January 22, 2010

Lacrosse Magazine has put the finishing touches on its 2010 college preview issue, which mailed US Lacrosse members the first week of February. LM canvassed rival coaches to give us their anonymous take on the top 10 preseason ranked teams for Division I men's and women's lacrosse.

WD1: 10 Princeton | 9 UND | 8 UVA | 7 SU | 6 Georgetown | 5 Duke | 4 Penn | 3 UNC | 2 UMD | 1 Northwestern

Scouting Report: No. 8 Maryland (Men)

Of all Maryland's weapons on its deep attack, Ryan Young is the most complete.

HEAD COACH: Dave Cottle
CONFERENCE: ACC
2009 RECORDS: 10-7, 2-1
2010 SCHEDULE: Click Here

WHO'S BACK

G Brian Phipps (Sr.)
Sure, he tore his ACL celebrating a save/contesting a call during the NCAA quarterfinals against Syracuse. But after splitting time with Jason Carter for two seasons, Phipps is the clear No. 1 starter and has the trust of his teammates.
LSM Brian Farrell (Jr.)
Back where he's comfortable at long-stick middie following a close defense experiment that ended when he suffered a lung injury, Farrell is free to wreak havoc again.
A Ryan Young (Jr.)
Least heralded player in Terps' deep attack corps is their most consistent; engineered Maryland offense with 19 goals and 21 assists in '09.
A Grant Catalino (Jr.)
Maryland's best offensive player (25g, 22a) could see more time at midfield, where he's just as adept.
A Will Yeatman (Sr.)
"Big Will" (13g, 15a) is an intriguing talent. How will his plans to play football for the Terps next fall affect his spring lacrosse output?
A Travis Reed (Jr.)
Terps' best pure finisher (16g, 7a) will see more time if Catalino plays more midfield.

WHO'S NOT

M Dan Groot
Clutch middie (21g, five man-up) leads Maryland's mass exodus at the position.
M Jeff Reynolds
Dynamic player; who will spell Bryn Holmes if and when he goes cold on faceoffs?
G Jason Carter
Served admirably in backup and split-time duties, but will Phipps be better or worse knowing he won't get the hook?

WHO'S NEW

M Eric Boyle
Towson transfer scored 14 goals for the Tigers in 2008 and sat out last year per NCAA transfer regulations.
M Landon Carr
Seattle native is considered best offensive prospect coming out of the West, and considering the help Maryland needs in remolding its midfield, well, anything's possible.
M John Haus
Ditto for this Chapel Hill, N.C., export and son of former UNC coach John Haus.

X FACTOR

Dave Cottle is in the final year of his contract as head coach of the Maryland men's lacrosse team, which hasn't been to the final four since 2006 and has not won a national championship since 1975.

RIVAL COACHES' TAKES

"They have a very good attack, and some of them may play midfield. Coach Slaf always does well with the defense. Their one defender is a very good cover guy."

"How will this team play knowing their coach is on the hot seat?"

"Can Phipps rebound from knee surgery? Their attack has had time to develop chemistry."

"The loss of strong senior midfielders will hurt them this year."

"I think having a No. 1 goalie [instead of two splitting time] will help them, not hurt them."