Max Ritz began his career being overshadowed by standout midfielders Joe Walters and Bill McGlone and will finish his stay in College Park in the shadows of superb freshman attackers Travis Reed, Ryan Young and Grant Catalino.
But there is no denying Ritz has shown flashes of brilliance during his days of a Terrapin, especially during the NCAA Tournament. Ritz has 14 goals and five assists in eight NCAA Tournament games, including two goals in last week’s 10-7 victory over Denver in the first round.
But Ritz and the seventh-seeded Terrapins (10-5) face a much tougher test against second-seeded Virginia (13-3) in a quarterfinal game today at noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
The Terrapins, who are seeking their third trip to the Final Four in four years, have split a pair of games against the Cavaliers this season. Maryland gave a dominating performance in a 13-7 victory over Virginia at Byrd Stadium on March 25, but the Cavaliers scored an 11-8 victory over Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament a month later.
“It’s been two years since I’ve got to play in a quarterfinal game and I can feel the different emotions involved with that,” Ritz, who has 11 goals and six assists, said. “There’s so much more riding on this game because I’m a senior now.”
Maryland senior faceoff specialist Will Dalton said the previous games against Virginia summarized the Terrapins? season. At times, the Terrapins have played like one of the country?s best teams; other times they have been mediocre.
“We hit a wall at times,” Dalton, whose team was upset by UMBC in the first round last season, said. “We got complacent, but we learned from those losses. In the first game against Virginia, we set the tempo and built momentum. The second game, Virginia did the same thing. We just can’t let them get on top of us early.”
Ritz agrees, as he knows the only game between the teams that really matters will be played this afternoon.
“The first game was big, the second game was bigger and this one is really big,” Ritz, who scored twice against the Cavaliers in the teams? last meeting, said. “Everybody knows what to expect from the other team by this point of the season.”
