For the second consecutive year, the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team swept the three ACC awards given at the end of the year.

Midfielder Caitlyn McFadden won her second straight ACC Player of the Year honor, midfielder Katie Schwarzmann won ACC Freshman of the Year and Cathy Reese won ACC Co-Coach of the Year with UNC’s Jenny Levy. Last season, McFadden and Reese teamed with attacker Karri Ellen Johnson (Rookie) for the sweep.

The No. 1 Terps (18-1, 4-1) dominated the ACC both in the regular season and the conference tournament. Only North Carolina mustered a win, while the Terps ran past Virginia, Duke, Boston College and Virginia Tech.

McFadden gets the honor days after being named to the Tewaaraton Finalist list. The senior has contributed everywhere this season: points (2nd, 67), goals (2nd, 37), assists (1st, 30), shots (2nd, 94), shots on goal (2nd, 69), and caused turnovers (1st, 25).

Schwarzmann, meanwhile, has filled in for injured defender Katie Gallagher. Playing on both ends of the field, the freshman has caused havoc on defense and provided a scoring boost on offense. Several times this season (James Madison, Towson) the freshman keyed an important comeback for the Terps.

Reese wins her second straight ACC Coach of the Year honors after guiding her team to a 4-1 conference record and the ACC tournament championship. In her four years as the Terps’ head coach, Reese has a gaudy 78-9 record. This season, the Terps start the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed – first time since 2001 (the last time they won a national championship).

The Terps take on Marist (10-7) in the first round of the tournament this Saturday at Ludwig Field. Game is set to kick off at noon. Check back here at the TerrapinTrail.com for more women’s lacrosse updates.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s lacrosse beat reporter. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com

While speaking with Associate Athletics Director of Administration Chris Boyer yesterday, I asked him about the schedule change for the Terrapin football team’s 2010 season opener, which students will be able to attend at for free even though it is being held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Originally, the Terps were scheduled to square-off against Navy on Saturday Sept. 4. But, because the Baltimore Orioles have a home game that night at 7:05 p.m., the only available time for the game to be played would have been noon. The Baltimore Orioles, who play at Camden Yards, share parking facilities with M&T Bank Stadium, making it impossible for the two venues to host events at the same time.

Boyer said that the schools were originally going to play during that time, but when sports-media giant ESPN asked the teams to change the time in exchange for national coverage, the two programs agreed to play on Labor Day instead.

Click the jump to read Boyer’s exact words in response to the question. (more…)

The wait is over.

The Terrapin women’s lacrosse team was awarded the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament late tonight on CBS College Sports. The Terps (18-1, 4-1 ACC) will face Marist (10-7) on Saturday at Ludwig Field at noon.

The No. 1 seed comes to no surprise to the team or its players after the back-to-back dominating performances following the ACC Tournament championship. The Terps first dismantled Massachusetts and then ran over No. 10 Dartmouth yesterday 17-6.

But the biggest win to date for the Terps came against then-No. 1 North Carolina in the ACC championship. After the win, the Terps vaulted up to the top ranking in the country. Coupled with the No. 1 RPI in the country, the top seed was never in question. Only No. 2 Northwestern (17-1) had any possibly argument for the top ranking. Both the Terps’ and Wildcats’ only losses this season came at the hands of the Tar Heels.

In the second round, the Terps could face No. 8 seed Penn (14-3). The Terps defeated the Quakers 12-6 in Philadelphia on April 2. Interesting note: backup goalie Mary Jordan started and played the entire game against Penn, while starter Brittany Dipper stood on the sidelines.

The other part of the Terps side of the bracket includes No. 4 seed Georgetown, No. 5 seed James Madison, Stanford and Syracuse. The Terps have already beaten the Hoyas, the Dukes and the Cardinal.

The Terps seemingly lucked out with Northwestern, North Carolina, Duke and Virgina all on the other half of the bracket.

More to come in the Diamondback tomorrow and for the rest of the week.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s lacrosse beat reporter. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com

In yesterday’s preview of the Terrapin women’s lacrosse game against No. 10 Dartmouth (11-4), I focused on senior Amanda Spinnenweber and her impact on the Terps this year. But today’s game isn’t just a day to honor the seniors, but a crucial final regular season game.

The No. 1 Terps (17-1, 4-1 ACC) are in position to enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, which is announced tomorrow night at 10 p.m. The Terps would get the nod over both No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 North Carolina. But with a loss today, even if it’s a close one, the Terps would drop back to the No. 3 seed.

With the No. 1 seed, the Terps would have home games in the first two rounds and wouldn’t have to face the Tar Heels or the Wildcats until the National Championship game. The Terps, Tar Heels and Wildcats are the favorites to win.

Today, Dartmouth provides a tough final test for coach Cathy Reese’s team. Last season, the unranked Big Green played the Terps to 13-12 overtime loss with three Dartmouth starters sidelined with injury. This season, despite their top 10 ranking, Dartmouth is fighting for a NCAA Tournament at-large berth and a win against the top team in the country would certainly make them a lock.

The Big Green are 2-3 in their previous five games, including heartbreaking losses at Princeton (11-10 in OT) and in last week’s Ivy Final against No. 6 Penn (9-8).

In honor of Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who died early Monday morning, the Terps are wearing navy blue wristbands with Love’s No. 11. Midfielder Caitlyn McFadden, who went to high school with Love, is here for the game. Love’s funeral was at 10 a.m. this morning in Towson.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s lacrosse beat reporter. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com

After mulling over the alternative, Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage announced Tuesday the university’s men’s and women’s lacrosse teams will compete in their respective NCAA Tournaments:

A part of their healing will be getting our students back into some of their routines. In the case of the women’s and men’s programs, our lacrosse teams will honor Yeardley by continuing their seasons. We anticipate both teams will be selected for the NCAA Tournaments and they will represent the University of Virginia as they always have.

The decision comes in the wake of the tragic slaying of Cavaliers’ women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who was found dead in her apartment early Monday morning. Police charged George Huguely, a men’s lacrosse player at the university and a supposed ex-flame, with her murder.

Now, the attention turns — with the best effort possible, given the circumstances — to the postseason.

The Virginia men have been the title favorites all along, and Huguely’s expected absence from the team doesn’t alter much of its composition. But winning a title with the added stress and attention of this latest scandal is a harrowing task for anyone. Just ask the 2007 Duke men’s lacrosse team, who couldn’t close out a national championship the year after they folded up shop early in the wake of a rape scandal.

The scenario for the Virginia women is equally murky. The Cavs haven’t been world-beaters all year, although they’ve done just enough to be a top-five team for most of the season. They flashed their potential in a recent overtime defeat to reigning champ Northwestern, but have also lost to the No. 1 Terps by an average margin of five goals in their two meetings this year. Will Love’s death galvanize a team, or tear it asunder?

We won’t have to wait long to find out. Both tournament fields will be announced this weekend, and start the next.

Jonas Shaffer is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at jonas.shaffer@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonas_shaffer.

Charlottesville police charged Virginia men’s lacrosse player George Huguely, 22, with the murder of Virginia women’s lacrosse player, Yeardley Love, 22, today after police found Love dead in her bed early this morning.

Love’s roommate called police to the scene at 2:15 a.m. because of an apparent alcohol overdose, but they found obvious physical harm done to the senior. Hours later, police arrested Huguely and are holding him in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, according to Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo.

Longo said Huguely and Love “have had a romantic relationship, but the exact status of that at this time is part of our investigation.”

This stunning news in the lacrosse world comes just weeks before the start of the NCAA Tournament on both the men’s and the women’s side. The Virginia men’s team (14-1) is ranked No. 1 in this week’s IL/Nike Top 25 poll. The women’s team (13-5) is ranked No. 5 in this week’s InsideLacrosse poll.

Love was a native of Cockeysville, MD and attended Notre Dame Prep. She has started three games this season. She played at Notre Dame Prep with current Terps’ lacrosse player Caitlyn McFadden and the two graduated in the same year. McFadden declined to comment earlier this afternoon.

Huguely is a native of Chevy Chase, MD and attended Landon. He has played in all 15 games this season, scoring four goals.

Here is the statement released by the women’s lacrosse team tonight:

“We are all incredibly shocked and saddened to hear of the untimely passing of Yeardley Love. Our hearts go out to the entire Love family and the Virginia women’s lacrosse program after this tragic loss.”

More to come both online at TerrapinTrail.com and Diamondbackonline.com

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s lacrosse beat reporter. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com.

The No. 3 Terps crushed unranked Fairfield at Byrd Stadium in what long pole Brian Farrell called their most complete game of the season.

The Terps started the game with an 8-0 run. Even after the Stags put their first goal on the board more than halfway through the second quarter, the Terps’ dominance continued with a 7-0 scoring run through the end of the third quarter.

At that point, ahead 15-1, the Terps emptied the bench, giving players who had seen little time on the field in-game experience and making the game truly a complete team effort. Though starting attackman Grant Catalino led the team with four goals, 10 different Terps scored goals in the win, and five more contributed assists.

The scoring rampage prompted the Stags to pull their starting goalie Joseph Marra, who before today led the country in goals against average and save percentage, at the end of the first half. Though he made 11 saves, he faced 30 first-half shots. But his replacement didn’t fare any better.

In the end, the Terps outshot their opponents 51-23, helping them to their most lopsided victory of the season.

Kate Yanchulis is the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team beat writer for The Diamondback. She can be reached at kyanchulisdbk@gmail.com.