Posts Tagged ‘dave cottle’

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February 2nd, 2010 | 05:16 pm

Home, sweet home

The men’s lacrosse team’s return to Byrd Stadium thrills Terp players. After spending last season at Ludwig Field during the Tyser Tower renovation, they eagerly anticipate the tradition and intensity brought by their 54,000-seat stomping ground.

But does Coach Dave Cottle agree with the home field hype?

“Without question,” Cottle said. “Our fans can really come out and support us, we get the video board and the replays, we have the skyboxes and Testudo. We just think Byrd is a tremendous place to play.”

The intimidation factor did not go overlooked. Easily larger than the home venues of the Terps’ three ACC rivals – in fact, it holds more seats than the others combined – Byrd Stadium provides the team an extra edge. And coming into the season ranked No. 8 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll, last in the conference, any advantage helps. (more…)

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January 16th, 2009 | 07:10 pm

Former ND star Yeatman officially a Terp

A report surfaced around the new year that former Notre Dame football and lacrosse player Will Yeatman was ready to transfer to Maryland.

Today it became official with a press release saying Yeatman, who missed time with both Fighting Irish teams stemming from a pair of alcohol-related incidents, has joined the Terp lacrosse team.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity for a new beginning at the University of Maryland,” Yeatman, who was the Irish’s leading scorer as a freshman in 2007, said in the release.

Yeatman, an attackman and tight end, was suspended for the 2008 lacrosse season after pleading guilty to to misdemeanor counts of drunken driving and criminal recklessness stemming from a Jan. 28, 2008, arrest. Yeatman encountered more problems in September when he was charged with underage drinking at an off-campus party. The incident led to a suspension from the football team.

According to the earlier report, Yeatman originally hoped to transfer to North Carolina, but was denied release because the Tar Heels appear on the Irish’s lacrosse schedule this year. That left Yeatman to choose from the Terps, Duke, Virginia and Rutgers, the report said.

In the release, Yeatman, a San Diego, Calif.-native, notes his mother and several family members have graduated from this university.

“We’re excited to have Will join our program,” coach Dave Cottle said in the release. “Not only is he a terrific player that will help us on the field, but we know him to be a tremendous person.”

The 6-foot-6, 263-pounder will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Terp lacrosse team. Yeatman would not be eligible to join the Terp football team until the 2010 season.

It will be interesting to see how the Terps balance their talented corps of attackmen throughout the season. Last season, then-freshmen Grant Catalino, Travis Reed and Ryan Young led the team in scoring. They accounted for 58 goals and 42 assists to lead the Terps to an appearance in the national quarterfinals. The 2007 Great Western Lacrosse League Newcomer of the Year should be able to contribute right away with his mix of size and athleticism.

The Terps, who began spring practice on Wednesday, kick-off the regular season Feb. 13 in Florida against Presbyterian.

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April 24th, 2008 | 09:44 pm

Handing out Hardware

At the ACC awards banquet tonight, several Terps took home honors.

Coach Dave Cottle was selected as Coach of the Year in voting by the league’s four coaches. Cottle also took home the award in 2004, making him the only ACC coach to win the award twice in the past five seasons.

Senior defender Joe Cinosky and junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds earned All-ACC honors. Cinosky has anchored the defense for the Terps, who won a pair of ACC games after being picked in the preseason to finish last in the conference. Reynolds helped his cause with a pair of hat tricks in ACC play just a season after suffering a torn ACL.

Duke’s Matt Danowski won conference player of the year for the third time, while fellow Blue Devil Mike Manly was named Rookie of the Year.

The banquet was held in conjunction with the ACC tournament, which kicks off tomorrow at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

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March 20th, 2008 | 06:47 pm

A Spring Break

The Terp men’s lacrosse team has already played on two days or less rest three times this season.

The No. 9 Terps have responded well, winning all three games, two of which were bounce-back games after losses.

And the flurry of early season action is no accident, according to coach Dave Cottle. He said the schedule was designed to benefit his young team.

“We had to teach our guys how to play first and be able to adjust on the fly,” Cottle said. “Now we’re getting into the preparation phase a little bit.”

The Terps are finished with mid-week games, and they have at least six days between games for the remainder of the regular season.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll get a break. The Terps (5-2) are about to hit the part of their schedule that sees them play top-10 teams in four consecutive weekends, starting Saturday at No. 5 North Carolina.

Cottle said his team needs the time to prepare. He stressed that playing teams that are so evenly matched makes preparing for each game supremely important.

After Sunday afternoon’s home win against Air Force, the coaches spent part of the evening breaking down film on North Carolina. While the players got Monday off from playing after a pair of weekend games, they spent time that day watching film as well.

Not exactly Academy Award-winning viewing but nearly as much of a reward for the Terps at this point in the season.

“We played so many games on short rest, we look forward to having the luxury of a full week to prepare,” Cottle said.

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March 17th, 2008 | 08:33 pm

If they can do it…

Despite a busy weekend that included two Terp men’s lacrosse games, coach Dave Cottle apparently found time to catch up on NCAA men’s basketball conference tournament action– and use it to motivate his team.

After the No. 9 Terps lost at UMBC Friday night on Maxx Davis’ goal with 1.5 seconds left in the third overtime, they had a quick turnaround, hosting Air Force on Sunday afternoon.

Cottle said he told his team to look at the example set by the Pittsburgh (4 games in 4 days to win the Big East Tournament) and Georgia (two games on Saturday at the SEC Tournament) basketball teams.

“The only thing I thought we should be tired of is losing, not of playing two games in three days,” Cottle said.

The Terps responded with a 16-4 win in which they had a 13-0 run, made possible because they held the Falcons scoreless for 44:03 from the last minute of the first quarter to late in the fourth quarter.

Cottle said he was happy with the bounce back effort after the Terps failed to execute and finish key chances against the Retrievers. He also praised a total team effort.

Grant Catalino, Will Dalton, Jeff Reynolds and Dan Morrison each scored a pair of goals and eight others tallied single goals for the Terps, who don’t play again until Saturday’s game at No. 5 North Carolina– which should give the Terps just enough time to draw some motivation from the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball Tournament.

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February 28th, 2008 | 03:58 pm

(Hopefully not) Scandalous!

In preparing for the Terp men’s lacrosse team’s game at Duke on Saturday, I hoped to avoid the scandal that cost the Blue Devils’ the second half of their 2006 season as much as possible.

In my opinion, it has run its course. The scandal has been in the headlines for nearly two years, and it’s been nearly a year since all charges were dropped in the criminal cases against three fromer team members. I figured it’s about time to let it go. (Even if 38 non-charged players thrust it back into the public attention last week by filing suit against Duke University, the city of Durham, and others involved in the case.)

Last year it was a big deal when the Blue Devils came to College Park in their first road game since the scandal. At the time, the question was how Duke would respond to a hostile crowd, which could use the scandal to potentially distract the team. However, the Blue Devils responded by handing the Terps their most lopsided loss of the season, 14-7.

Now that team is a year older thanks to an NCAA ruling granting players an extra season of eligibility for the lost ‘06 season, one of the only reasons the scandal still matters, and playing in front of the hometown fans. But you have to remember, the Terps have 18 true freshmen on the roster, so most teams would have an experience edge on them, at least this early in the season.

Still, when I first brought up the topic of the game against Duke to coach Dave Cottle after his team’s win at Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, one of the first things he addressed was the scandal. After saying the Blue Devils were the best team he’s seen on tape all season, he brought up the extra season of eligibility and the pain the team had to endure to get it.

“The way I figure it is if I had to go through that and our players had to go through that to get an extra year, I’m not for it,” Cottle said.

So maybe I’m wrong. Maybe, even two years removed from the charges, it is still a big deal. Either way, my game preview is going to focus on the action on the field. The Terp defense still has to figure out how to stop a prolific offense led by the reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner.

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February 15th, 2008 | 02:47 pm

Keeping controversy going

Terrapin coaches had to make some tough decisions in the fall regarding position battles. From Ralph Friedgen’s quarterback dilemma to Sasho Cirovski’s dual freshman goalie system, the coaches faced questions and second guessing as their seasons progressed.

With that said, men’s lacrosse coach Dave Cottle better be ready for some of the same with his goalie situation. He has declared open competition for the spot between redshirt junior Jason Carter and reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Brian Phipps.

The goalies are saying all the right things. A few weeks ago, Phipps expressed that he and Carter would support each other through out the season. Yesterday, Carter said he’s going to be excited no matter who wins the job, and the competition is bringing out the best in both of them.

It seems to be true. Phipps gave up a single goal in three quarters of play the first weekend of scrimmaging. Against Princeton last weekend, Carter gave up two goals in a half against the Tigers.

Cottle said he has complete confidence in both net-minders, and he has not named a front-runner with the regular season opener looming on Feb. 23.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t make the tough decision.

“There’s the old saying: if you have two goalies, you don’t have any. Well, we think we have two goalies. So this weekend will be a big weekend in determining who’s going to play,” Cottle said.

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February 6th, 2008 | 01:13 pm

A perfect day for a scrimmage

Even though famous Pennsylvania groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter Saturday morning, Mother Nature came through with a perfect, sunny day for the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team’s first scrimmage of the “spring.”

For Terp fans, it was a welcome change from last season when scrimmages kicked off the first weekend in February with a minus-7 degree wind chill, according to sports information director Patrick Fischer. Many fans crowded beside the Comcast Center turf fields to get their first look at the Terps, who feature 18 freshmen on the roster.

The players responded beating Loyola (Md.) University 4-3 in the opener before holding on for an 8-6 win over 2007 NCAA semi-finalist Delaware.

Freshman Brett Weiss paced the offense with two goals and three assists on the day, including the game-winner against Loyola.

“The weekend went well,” said senior midfielder Will Dalton, who notched a goal against Delaware after running over a defender. “We are a young team, but we played together as a team. Offensively, we played well, but we didn’t capitalize on all our opportunities. That’s something that this week we’re going to have to address and go after a lot harder.”

The scrimmages offered the first of three chances to experiment with different units and build chemistry before the Terps’ first regular season game on Feb. 23. But at this point, coach Dave Cottle said there are some aspects of the game his team has not even covered in practice yet.

“I think we’re making strides toward where we want to be,” he said.

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