These are some notes that I didn't have room for in the hard copy. We went to press before the big win over #4 UNC at home:
-- the UNC win was the most impressive of the year, given the level of the oppostion -- UNC always has athletes -- plus the fact that Maryland played the second week in a row without Karri Ellen Johnson, a 1st team A-A and a very legit candidate for national POY. She is out with a concussion and they are not taking any chances with her -- more testing to be done. She could be back this week for Princeton or she could be out longer -- no telling at this point.
None the less, Maryland finds ways to win without her and the Terps depth on offense is so imposing that even a team like UNC has a hard time figuring out who to guard. W/O Karri Ellen there is still the lightning quick Katie Schwarzmann and a tremendous playmaker/scorer in Sarah Mollison, but one who has really stepped it up in Johnson's absence has been senior Laura Merrifield who had a 3-goal hat trick against Penn in the first half, and had four goals against UNC. She has been outstanding and right when her team needs it. Others stepping up include Kristy Black and youngsters like Alex Aust who just seems to get better every week.
-- Three freshmen will redshirt this year and they were all distinguished, very highly rated prep A-A's: attacker Kelsey Horton and midfielder Brooke Griffin to injuries, and goalie Abbey Clipp who would have been 4th on the depth chart. This may be a huge blessing in disguise, assuming there is a full recovery from injuries. Griffin and Horton were prep A-A's -- Griffin was BaltSun and WashPost POY -- and while they would have helped this year, Cathy Reese has so many seniors now that we really need them next year.
-- Of the healthy freshmen, Beth Glaros (Ellicott City/Wilde Lake) and Jen Mendez (Catonsville/Eliz.Seton) have impressed. Glaros scored a goal against UNC and has been in on the draw controls. She started at the begining of the season when Merrifield was out for three games and has gotten the start in Johnson's absence. She is another big, fast, physical player who is listed as a midfielder but can play pretty much anywhere -- physically reminds me of Merrifield a bit although not quite as tall but a step faster.
Mendez is this little 5'3" defensive mid who is about five times stronger than she looks and about that much quicker. Has appeared in 8 of 10 games this year, usually among the first off the bench and is really giving quality minutes. Given all the upper-classmen on this roster, it says something that any freshman can contribute and Mendez can be proud of what she has done.
-- Looking around the country, there are some major surprises this year. Start with ex-Terp Jen Adams' Loyola squad which is now ranked #3 in one poll. They compete in the BigEast in this sport and are the top team in that league right now. It didn't take Jen long to get that program in gear and she is really getting the most out of her squad. btw, her top assistant coach is ex-Terp Dana Dobbie. The Hounds are led by senior Grace Gavin who just got her 200th career goal.
But the biggest surprise in Div I has to be #5 Florida (12-1) led by super sophomore Kitty Cullen (61 goals, 5 assists) . Their victims this year include an impressive group of traditional powers: Georgetown, Temple, Syracuse, Penn State, and Johns Hopkins with their only loss coming to UNC by one point back in February. They are coached by the former Yale coach Amanda O'Leary and her assistant coaches include recent ex-Terp and 2010 national POY Caitlyn McFadden.
Yet another surprise is the University of Albany, which has now cracked the Top 10 in two polls: #10 in the IWLCA and #7 in the deBeers/Inside Lacrosse poll. Albany is the wild card this year -- they are undefeated and 11-0 but their schedule has been light compared to the other top schools including Florida. Their best opponents were probably New Hampshire, #14 Boston College, and #20 Penn State, and the latter two games were 1-point wins, but it is hard to argue with a team that keeps on winning.
-- Wednesday vs. Princeton is Senior Night (get out the hankies) Game starts at 7pm. Senior Night is always a formality with this program. It is almost a given that they will have 1st and 2nd round NCAA Tournament games unless they really take a dive in the next two weeks -- hardly likely. But it is nice to have the event anyway, especially with a group of seniors like this that has done so much to put the Maryland program back on top. The seniors include Ellen Cook, Sara Cooper, Colleen Dawson, Katie Gallagher, Brandi Jones, Laura Merrifield, Sarah Mollison, and Brittany Poist.
-- the UNC win was the most impressive of the year, given the level of the oppostion -- UNC always has athletes -- plus the fact that Maryland played the second week in a row without Karri Ellen Johnson, a 1st team A-A and a very legit candidate for national POY. She is out with a concussion and they are not taking any chances with her -- more testing to be done. She could be back this week for Princeton or she could be out longer -- no telling at this point.
None the less, Maryland finds ways to win without her and the Terps depth on offense is so imposing that even a team like UNC has a hard time figuring out who to guard. W/O Karri Ellen there is still the lightning quick Katie Schwarzmann and a tremendous playmaker/scorer in Sarah Mollison, but one who has really stepped it up in Johnson's absence has been senior Laura Merrifield who had a 3-goal hat trick against Penn in the first half, and had four goals against UNC. She has been outstanding and right when her team needs it. Others stepping up include Kristy Black and youngsters like Alex Aust who just seems to get better every week.
-- Three freshmen will redshirt this year and they were all distinguished, very highly rated prep A-A's: attacker Kelsey Horton and midfielder Brooke Griffin to injuries, and goalie Abbey Clipp who would have been 4th on the depth chart. This may be a huge blessing in disguise, assuming there is a full recovery from injuries. Griffin and Horton were prep A-A's -- Griffin was BaltSun and WashPost POY -- and while they would have helped this year, Cathy Reese has so many seniors now that we really need them next year.
-- Of the healthy freshmen, Beth Glaros (Ellicott City/Wilde Lake) and Jen Mendez (Catonsville/Eliz.Seton) have impressed. Glaros scored a goal against UNC and has been in on the draw controls. She started at the begining of the season when Merrifield was out for three games and has gotten the start in Johnson's absence. She is another big, fast, physical player who is listed as a midfielder but can play pretty much anywhere -- physically reminds me of Merrifield a bit although not quite as tall but a step faster.
Mendez is this little 5'3" defensive mid who is about five times stronger than she looks and about that much quicker. Has appeared in 8 of 10 games this year, usually among the first off the bench and is really giving quality minutes. Given all the upper-classmen on this roster, it says something that any freshman can contribute and Mendez can be proud of what she has done.
-- Looking around the country, there are some major surprises this year. Start with ex-Terp Jen Adams' Loyola squad which is now ranked #3 in one poll. They compete in the BigEast in this sport and are the top team in that league right now. It didn't take Jen long to get that program in gear and she is really getting the most out of her squad. btw, her top assistant coach is ex-Terp Dana Dobbie. The Hounds are led by senior Grace Gavin who just got her 200th career goal.
But the biggest surprise in Div I has to be #5 Florida (12-1) led by super sophomore Kitty Cullen (61 goals, 5 assists) . Their victims this year include an impressive group of traditional powers: Georgetown, Temple, Syracuse, Penn State, and Johns Hopkins with their only loss coming to UNC by one point back in February. They are coached by the former Yale coach Amanda O'Leary and her assistant coaches include recent ex-Terp and 2010 national POY Caitlyn McFadden.
Yet another surprise is the University of Albany, which has now cracked the Top 10 in two polls: #10 in the IWLCA and #7 in the deBeers/Inside Lacrosse poll. Albany is the wild card this year -- they are undefeated and 11-0 but their schedule has been light compared to the other top schools including Florida. Their best opponents were probably New Hampshire, #14 Boston College, and #20 Penn State, and the latter two games were 1-point wins, but it is hard to argue with a team that keeps on winning.
-- Wednesday vs. Princeton is Senior Night (get out the hankies) Game starts at 7pm. Senior Night is always a formality with this program. It is almost a given that they will have 1st and 2nd round NCAA Tournament games unless they really take a dive in the next two weeks -- hardly likely. But it is nice to have the event anyway, especially with a group of seniors like this that has done so much to put the Maryland program back on top. The seniors include Ellen Cook, Sara Cooper, Colleen Dawson, Katie Gallagher, Brandi Jones, Laura Merrifield, Sarah Mollison, and Brittany Poist.
