College lacrosse previews
Terps junior, Ryan Young fires a shot past diving Hofstra goalie Andrew Gvozden to put his team up 8-6 in the fourth quarter. (May 15, 2010) Credit: Baltimore Sun
NOTRE DAME VS. MARYLAND
The Terrapins shot much better in the second half in pulling away from gritty Hofstra, 11-8, in their first-round game last week.
Maryland is murder on ground balls and leads the nation in forcing turnovers, two key factors in postseason play. The Terps feature a balanced offense - there were 10 goal scorers against Hofstra - and are led by Grant Catalino with 54 points (34 goals). The No. 2 scorer is Ryan Young of Manhasset with 47 points (29 assists). Young is No. 8 in the country in assists per game at 1.93. Notre Dame likes to control tempo and will not run with Maryland.
The Irish have an elite goalie in Scott Rodgers, No. 6 in the country in goals-against average (7.99) and No. 8 in save percentage (.584). The Fighting Irish protect Rodgers by packing it in on defense and forcing teams to shoot from outside or at tough angles. Zach Brenneman of East Hampton is the leading scorer with 35 points (23 goals). If Notre Dame is to pull another upset, Rodgers will have to stay hot and faceoff expert Trever Sipperly will need a big game to control possessions.
David Earl's five goals keyed the upset win over Princeton. Maryland handed Notre Dame its only loss of the 2009 season when it won a first-round playoff game in South Bend, Ind., 7-3.
DUKE VS. NORTH CAROLINA
OK, so it's not the same as hoops, but this is a fierce blue-blooded lacrosse rivalry. Duke rocked Johns Hopkins last week, 18-5, and the Tar Heels held off a strong upset bid by Delaware, 14-13. Duke has dominated the series in the past five years, but North Carolina won this year's regular-season meeting, 13-7. The Heels are led offensively by the Manhasset twosome of attackmen Billy Bitter (42 points, 22 assists) and Gavin Petracca (44 points, 24 goals). Bitter was the go-to guy but hasn't been the same since taking a hard hit against Virginia in the Big City Classic on April 10.
Duke features the top attack in the nation. Ned Crotty (76 points, 59 assists) is the favorite to win the Tewaaraton Trophy. Max Quinzani (74 points, 61 goals) is a sniper and Zach Howell (59 points, 43 goals) of Huntington is another dangerous scorer. For Carolina to win, Ryan Flanagan of West Islip and his defense partners must shut down the Duke attack and force the Devils' midfielders to score.
The Heels' defense was highly regarded early but has allowed 53 goals in the last four games. Duke, a preseason No. 1 by Inside Lacrosse, has won 11 of 12 and beat UNC in last year's quarterfinals, 12-11.
