Maryland Terrapins lacrosse - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse team represents the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

in National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

(NCAA) Division I lacrosse

College lacrosse

College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...

as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

(ACC). Since 1924, Maryland has secured numerous national and conference championship honors, including two NCAA tournament championships

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship

The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....

, eight Wingate Memorial Trophy

Wingate Memorial Trophy

The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the national champion in men's college lacrosse prior to the inception of an NCAA tournament format in 1971....

titles and one United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...

championship. Maryland is the only major college lacrosse team to have never finished a season with a losing record.

History

Since 1922, a total of 110 first-team All-American

USILA All-American Team

The USILA All-American Team is an honor given annually to the best American men's college lacrosse players at their respective positions by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The term All-American is derived from the same practice in American college football, in which the...

honors have been bestowed upon Maryland players. Six Terrapins have received All-American honors each of their four years. Frank Urso

Frank Urso

Frank Urso is a former American lacrosse player and current high school lacrosse coach, best known for his collegiate career at the University of Maryland from 1973 to 1976...

is one of just four college players to be named a first-team All-American all four years. Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays lacrosse

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse team represents Johns Hopkins University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college lacrosse. The team was founded in 1883 and is the school's most prominent sports team...

, located nearby in Baltimore, is considered the Terrapins' rival in lacrosse. The two schools have played more than 100 times since the series began in 1895, and members of the media and fans widely consider it the "greatest rivalry" in college lacrosse.

Despite representing the largest university in the state of Maryland, a traditional bastion of lacrosse talent, the Terrapins have not won a national championship since 1975. Nevertheless, since the team's inaugural season in 1924, Maryland has never finished with a losing record, a feat unmatched by any other major college lacrosse team. The Terrapins have finished four seasons with a winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

of .500.

In 1924, Maryland, under the guidance of coach R. V. Truitt

R. V. Truitt

Reginald Van Trump Truitt was an American zoologist, Army officer, and college lacrosse player and coach. He spent his professional career studying the oyster habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Truitt founded the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at what is now the University of Maryland Center for...

, entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse League (USILL). In its first contest in the association, it snapped Navy

Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse

The Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse team represents the United States Naval Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse. Navy currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and play their home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland...

's 46-game winning streak and then beat undefeated Johns Hopkins, the Southern Division championship team, 4–2. The following season, Maryland captured the Southern Division title by beating the Doug Turnbull

Doug Turnbull

Douglas Clayland Turnbull, Jr. was an American lacrosse player. He was the first player, and remains one of only four, to have been named to the USILA All-America first team all four years of his college career. Turnbull played college lacrosse and football at Johns Hopkins University. In 1923, he...

-led Hopkins squad, 3–1.

In 1926, the USILL was succeeded by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...

(USILA), which did not have a limitation on number of member schools. For the next five decades, Maryland remained a national power, alongside Johns Hopkins, Navy, and St. John's. The dominance of these four schools located in the state of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

was due in large part to the high caliber of the sport at the interscholastic level. Lacrosse was the preeminent spring sport at the public Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is a US public high school founded in 1883. Though established as an all-male trade school,it now is a institution that emphasizes mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. It is located on a tract of land in North Baltimore at Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane,...

and Baltimore City College

Baltimore City College

The Baltimore City College , also referred to as The Castle on the Hill, historically as The College, and most commonly City, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. The City College curriculum includes the International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the classics...

, as well as the city

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

's private high schools. The importance of lacrosse was magnified by the lack of any major professional teams in Baltimore until the creation of the Colts

History of the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

in 1947 and the return of the Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

in 1954.

Maryland finished the 1928 season with a 9–1 record, the loss coming at the hands of Johns Hopkins. Three other association members finished with one loss: Hopkins, Navy, and Rutgers. The four squads were awarded Gold Medals as the best teams in the nation. That year, arrangements were made for the inclusion of a lacrosse exhibition

Lacrosse at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Teams from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States played matches on August 5, 6 & 7. Each team ended the tournament with a record of 1 win and 1 loss...

at the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

. American Olympic Committee president General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

established a committee to organize the country's participation in the lacrosse event. Representation of the United States was determined by a tournament of intercollegiate and amateur teams that involved Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, Army

Army Black Knights men's lacrosse

The Army Black Knights men's lacrosse team represents the United States Military Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse competition. During the team's 92-year history, it has won eight national championships and made fifteen postseason NCAA tournament...

, Navy

Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse

, and the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club

Mount Washington Lacrosse Club

The Mount Washington Lacrosse Club is an amateur field lacrosse club based in Baltimore, Maryland. It is one of the most successful and well-known lacrosse clubs in history, which at one point dominated the sport at both the collegiate and club level. The team is sometimes referred to by the...

. Maryland advanced to the finale, where they were defeated by Hopkins in front of 15,000 spectators. In 1929, the undefeated St. John's Johnnies handed Maryland its first homefield loss in thirteen years.
Before the 1932 Summer Olympics

1932 Summer Olympics

The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...

in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, lacrosse proponents arranged for another an exhibition tournament

Lacrosse at the 1932 Summer Olympics

Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Teams from Canada and the United States played three games, with the team from the United States winning the series 2 games to 1...

. To decide the representative for the United States, the American Olympic Lacrosse Committee held an eight-team single-elimination tournament featuring Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse

Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse

The Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team represents Syracuse University in NCAA Division I men's college lacrosse. The Orange have won 10 NCAA championship titles, and currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse conference...

, St. John's, Rutgers, Crescent Athletic Club, Mount Washington Lacrosse Club, and an all-star team composed of American Indian

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

players from the Six Nations

Iroquois Nationals

The Iroquois Nationals are the national lacrosse team of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League that competes in international competition. The team was admitted to the International Lacrosse Federation in 1990 and is the only Native American/First Nations team sanctioned to compete in any sport...

. Maryland defeated Mount Washington at Baltimore Stadium in front of 6,000 spectators in a doubleheader that also featured Johns Hopkins narrowly beat St. John's. In the semifinals, a small crowd of 500 watched Maryland beat the Crescents and Hopkins beat Rutgers in foul rainy weather. Hopkins defeated Maryland in the final before a crowd of 5,000 to secure their place as the United States representatives for the Olympics.

In 1935, Maryland finished with one loss, as did St. John's and Navy. Princeton

Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse

The Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team represents Princeton University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...

, however, was undefeated and accounted for the Navy loss, and therefore took the national title. The following season, Maryland coach Jack Faber

Jack Faber

John Edgar Faber, Jr. was an American microbiologist and college football and lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. Faber served as the Maryland lacrosse coach from 1928 to 1963, during which time he compiled a 249–57 record and secured numerous national and conference championships...

guided the undefeated Terps to secure the inaugural Wingate Memorial Trophy

Wingate Memorial Trophy

The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the national champion in men's college lacrosse prior to the inception of an NCAA tournament format in 1971....

(awarded to the USILA champions). In 1937, Maryland finished undefeated again and shared the national co-championship with William F. Logan's Princeton. Faber led Maryland to back-to-back outright USILA titles in 1939 led by Jim Meade

Jim Meade

James Gordon Meade, Jr. was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football and lacrosse at the University of Maryland. He was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.-References:...

and Rip Hewitt, and in 1940 led by Milton Mulitz and Oscar Nevares.

In 1955 and 1956, co-head coaches Faber and Al Heagy

Al Heagy

Albert B. Heagy was an American chemist, educator, politician, and college lacrosse player and coach. Alongside, Jack Faber, he was the co-head coach of the University of Maryland lacrosse team from 1931 to 1963, and the head coach from 1964 to 1965, and amassed a combined record of...

guided the Terrapins to two more undefeated seasons and consecutive national championships. Maryland split the USILA championship with two other one-loss teams, Army

Army Black Knights men's lacrosse

and Johns Hopkins, in 1959. In 1967, Maryland suffered one loss to Navy, that decade's dominant team, but Hopkins in turn defeated the Midshipmen which resulted in a three-way tie for the championship between the trio.

On March 29, 2009, the Maryland–Virginia

Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse

The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...

regular season match resulted in the longest lacrosse game in NCAA history, extending into seven overtime

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

periods. An unintentional whistle by the officiating staff negated what would have been a game-winning goal by Terrapins attackman Grant Catalino

Grant Catalino

Grant Catalino is an American lacrosse player from Webster, New York. He is an attackman for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse and a forward for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League...

in the first overtime. Virginia went on to win with a goal in the seventh overtime, 10–9, and preserved its perfect record, 11–0, while Maryland slid to 6–3.

In 2011, Maryland defeated first-seeded Duke

Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse

The Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team represents Duke University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...

to recapture the ACC

Atlantic Coast Conference

tournament championship after a six-year hiatus. Attackman Grant Catalino was named the tournament MVP.

National championships

Starting in 1926, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...

(USILA) began rating college lacrosse teams and awarding gold medals to the top teams. Maryland was the recipient of one of these in 1928, alongside Johns Hopkins, Navy

Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse

, and Rutgers

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey...

, all of whom suffered just one regular season collegiate defeat.David G. Pietramala, et al, Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition, p. 15, 2006, Baltimore: JHU Press, ISBN 0801884101. From 1936, the USILA awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy

Wingate Memorial Trophy

The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the national champion in men's college lacrosse prior to the inception of an NCAA tournament format in 1971....

to the regular season intercollegiate champions. In 1971, the National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

began hosting a men's lacrosse tournament to determine the national champions.
{| border="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="75%"
!bgcolor="#EC252A"| Year
!bgcolor="#EC252A"| Type
!bgcolor="#EC252A"| Coach
!bgcolor="#EC252A"| Record
|- align="center"
| 1928 || USILA Gold Medal (with Johns Hopkins, Navy

Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse

, and Rutgers

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey...

) || Jack Faber

Jack Faber

|| 9–1
|- align="center"
| 1936 || USILA Championship

Wingate Memorial Trophy

The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the national champion in men's college lacrosse prior to the inception of an NCAA tournament format in 1971....

|| Jack Faber

Jack Faber

History

National championships

Conference regular season championships

Conference tournament championships

External links