Lacrosse is commonly called America’s fastest-growing sport. And the Washington area isn’t immune. In fact, evidence abounds this weekend as the 2006 Men’s NCAA Tournament gets underway. On the 16 teams playing in the tournament, 66 players are from the Washington area.
Many play major roles. Here’s a rundown.
Notre Dame (10-4) at Virginia (13-0)
Virginia’s leading scorer, Matt Ward (Oakton/Landon), is attempting to bookend his career with national titles. As a freshman, he started at attack for the Cavaliers’ 2003 national championship squad. On Sunday, he’ll be firing at a familiar high school foe, Notre Dame sophomore goalie Joey Kemp (Potomac/Georgetown Prep), who led the nation with a .652 save percentage last year. Other key players among the 11 locals in this game are Notre Dame sophomore Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach/DeMatha), who has a .621 win percentage on faceoffs, and will likely square off at some point against Adam Fassnacht (Burke/Robinson), a back-up face-off man. Freshman Dan Glading (Bethesda/Georgetown Prep) is the third-leading scorer for Virginia and with four game-winning goals.
UMBC (10-4) at Princeton (10-4)
Virginia and Maryland would seem to have the inside track on local talent, but it’s Princeton that has more local players (11) on its roster than any other tournament team. The Tigers are led by sophomore attack Scott Sowanick (Potomac/Bullis), the Tigers’ top scorer with 18 goals and 17 assists. Sowanick was recently named Ivy League Player of the Week at the same time freshman teammate Mark Kovler (Bethesda/Landon) was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Kovler has 16 goals and seven assists. UMBC counters with sophomore Terry Kimener (Oakton/Oakton High) and senior Andy Gallagher (Rockville/DeMatha), who have scored 23 goals each.
Navy (11-3) at Georgetown (10-2)
Both teams have five Washington-area players each, including Georgetown’s third-leading scorer, junior Trevor Casey (Bethesda/Georgetown Prep), who has three game-winning goals. Navy boasts the Looney (Silver Spring/DeMatha) brothers, midfielders Billy and Steve, who made the Patriot League first- and second-team, respectively, and senior Taylor Harris (Clifton/Robinson) who has added 12 goals.
Denver (12-4) at Maryland (10-4)
Several locals are major players for Maryland, including All-ACC junior defender Steve Whittenberg (Springfield/Lake Braddock), goalie Harry Alford (Washington/St. Albans), who has a strong .631 save percentage, and senior middie Brendan Healy (Great Falls/Landon), who has 15 goals and nine assists. Denver’s lone local is rangy midfielder Michael Goltra (Washington/Hyde School) who has 10 goals and as many assists.
Penn (10-3) at Johns Hopkins (8-4)
Both teams have five Washington-area products. Penn captain and three-year starting defender Andy Blechman (Potomac/Landon) will keep tabs on his former high school teammate Jake Byrne (Potomac/Landon), JHU’s third-leading scorer with 15 goals and 10 assists. Another man to watch for the Blue Jays is sophomore All-America Paul Rabil (Gaithersburg/Potomac) who has 19 goals and 10 assists.
Harvard (6-6) at Syracuse (8-4)
Two key midfielders for Harvard are seniors Sean Kane (Fairfax/Fairfax High), who has eight goals, and Tom Boylan (Bethesda/Georgetown Prep), who has seven. Both have a game-winner this season. They will contend with Syracuse speedster Craig Hammond (Mitchellville/Archbishop Carroll).
