Semifinal Berth At Stake Against Terps

May 15, 2003

The fifth-ranked Minutemen look to advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time ever, as they compete against No. 3-ranked Maryland, on Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Face-off is slated for 12:30 p.m. at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on NESN.

UMass vs. Maryland Game Notes in PDF Format
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A Look Back at Hofstra: The Minutemen turned in one of their best performances of the season in last Sunday's 9-6 first-round win over Hofstra. The Minutemen picked up 43 ground balls, the most since the season opener against Sacred Heart, and held the Pride to only six goals and 15 shots on net. The 32 shots marked the first time an opponent was held under 40 shots since an April 16 victory over Harvard. The UMass offense, meanwhile, sputtered at times, but produced enough to propel the Minutemen into the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

About Maryland: Maryland is one of the most successful lacrosse programs in the country, never having a losing season in its 78-year existence. The Terps have a record of 635-204-4 (.756). Maryland is 43-15 since the start of the 2000 season and has appeared in 26 NCAA Tournaments, capturing national titles in 1973 and 1975.
Maryland is paced by a stingy defense that has allowed only one opponent to score double-digit points. The Terps rank third in the country in scoring defense, and first among NCAA participants. Goalie Danny McCormick spearheads the defense, posting an 11-3 record with a GAA of 6.72 and a save percentage of .621. The Terps also boast two Tewaaraton finalists in defenseman Michael Howley and midfielder Mike Mollot. Freshman Joe Walters leads Maryland with 42 points, while Mollot has 33 points (15 g, 18 a).

Minuteman Lacrosse: The Minutemen are trying to earn their first-ever trip to the national semifinals with a quarterfinal contest against Maryland. UMass is making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances for the first time ever, and has posted 13 wins for only the third time in school history. The Minutemen can set a school record with their 14th win today.

* Since the start of the 2001 season, the Minutemen have posted the country's highest winning percentage. Here is a look at some of the national powers' winning percentage in that span. The Minutemen also claimed their third New England title in a row and 19th overall this year.

Massachusetts 37-8 .822 (12-2, 12-4, 13-2)
Johns Hopkins 32-7 .820 (8-4, 12-2, 12-1)
Princeton 35-9 .795 (14-1, 10-5, 11-3)
Georgetown 34-9 .791 (11-3, 12-3, 11-3)
Syracuse 37-10 .787 (13-3, 15-2, 9-5)
Maryland 33-10 .767 (13-3, 9-4, 11-3)
Virginia 30-13 .698 (7-7, 11-4, 12-2)
Towson 30-14 .682 (14-4, 7-5, 9-5)
Hofstra 32-16 .667 (10-7, 11-3, 11-6)
Loyola (Md.) 26-14 .650 (10-4, 9-4, 7-6)

* The Minutemen and Terps have played only once before in the two teams' storied histories. Maryland defeated UMass, 13-4, in Amherst in 1983.

* UMass will play a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time since a 15-6 loss at Virginia in 1999. No current player on UMass' roster has played against an ACC foe. Head Coach Greg Cannella is 1-7 against ACC teams, with the lone win being a 13-9 victory over Duke in 1996. UMass is 3-12 all-time against ACC competition.

* UMass is 5-2 against teams in the NCAA Tournament, while Maryland is 4-1. The two teams have had four common opponents.

Stony Brook (UMass defeated 17-7; Maryland defeated 16-4)
Navy (UMass defeated 10-9; Maryland defeated 9-7)
UMBC (UMass defeated 11-8; Maryland defeated 15-8)
Georgetown (UMass defeated 11-8; Maryland defeated 9-5)

* The Minutemen will be playing a team from Maryland for the 24th time in school history. The Minutemen are 8-15 all-told, including 1-5 against three teams from Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.

*?The 13-2 (.867) regular-season record marks the ninth time in school history, and second time in the last three years, that UMass has had a winning percentage over .800. Only once before (1981, 13-2) has a UMass team that played as many games as this year's team and had an equal win percentage.

* UMass leads the nation in wins with 13, the third straight season and 18th time in 50 years that the Minutemen have recorded double-digit victories. Only once before, from 1971-1974, have the Minutemen had a longer 10-win season stretch.

* UMass will play its 11th game in the Carrier Dome, but first against a team other than Syracuse. The Minutemen are 0-10 under the roof.

* The Minutemen are the only team in the country that has won 12 games in each of the last three years. The 37 wins over the last three years are the most in school history. The next most is 34 set in 1972-74.

* The Minutemen scored a season-high 18 goals against Brown and have tallied 15 or more goals 34 times under Head Coach Greg Cannella. UMass is 32-2 in those games and has won 20 straight games when reaching the 15-goal mark, dating back to 2000.

* The Minutemen were held under 10 goals for the second time all season, and first time in back-to-back games since 2000, in the 9-6 first-round win over Hofstra. The Minutemen won for the first time since last year's 8-7 win over Stony Brook when scoring nine or fewer goals. UMass has scored nine or fewer goals 45 times under Coach Cannella. The Minutemen are 13-32 since 1995. UMass has been held to nine or fewer goals only four times since the start of the 2001 season.

* When holding opponents to 10 or fewer goals, UMass is 66-14 under Cannella, and has won 20 straight games when accomplishing the feat.

* When foes score 15 or more goals, the Minutemen are 0-11 since 1995. When UMass reaches 10 goals under Cannella, the Minutemen are 65-14.

* UMass has had at least nine players score 10 points in a season for the fourth straight year.

* UMass is 41-22 under Greg Cannella at Garber Field and 33-22 on the road. The Minutemen are 3-2 at neutral sites.

* UMass held Hartford to a season-low three goals on March 21. It marked the 27th time that a Greg Cannella-led team has held an opponent to five goals or less.

* The Minutemen are riding a 31-game winning streak when leading at halftime, and have won 35 straight games when leading after 45 minutes. In the regular-season finale against Rutgers, it marked the first time that UMass trailed at halftime this season.

* In every game but three this year, at least six players have scored goals. The lone exceptions were the opener against Sacred Heart when five players scored, against Rutgers when only four players tallied goals and against Hofstra in the first round of the NCAA Tournment when five players netted goals. Twice, eight different players have netted goals.

* UMass started the season outshooting its first seven foes, but has been outshot in six of the last eight games. The Minutemen outshot Hofstra last Sunday, 35-32, marking the first time in the last five games that they outshot an opponent.

* UMass had two winning streaks of at least five games this season. It marked the fourth time in Cannella's nine years that UMass enjoyed a five-game winning streak.

* UMass has had three players (Leveille, Fiore, Zywicki) score 30 goals in a season, marking the fourth time in school history and second straight year that has happened. Zywicki has already reached 40 goals and Fiore and Leveille have 34 each. UMass has never had three players score 40 goals in a season.

* When the Minutemen held Hofstra scoreless for a span of 21:59 in the first-round win, it marked the 11th time this season that UMass held an opponent scoreless for a 15-minute span. It was the second longest stretch of the season:

vs. Hartford; 0 GA in 22:19 and 0 GA in 17:58.
vs. Hofstra (5/11); 0 GA in 21:59 and 2 GA in last 39:39 of game.
vs. Albany; 0 GA in 21:47 and 0 GA in 18:09.
vs. Sacred Heart; 0 GA in last 19:49 of game.
vs. Harvard; 0 GA in 19:38 and 0 GA in 17:12.
vs. Brown; 0 GA in last 17:32 of game and 0 GA in 16:20.
vs. UMBC; 0 GA in 15:49.

* The Hofstra drought was the fourth-longest scoring drought by a UMass foe in an NCAA game.

Hofstra (1997); 0 goals in the first 49:32.
Fairfield (2002); 0 goals in a 38:52 span.
Johns Hopkins (2002); 0 goals in a 22:37 span.
Hofstra (2003); 0 goals in a 21:59 span.

* Four players (Chris Fiore, Kevin Leveille, Jeff Zywicki and Matt Garcia) earned All-ECAC honors. Another, Jack Reid was named to the second team. Fiore was named ECAC Offensive Player of the Year.

* Four players (Zywicki, Fiore, Leveille and Tom Fallon; Shaker Heights, Ohio) earned first team All-New England recognition. Two more, Garcia and Bill Schell (Mahopac, N.Y.), were named to the second team and Kevin Glenz (Merrick, N.Y.) was selected as honorable mention. Leveille was named New England Player of the Year.

* The Minutemen have seven players that have scored at least 20 points. The most in a season came in 1976 when eight different players totaled at least 20 points. However, Neil Lundberg (19) is nearing the 20-point mark. UMass also has a player within striking distance of 50 points. Chris Fiore (42) is looking to join Jeff Zywicki (62) and Kevin Leveille (51) as a member of the 50-point club, and if he does so, it would mark only the fifth time in school history that three players would score 50 points in a season, and first since 1990.

* Jeff Zywicki became the 11th member of the 40-goal, 20-assist club with two goals and an assist in the win over Hofstra. He is the first player since 1993 when Mark Millon accomplished the feat, and only the third player since 1983.

* Kevin Leveille is only the ninth player in school history to score 40 points in three straight seasons, and first since Brendan Glass accomplished the feat in 1995-97.

*?Senior Kevin Leveille was named preseason ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and a preseason first team All-America selection. He earned the ECAC's first weekly award as Player of the Week on March 3... Leveille is one of 16 finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the nation's top player... He is one of five players listed in an online poll on Insidelacrosse.com as "Who should be middie of the year?"... Leveille scored a career-high 10 points on career-highs of seven goals and three assists in the win over Stony Brook. Leveille's 10-point effort against Stony Brook was the best by a UMass player since Jim McAleavey tallied 11 points against Boston College in 1990... Leveille was shut out of the scoring column in the March 8 game against Navy. It marked only the third time in the last three years that he went scoreless in a game, and first since April 13, 2002... Leveille got back into the books against Brown with his 24th multi-goal game of his career. He tallied two goals and an assist... Leveille dished out a career-high six assists in the 15-5 win over Albany. The six assists were the most for a UMass player since 1994. .. Against Penn State, Leveille recorded his first hat trick since his seven-goal outburst versus SBU... Leveille scored two goals and an assist in the victory over UMBC. His assist marked the first time in four games that he recorded a helper... He was named Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week after scoring two goals and two assists in the 12-10 win over Yale. He recorded his 50th career assist with his second helper against Yale... Leveille tallied four goals to lead the Minutemen past Harvard, 11-6, then added a goal and an assist in the win over Georgetown... He scored four points (3 g, 1 a) in the win over Syracuse. His third goal early in the fourth quarter was his 100th career goal and his second-quarter assist was his 150th career point... Leveille concluded the regular-season with two goals and two assists against Rutgers... Leveille now ranks 11th on the career points list with 159 and is eighth with 105 career goals... In the first five games, Leveille had 21 points (4.2 ppg). In the last 10 games, he has scored 30 points (3.0 ppg). His 51 points give him three straight 40-point seasons... Leveille was named ECAC Player of the Week for the second time following his performance against Syracuse... He was named UMass Athlete of the Week for his second-half hat trick against Hofstra in the NCAA Tournament first round.

* Senior Chris Fiore was named to the preseason All-ECAC team and was a second team preseason All-American. He was named ECAC Offensive Player of the Week on April 7... Fiore scored a career-high six points and tied a career high with five goals in the win over Sacred Heart, and added four goals in the victory over Stony Brook... Fiore had 10 shots in the victory over Sacred Heart. The total is tied for the second highest in his career. He had 12 in last season's victory over Brown, and also posted 10 in the win over Penn State... Fiore scored two goals against Hartford to mark the 15th time in the last 17 games he has scored at least two goals in a game. It also pushed his scoring streak to 20 games... Fiore tallied three goals for his seventh career hat trick against Hofstra... Fiore ran his scoring streak to 22 games with a goal against Penn State... He scored four points (3 g, 1 a) in the victory over UMBC. The hat trick was the fourth of his season and marked his third four-point game of the season... Fiore tallied two goals in the victory over Yale to give him 98 career points. He has scored at least two points in all but two games so far this year... Fiore scored his 100th career point in the 11-6 victory over Harvard, pushing his scoring streak to 25 games. He tallied three goals and an assist in the win... Fiore scored one goal and two assists in the victory over Georgetown... Fiore notched his 10th career hat trick with three goals against Syracuse... Fiore tallied three goals in the loss to Rutgers... He dished out a career-best two assists in the opening-round win over Hofstra... He needs five goals to move into a tie for 15th on the school's all-time goals scored list... He has tallied 90 points in the last two seasons.

*?Junior Jeff Zywicki posted his first career hat trick in the victory over Sacred Heart... He scored a then-career-high five points (2 g, 3 a) in the win over Stony Brook, before topping it on March 15 with a six-point effort against Brown... Zywicki scored six points in the victory over Brown, which marked the fourth straight game he has scored at least three points. Zywicki reached three points only three times all of last season... Zywicki had a career-day in the 15-5 victory over Albany. He tallied new career highs of seven goals and nine points... He scored four points in the 14-3 victory over Hartford to lead the Minutemen in scoring for the fourth straight game... Zywicki then posted six points (5 g, 1 a) in UMass' 14-7 win over Hofstra to lead the team in scoring again. He has scored at least four points in the last four games... His 15-point total in a two-game span (3/15-3/18) is the second-highest two-game total in school history. Jim McAleavey totaled 17 points in a two-game span in 1990... Zywicki scored six points in the victory over Hofstra and five more points against Penn State. He slowed down with two goals against UMBC. It marked the first time that he hasn't scored at least three points in a game this year... Zywicki scored four goals against Georgetown... Zywicki may have scored the biggest goal in UMass history when his lone netter of the day found the net in overtime against Syracuse... Zywicki scored three goals and an assist in the loss to Rutgers, marking the eighth time this season that he has scored at least four points in a game... Zywicki tallied two goals and an assist in the first-round triumph over Hofstra... He now has 62 points on the season. The total is the most for a UMass player since Mark Millon tallied 81 points in 1993. His 41 goals are the most since Millon's 58 in the same season. Lastly, his 21 assists are the most since 1994... Zywicki was named ECAC Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week on March 24.

* Sophomore Gene Tundo (Orchard Park, N.Y.) has been a strong set-up man for UMass scorers this year. He ranks fourth on the squad with 12 assists and has already passed his goal output of last season. He has 14 goals (to rank fifth on the squad) after netting eight all of 2002... Against Brown, Tundo recorded his first career hat trick and notched his third career four-point game. With the two goals against Albany, Tundo recorded back-to-back multiple-goal games for the first time in his career... Tundo has dished out assists in five of the eight games this year, including at least two assists twice. Tundo now has nine multiple-assist games and at least one assist in 14 of the 24 games he has played in at UMass. He dished out one helper against Penn State to end a two-game assist-less streak... Tundo tied a career high by scooping up four ground balls in the win over Sacred Heart. It is the third time that he accomplished that feat... He tallied two goals against Hofstra to mark the third multi-goal game of the season and third in a four-game span (3/15 - 3/23). He had two multi-goal games all of last season... Tundo recorded a goal and an assist in the 11-10 loss to Penn State on March 29... Tundo has scored only five points in his last five games. However, he broke out of a scoring slump with two goals and an assist against Syracuse... He tallied two assists in the loss to Rutgers, marking the 10th time in his career he has dished out at least two assists... He started the year by scoring 18 points in the first eight games, but only eight in the last seven games.

* Sophomore Chris Doyle (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) scored his first career goal in the 17-7 victory over Stony Brook... Doyle posted back-to-back multiple-point games against the Seawolves and Navy, then added a then-career-high two goals in the win over Hartford.... He tied it with two goals against Penn State, matched earlier in the year against Hartford... Doyle posted his second straight multi-point game with a goal and assist against UMBC... Doyle played his best in perhaps UMass' biggest win of the year, scoring his first career hat trick in the 14-13 win over Syracuse... Doyle tallied one goal in the loss to Rutgers... Became newest member of the 20-point club with a goal against Hofstra in the NCAA first-round contest.

*?Freshman Sean Morris (Marshfield, Mass.) had a fantastic debut performance in his first career game against Navy. His hat trick earned him ECAC Rookie of the Week honors and led the Minutemen to a 10-9 victory over the No. 9 Midshipmen... He tallied his second career hat trick in only his second career game in the victory over Brown. He also posted a career-high 10 shots against the Bears... He posted his third career three-point game with two goals and an assist in the victory over Hartford... Morris tallied his fourth multi-point game of the season with a one-goal, one-assist performance against Hofstra... Morris scored a goal and assist in the victory over Harvard, then added a career-best four points (2 g, 2 a) in the victory over Georgetown... He dished out an assist in the victory over Syracuse. It marked the first time in games he scored that he didn't account for at least two points... Morris tallied an assist against Hofstra.

*?Sophomore goalie Bill Schell (Mahopac, N.Y.) is having one of the best goaltending seasons in school history... He stopped 10-of-13 shots (76.9 percent) in the victory against Hartford... Schell has saved at least 50.0 percent of shots 20 times in his career. During those contests, UMass is 18-2, with the two defeats coming against Yale last season and Penn State on March 29... In UMass' three-win week in mid-March, Schell recorded a save percentage of 68.3 percent and a GAA of 4.88... Schell was named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 15-of-23 shots against UMBC. The 15 saves were the second most in his career. Schell ranks 13th in NCAA save percentage at 59.9 percent and 15th in GAA at 7.96... Schell made 13 saves (68.4 percent) in the victory over Harvard, and followed it with a 14-save outing (63.6 percent) against Georgetown... He stopped a season-high 16 shots in the 14-13 victory over Syracuse. For that effort, Schell was named Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week... Wasn't called on much against Hofstra, but made nine saves in the victory, his lowest total since a March 18 win over Albany... Schell has recorded at least 10 saves in 12 of UMass' 15 games this season, and has allowed 10 or more goals only four times... Schell has saved at least 60.0 percent of all shots in eight of the 15 games this season, and has been over 50.0 percent in every contest... He is currently ranked 12th on the single-season saves chart with 173.

*?Junior Kevin Glenz (Merrick, N.Y.) notched his first multi-goal game of the season and third of his career in the March 18, 15-5 win over Albany. The goals were his first of the season, and ended a five-game goal-less streak. He also tallied an assist in the victory over Stony Brook... Glenz dished out a career-best three assists in the 14-3 win over Hartford, and pushed his assist streak to two games with a helper in the victory over Hofstra... Glenz scored a goal and two assists against Penn State and then added a goal and an assist versus Yale for his fourth multi-point game in five contests... He tallied a career-best four points (2 g, 2 a) in the 11-8 decision at Maryland-Baltimore County. Glenz entered the season with 11 career points, but has scored 15 already this season... Glenz had one assist in the first four games, but has tallied 16 points (7 g, 9 a) in the last eight games. He is third on the team with 10 assists... Glenz saw a seven-game scoring streak end against Georgetown... Glenz tied a career-best with three assists against Syracuse. His third assist against Syracuse made him UMass' sixth 20-point man of the season... Scored the game-winning goal against Hofstra in the third quarter.

*?Sophomore Matt Garcia (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) has become UMass' top defenseman in the absence of senior tri-captain Tom Fallon. He has scooped up at least one ground ball in 13 of 15 games this season... Had a career-best five ground balls against Hofstra in the first round... He grabbed four ground balls against Brown and three against Georgetown, Yale and Navy.

*?Freshman Jack Reid stepped into a significant role for the Minutemen. Reid, a defenseman, has started the last 11 games and has been a key component for a defense that has allowed only 83 goals in the last 11 outings... Reid has scooped up at least two ground balls in the last seven games, and picked up a career-best five in the season-opening victory over Sacred Heart... Reid was given the task of guarding Syracuse's All-American, Michael Powell, in UMass' 14-13 win over the Orangemen. Reid held him to one goal on the day... Reid has scooped up at least one ground ball in 12 of the 14 games this year.

* Dane Collins (Ridley Park, Pa.), UMass' primary face-off man, is 147-of-320 (45.9 percent)... After starting the year strong at face-off, Collins has cooled down lately. He was at least 50 percent in five of the first six games this year, going 70-of-124 (56.4 percent). However, in the next seven games, Collins went 50-of-154 (32.5 percent)... After struggling for the seven-game stretch, Collins tweaked his technique and responded with a 14-of-23 performance against Rutgers and a 13-of-19 outing against Hofstra.

*?Another freshman, Steven Byrnes (Mahopac, N.Y.), had a breakout game against Hofstra. The long-stick defenseman scored a career-best three assists and grabbed four ground balls versus the Pride... Byrnes scooped up a career-best nine ground balls against Albany... He notched his first career goal against Yale, and added the game-winning goal against Georgetown for his seventh point of the year. Last year's top-scoring defenseman, Matt McFarland, had eight points... Byrnes has scooped up a ground ball in nine straight games, and 12 of the last 13 games.

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