine from the starting line, but Justin Drummond (13) and Anthony Winbush (12) scored 25 of the Greyhounds’ 29 bench points in the win.

The last time no starters scored in double figures was on November 24, 2010, when the Greyhounds lost 51-48 at Vermont.

It was the first time Loyola had won a MAAC game without having a starter score 10 or more, going back to the 1989-1990 season when the Greyhounds joined the conference.

Rally Caps

The February 26 win at Manhattan was the third time this season that the Greyhounds came back from a 10-plus goal deficit to win. Manhattan led by 11 four times, including with 11:36 in the second half. The Greyhounds also rallied form 15-point deficits to defeat Boston University at home and Fairfield on the road.

Balanced Offense

Loyola overcame a low scoring afternoon in the Manhattan win when just two players, Justin Drummond (13) and Anthony Winbush (12) topped 10 points.

Loyola is 11-2 this season when four or more players score in double figures, and prior to the defeat at Rider, it had not lost since the season-opener on November 11 at Wake Forest. The Greyhounds are also 21-3 when three or more players top 10.

Transversely, the Greyhounds are just 2-5 when two or fewer players tally 10 or more with their only wins coming on December 7 at George Washington and at Manhattan.

45-Percent Or Better

Loyola improved to 13-1 this season when shooting 45.0-percent or better from the field with its win over Siena. The only loss the Greyhounds have suffered when shooting that mark or better was on February 24 when they went 25-of-55 (.455) from the field at Rider and lost by four.

Telling Stats

Loyola’s three most recent losses underscored the importance for the Greyhounds of capitalizing on a few areas of the box score. Seven of Loyola’s eight losses have come when scoring fewer transition points – and the eighth loss was in a game that the teams tied in the category – than its opponents.

The Greyhounds also dropped to 2-6 this year in the eight games they have shot fewer free throws than their opponents, compared to 19-2 when shooting more.

Loyola is also 4-8 when its opponents have a better field-goal percentage, compared to 18-0 when the Greyhounds shoot at a better clip.

Leading The Charge

Robert Olson and Erik Etherly paced the Greyhounds in their 18 MAAC games as the top two scorers. Etherly again is slightly ahead of Olson, scoring-wise, tallying 239 (13.3 per game) points to Olson’s 225 (12.5).The duo shot 48.6-percent from the field (159-of-327) during league play, and Olson was 42-of-94 (.447) from 3-point range.

Olson’s Last 16

Robert Olson entered the month of January averaging 8.9 points per game through Loyola’s first 11, and he stayed right on that track in the first two games of 2012, scoring a combined 17.

Since then, however, he has averaged 13.2 points per game, starting with a 16-point game on January 7 against Canisius. The game against the Golden Griffins started a stretch of 11-straight in which Olson scored 11 or more points and had 15 or more seven times. During the last 15 games, Olson has shot 75-of-150, 50.0-percent, from the field and 45-of-94 (.478) from behind the 3-point line.

Against Niagara, he hit two threes and moved into sole possession of 10th on the single-season threes list at Loyola.. His 136 career threes are sixth in school history.

Six Under Sixty

For the first time in its NCAA Division I history (since 1981-1982), Loyola held six consecutive opponents to fewer than 60 points.

During the span, all Loyola victories, the Greyhounds have held Siena, Saint Peter’s (twice), Niagara, Canisius and Rider to an average of 53.2 points per game.

The Greyhounds previously had held three teams to sub-60 performances just once since joining Division I, and that came during 1981-1982, their first season at this level.

The last time a Loyola team held six-straight teams under 60, regardless of division, came in January-February 1977 when it held six teams in a row – Southampton, Saint Peter’s, Randolph-Macon, Mount St. Mary’s, Baltimore and Philadelphia Textile – to 59 or fewer. The Greyhounds, however, were just 3-3 in that stretch.

Walker Moves Into Second

Shane Walker blocked two Fairfield shots in the first three minutes of the game, and he then swatted a Maurice Barrow layup with 13:58 on the clock, tying him for second all-time at Loyola in blocked shots. He now has 130 in his career, second all-time.

Running Away

Runs have been a big part of the Greyhounds’ success this year. Here is a look at some runs of note:

Century Mark

Head Coach Jimmy Patsos became the third coach in Loyola history to win 100 games when the Greyhounds defeated UMBC, 73-63, on the road. Patsos, who is in his eighth season, took over a team that finished 1-27 during the 2002-2003 season. He won his 100th game in his 215th career game.

Last season, Patsos moved into third-place all time at Loyola in victories, trailing only Lefty Reitz (349 wins, 1937-44, 1945-61) and Nap Doherty (165, 1961-74).

Two Of A Kind

Although unofficial, research shows that Jimmy Patsos is one of only two coaches in the last 20 years to take a team that won just one game the year prior to his arrival.

Brigham Young finished the 1996-1997 season with a 1-25 record. Steve Cleveland took over the following season and tallied 138 wins until his departure for Fresno State after the 2004-2005 season.

Baltimore Bred And More From Nearby

Since taking over as head coach in 2004, Jimmy Patsos has put an emphasis on recruiting locally, and it has never shown as much as on this year’s roster. Three players – sophomore guard Dylon Cormier (Cardinal Gibbons), sophomore forward Jordan Latham (City) and freshman guard R.J. Williams (St. Frances) are products of schools within the city limits.

Six more players played in high school within 50 miles of Loyola, as the crow flies (thanks daftlogic.com): Shane Walker & Tyler Hubbard, Montrose Christian, 32.6 miles; Robert Olson, Georgetown Prep, 33.9; Justin Drummond, Riverdale Baptist, 33.9; Anthony Winbush, T.C. Williams, 43.7; and Erik Etherly, Annandale, 47.9.

TOWSON, Md. – Sophomore Thomas DeNapoli (Lynbrook H.S./East Rockaway, N.Y.) matched his career high by scoring three goals in a game for the second time this season as Towson University (2-2) used a three-goal run in the final 5:13 to post a 10-8 come-from-behind victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1-2) in the Tigers’ home opener at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

In a game that was tied five times and had five lead changes, the Mountaineers scored four straight goals in the second half to take an 8-7 lead with 9:03 remaining. Junior Andrew Scalley(Archbishop Spalding H.S./Arnold, Md.) gave The Mount its lead when he scored an unassisted goal, his second goal of the game. With 7:33 remaining, The Mount had a great chance to extend its lead when the Tiger bench was penalized for a conduct foul. However, the Tigers were able to kill off that penalty, setting up the tying goal.

With 5:13 left in regulation, senior Matt Lamon (St. Mary’s H.S./Annapolis, Md.) scored off a pass from freshman Robby Zoppo (Calvert Hall College H.S./Baltimore, Md.) to tie the game at 8-8, the fifth tie of the game. It was Lamon’s second goal of the game. He did not score in the Tigers’ first three contests.

After junior Ian Mills (Chantilly H.S./Centreville, Va.) won the ensuing faceoff, junior Matt Hughes(Central Bucks East H.S./Doylestown, Pa.) came from behind the cage and scored an unassisted goal with 4:00 remaining, giving the Tigers a 9-8 advantage. After the Tigers took the lead, Mills won another faceoff and that set up DeNapoli’s third goal, which came on a drive from the right side with 2:56 remaining.

Although the Mountaineers won the next faceoff, they quickly turned it over and the Tigers were able to run out the clock, posting their seventh victory in eight all-time meetings with The Mount.

Led by senior Bryant Schmidt (St. Mary’s Ryken H.S./Great Mills, Md.), who scored four goals, the Mountaineers outshot the Tigers, 34-24. However, Tiger goalkeepers Travis Love (Winters Mill H.S./Westminster, Md.) and Andrew Wascavage (St. Mary’s Ryken H.S./Drayden, Md.) combined to make 12 saves. Love had seven saves while playing the first half while Wascavage had five saves in the second half.

The Mountaineers, who upset two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware last week, took an early 1-0 lead just 1:42 into the game when Schmidt scored his first goal of the game.

The Tigers responded by scoring three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead in the second quarter. After senior Sean Maguire (Calvert Hall College H.S./Lutherville, Md.) scored the tying goal on an extra man opportunity, Lamon’s first goal of the season gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 5:09 left in the opening period. With 12:36 left in the second quarter, DeNapoli put the Tigers up by 3-1 when he scored an extra man goal.

But, the Mountaineers erupted for three goals in a period of 1:19 to take a 4-3 lead with 10:05 remaining in the first half. With 11:24 left in the half, Bryant Schmidt’s extra man goal cut the deficit to 3-2. His twin brother, Brett Schmidt (St. Mary’s Ryken H.S./Great Mills, Md.), tied the game at 3-3 with 10:30 left when he scored off a pass from Scalley.

Just 25 seconds later, Scalley’s unassisted goal gave The Mount a 4-3 lead.

With 6:30 remaining in the half, DeNapoli tied the game at 4-4 with an unassisted goal before sophomore Andrew Hodgson (West Islip H.S./West Islip, N.Y.) scored an unassisted goal with 2:50 left to give the Tigers a 5-4 advantage.

The Tigers opened the second half with a 2-0 run to take a 7-4 lead with 10:12 remaining in the third quarter. Maguire’s second goal of the game made it 6-4 with 11:20 left in the quarter. An unassisted goal by senior Michael Brashears (Calvert Hall College H.S./Timonium, Md.) with 10:12 left upped the lead to 7-4.

Just when it appeared that the Tigers were about to break the game open, they went through a scoring drought of nearly 20 minutes. By the time Lamon ended the drought with 5:13 left in the game, the Mountaineers had taken a lead.

Trailing by 7-4 in the third quarter, the Mountaineers went on a four-goal run to grab a lead. Bryant Schmidt scored twice in the third quarter and Brett Schmidt had one goal to tie the game at 7-7 after three quarters.

When Scalley scored an unassisted goal with 9:03 left in the game, The Mount owned its final lead.

Bryant Schmidt led The Mount with four goals while Brett Schmidt and Scalley each had a pair of goals. Daniel Stranix had three assists for The Mount.

DeNapoli paced the Tigers with three goals while Lamon added two goals and an assist. Maguire had two goals while Hughes chipped in with a goal and an assist.

The Tigers, who snapped a two-game losing streak, return to action on Tuesday, March 13 when they host Navy at 7:30 p.m.

Men’s College Lacrosse: Towson 10, Mount St. Mary’s 8
Mount St. Mary’s (1-2)  1-3-3-1 / 8
Towson (2-2)  2-3-2-3 / 10

Goals: MSM – Bryant Schmidt 4, Brett Schmidt 2, Andrew Scalley 2; TOW – Thomas DeNapoli 3, Matt Lamon 2, Sean Maguire 2, Matt Hughes 1, Andrew Hodgson 1, Michael Brashears 1.Assists: MSM – Daniel Stranix 3, Anthony Golden 1, Andrew Scalley 1; TOW – Matt Hughes 1, Matt Lamon 1, Brian Prendergast 1, Robby Zoppo 1. Saves: MSM – Chris Klaiber 7 (60:00, 10 goals allowed); TOW – Travis Love 7 (30:00, 4 goals allowed); Andrew Wascavage 5 (30:00, 4 goals allowed). Shots: MSM – 34; TOW – 24. Extra-Man Opportunities: MSM – 1 for 3; TOW – 2 for 3. Attendance: 1,128.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opening Face-Off
Looking to snap their two-game losing streak, the Tigers return to Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday afternoon to host Mount St. Mary’s in the 2012 home opener. The game, which is sponsored by Mariner Finance, will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570 with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Note: If the Tiger men’s basketball team advances to the CAA Tournament quarter-finals on Saturday, the Tiger men’s lacrosse game will be broadcast on TowsonTigers.com in its entirety.   

Updating the Tigers
Now 1-2 on the season, the Tigers have dropped back-to-back games after a season-opening 12-10 victory over Jacksonville on Feb. 11. The Tigers lost by a 12-6 margin to No. 2 Johns Hopkins on Feb. 17 before suffering a 13-6 defeat at No. 13 Loyola last Saturday afternoon. Freshman midfielder Justin Mabus recorded his second three-point game of the season by scoring a goal with two assists. Meanwhile, senior attackman Sean Maguire tallied two goals in a losing effort. Maguire is the Tigers’ leading scorer with six goals and two assists while Mabus has a team-high five assists. 

Scouting the Mountaineers
Off to a 1-1 start this season, the Mountaineers will be playing their third game in eight days when they visit Towson on Saturday afternoon. After opening the season with a 12-10 upset victory over two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware last Saturday afternoon, the Mountaineers dropped a 17-5 decision against No. 1 Virginia on Tuesday afternoon at Waldron Family Stadium. Junior midfielder Daniel Stranix is the team’s leading scorer with five goals and one assist. 

Last Year’s Towson-Mount St. Mary’s Meeting
Led by three goals from attackman Matt Hughes, the Tigers erupted for four early goals en route to a dominating 11-3 victory over Mount St. Mary’s at Waldron Family Stadium. The Tigers, who owned a 6-2 lead at half-time, held the Mountaineers scoreless for the first 26:21 of the game. While Hughes led the Tigers with three goals and an assist, midfielder Andrew Hodgson contributed two goals with an assist as the Tigers outshot Mount St. Mary’s by a 46-31 margin. Andrew Scalley led the Mountaineers with two goals while goalkeeper T.C. DiBartolo had 14 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter.

Towson-Mount St. Mary’s Series History
The Tigers and the Mountaineers will be meeting for the eighth time in an all-time series that Towson leads by a 6-1 margin. The Tigers have won the last five meetings in the series, including last year’s 11-3 victory at Waldron Family Stadium. The Mountaineers’ lone victory in the series came on Mar. 26, 1975 in a 1-0 forfeit victory at Towson. During the seven-game series, the Tigers have averaged 14.1 goals per game while holding the Mountaineers to eight goals or less in six of the seven games.

The Game: Second-ranked Johns Hopkins (3-0) hits the road for the first time this season as the Blue Jays travel to New Jersey to take on the 12th-ranked Tigers (2-0).

Last Time Out: Johns Hopkins improved to 3-0 with a 9-5 victory at wind-swept Homewood Field last Saturday. The Tigers moved to 2-0 with a 13-7 victory over Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon..

Series History: Johns Hopkins and Princeton are meeting for the 82nd time in a series that dates to a 3-2 Princeton win in 1890. Hopkins leads the series, 54-27. Princeton has won three straight against the Blue Jays, although JHU has won two straight at Princeton and three straight games on the Princeton campus (includes win over Georgetown in the 2007 NCAA Quarterfinals). A complete look at the Johns Hopkins-Princeton series can be found at the back of this week’s note package.

At Princeton: This will be JHU’s first game at Princeton, against Princeton since 2005, when JHU jump-started its run to the National Championship with a 9-6 win over the Tigers.

More at Princeton: Johns Hopkins has played in the national title game in each of the last three seasons the Blue Jays played a game on the Princeton campus (2003, 2005, 2007).

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Princeton with an all-time record of 915-294-15 (.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 152-58 (.724), including a 129-41 (.759) 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 3-0 Start: Johns Hopkins is 3-0 for the third consecutive year and the eighth time under head coach Dave Pietramala.

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 915 all-time wins.

That’s 621 Games Over .500: The Blue Jays’ all-time record is now 915-294-15 (.753) … that’s 621 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 one game over .500.

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 nine games with last Saturday’s 9-5 win over Siena. 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 and sports a gaudy 76-12 (.860) 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 nine-game home winning streak is the fourth home streak of seven wins or more since he arrived.

Striking the First Blow: Johns Hopkins scored on its first shot of the game seven times in 2011 and has already turned the trick twice this season. After not scoring all the way until their second shot of the game against Towson, the Blue Jays netted their first goal of the game against Delaware (Brandon Benn) and Siena (Wells Stanwick) on their first shot.

Ten Straight: Johns Hopkins ran its regular season winning streak to 10 games with the 9-5 win over Siena. This is the longest regular season winning streak for JHU since a 19-game run that bridged the 2004 and 2006 seasons.

Attack Oriented: The starting attack unit of senior Chris Boland, junior Zach Palmer and sophomore Brandon Benn combined for nine goals and three assists in the 12-6 win vs. Towson. Add in two assists by freshman Wells Stanwick,who played a regular role throughout the game, and JHU got nine goals and five assists from its four primary attackmen.
In a tighter game against Delaware, it was Benn (3g, 1a), Stanwick (1g, 2a) and Palmer (1a) leading the way with a combined four goals and four assists, while the same trio combined for five goals and three assists against Siena.

Bassett Now 16-3 in Last 19 Starts: Sophomore goalie Pierce Bassett picked up his 19th career victory in goal with the 9-5 win vs. Siena as he posted a season-high 10 saves and allowed five goals to improve to 19-7 in his 26 career starts. He is 16-3 in his last 19 starts dating back to the start of the 2011 season.
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. His fifth-place finish in GAA is the highest by a JHU goalie since Jesse Schwartzman led the nation in 2005 (6.68), while he is just the third Blue Jay to finish in the top 10 in save percentage since the NCAA began tracking men’s lacrosse statistics in 2000.
Bassett’s 7.07 goals against average is the second best by a JHU goalie since 1993 (Schwartman’s 6.68 GAA in 2005 is the best since records became available in ‘93).

Poppleton, Kennedy Fuels Success at the X: Freshman Drew Kennedy did a solid job on faceoffs in the season-opener vs. Towson as he won 9-of-14 in the absence of junior Mike Poppleton. Poppleton returned against Delaware and has enjoyed solid efforts against the Blue Hens and Siena. After winning 10-of-16 vs. Delaware, he won 15-of-18 against Siena and is now 25-of-34 (.735) on the year. As a team, JHU is 34-of-57 (.596) and ranks 16th nationally in FO winning percentage.

Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 104-29 (.782) in its last 133 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 121-37 (.766) overall since the start of the 2002 season.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays check in at number two 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 386 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 384 of those 386 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 363 of the 386 and the top five in 289 of those 386.

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 the season-opening win vs. Towson, JHU is 54-4 (.931) against teams from Maryland under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Offensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes about the JHU offense:
• JHU has scored at least one goal in every quarter this season and two or more in 10 of the 12 quarters.
• Hopkins fired 42 shots on Towson. JHU generated 40 or more shots just four times last season.
• The Blue Jays scored on their first shot of the game seven times last season and have done the same vs. Delaware and Siena this season.
• Johns Hopkins finished 10th in the nation in scoring offense (11.25), second in scoring margin (+4.0), 12th in assists per game (6.19) and 10th in points per game (17.44) last season.

Defensive Notes of Interest: Below are several notes of interest concerning the JHU defense:
• Hopkins held Towson to just 18 shots – the fewest the Blue Jays have surrendered since holding Mount St. Mary’s to 16 shots on April 27, 2009.
• JHU held Towson scoreless for a stretch of 31:05 midway through the game and then held Delaware off the board for 29:32 midway through the game. Siena failed to score for the final 19:30 last week.
• JHU has held the opposition scoreless in four of 12 quarters this season (.333).
• Johns Hopkins held the opposition scoreless for a stretch of 15 minutes or longer 16 times in 16 games last season. The Blue Jays held the opposition scoreless for 10 minutes or longer 33 times.
• The Blue Jays rank third in the nation in scoring defense (5.67) this season.
• The starting attack units the Blue Jays faced last season combined for a total of 39 goals and 36 assists (4.69 points per game). Six of those units were held to three points or less and only five generated more than five points. The JHU starting defense (Tucker Durkin, Chris Lightner and Gavin Crisafulli) picked up where it left off last season as Towson’s starting attack totaled just two goals and two assists against JHU, while Delaware’s added three goals and three assists.

Taking Out the Finalists: Johns Hopkins defeated eventual national champion Virginia and eventual national runner-up Maryland during the 2011 regular season.

We’re Honored: Johns Hopkins produced six USILA All-Americans last season, four of which return in 2012. Headlining the group is returning First Team All-American John Ranagan (M), while classmates Tucker Durkin (defense) and Pierce Bassett (G) grabbed second team honors. Senior Chris Boland (A) rounds out JHU’s four returning All-Americans as he grabbed honorable mention honors in 2011.
The four returning All-Americans are the most for JHU since 2008 and the selection of Ranagan, Durkin and Bassett marked the first time Johns Hopkins had three sophomores earn All-America honors since 1989, when Matt Panetta (A/1st Team), Brian Voelker (M/3rd) and Bill Dwan (D/HM) were selected.