Sophomore keys Terps’ second-half dominance
Growing up in a home with older brothers who wrestled, and played football and lacrosse, was apparently good training for Curtis Holmes.
On Saturday the sophomore was the dominant player in the second half as the Maryland lacrosse team demolished Georgetown, 20-8, at Byrd Stadium, in the most lopsided margin in series history before 3,966.
| UP NEXT |
| Maryland at Duke |
| When » Saturday, 1 p.m. |
| Where » Koskinen Stadium |
| TV » ESPNU |
| Duke (1-2) struggled to score in a 7-3 loss Saturday at Pennsylvania, putting just 12 of 24 shots on goal and committing 22 turnovers in a slow-paced game. The Blue Devils who also lost to defending national champion Notre Dame, 13-7, are led by A Zach Howell (9 goals, 2 assists) and M Justin Turri (3 goals). Landon graduate Josh Offit has added 3 goals and 3 assists, as a first-year starting attack. |
| Georgetown at St. John's |
| When » Saturday, 1 p.m. |
| Where » DaSilva Memorial Field, Queens, N.Y. |
| St. John's (1-1) fell to Yale on Saturday, 10-8, after trailing at the half, 7-1. Three freshmen - A Kevin Cernuto (6 goals, 4 assists), A Kieran McArdle (5 goals), M Ryan Fitzgerald (3 goals, 3 assists) -- have started quickly for the Red Storm. This is the Big East opener for the Hoyas. |
After struggling early at the faceoff X, Holmes grew dominant as the game progressed, winning 20 of 31, and scoring the first goal of his career. Holmes also had two assists in the third period, when he won 9 of 11 faceoffs, fueling a seven-goal outburst, which left Maryland in command, 13-7.
"Curtis played unbelievable. I think he was the silent killer. No one really knew much about him," said senior attack Grant Catalino. "It's a game of runs. It starts at the faceoff X."
Catalino (5 goals, assist) owed much of his success to Holmes. Two of his goals came within 10 seconds of faceoffs, answering third-period scores by Georgetown.
Holmes was rarely used last year as a freshman. His brother, Bryn, who graduated last spring, was the primary faceoff man. Through two games, Holmes has won 37 of 52 faceoffs (71.2 percent). He is the third Holmes brother to play at Maryland. Travis Holmes was a Terps midfielder from 2004-07. All were three-sport standouts at the McDonogh School in Baltimore.
On Saturday, Holmes (8 ground balls) helped turn the game into the type of run-and-gun affair in which athletic Maryland (2-0) typically thrives.
"That game is always a crazy game," said Maryland first-year coach John Tillman. "[Georgetown] is very athletic. They seem to get a lot of four-on-three and five-on-fours, and they give you those. You have to be good enough to can them, and if you don't, you're gonna struggle."
After a rough start, in which the Terps committed numerous turnovers, scored just once in the first 19 minutes, and fell behind 3-1, Maryland had little trouble scoring. Eleven Maryland players tallied including junior midfielder Drew Snider (3 goals), senior attack Ryan Young (2 goals, 3 assists), sophomore midfielder Owen Blye (2 goals, 2 assists), and junior midfielder Joe Cummings (2 goals).
A lack of scoring from the midfield was often an issue last season for Maryland. But on Saturday, the Terps got 12 goals and 11 assists from middies.
"We like those guys. We kind of pick on them a little bit because they don't get the accolades the other guys have," Tillman said. "They're a really hard-working group. They're still a work in progress, but they are guys we really believe in."
According to Tillman, the return of Scott LaRue (assist, 3 ground balls) was crucial. The senior keyed the defensive midfield and played well as a wing on faceoffs.
Georgetown (1-1) got strong play from midfielders Max Seligmann (3 goals, assist) and Brian Casey (2 goals, assist). But starting attackmen Travis Comeau, Rickey Mirabito and Davey Emala combined for just one goal and one assist, on seven shots, against Maryland close defenders Ryder Bohlander (3 caused turnovers), Brett Schmidt, and Max Schmidt.
"We gotta lean heavily on our leadership. We gotta put this thing in the rear-view mirror," said Georgetown coach Dave Urick. "We gotta learn from it for sure. We can't sit around and feel too sorry for ourselves. Our schedule is such that we're gonna be looking at a lot of team of this caliber. We need to deal with it."
Georgetown took the lead early with a three-goal run. Seligman's second score, in a man-up situation, put the Hoyas up 3-1. But Maryland responded with five goals in the final 8:46 of the half.
After Catalino fed Jake Bernhardt for a goal, Holmes needed just six seconds to win the ensuing faceoff and score the tying goal. When Blye wheeled around the cage and beat Georgetown senior goalie Jack Davis (7 saves), it gave the Terps the lead for good, 5-4.
Maryland dominated the second half. A four-goal spree in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds, transformed an 8-6 edge into 12-6. Maryland held possession throughout the run, as Holmes was in the midst of winning six straight faceoffs. Catalino had two of the goals, Holmes assisted on two, and the rout was on.
"The balls came out my way this week," Holmes said. "I've got great wing guys. That helps."
Holmes' performance was reminiscent of a game two years ago when brother Bryn was the faceoff catalyst as Maryland beat Duke at M&T Bank Stadium. Curtis, then a senior in high school, was in the stands that day.
"It's awesome to see just how important a single player can be to a team," Curtis Holmes said matter-of-factly.
