It’s probably inaccurate to describe Maryland’s ascent to the No.1 ranking as hair-raising. After all, the Terrapins (7-0) were coming off a trip to the final four and still had one of the nation’s best defenses.
To call it hair-razing, though, is an entirely different matter — thanks to assistant coach Dave Slafkosky and his surprising new look. The Terps’ defensive coordinator promised last week to get a mohawk if Maryland won at North Carolina, and the Terps followed through with a 10-9 defeat of the Tar Heels. The victory, coupled with Johns Hopkins’ loss to Virginia, vaulted the Terps to the top of the polls for the first time in three years.
“If [the promise] motivated them a little more, I don’t know,” Slafkosky said. “I like beating Carolina. I like beating Carolina anywhere. We had a pretty good streak against them until last year, and I thought Carolina played tougher than us last year. I wanted our kids to play as hard as they could, and they did.”
Freshman midfielder Jay Feeley gave Slafkosky, who is in his 21st season with the program, the new ’do Monday before practice, and other players have given the look high marks. “I thought it was great,” senior defenseman Chris Passavia said. “Slaf’s that kind of guy. We’ve been telling the younger guys all week that he’s got part Cherokee in him anyway. We’re just bringing it out.”
Others on the Terps’ staff are reluctant to allow the craze to spread. “I think it improves his look,” coach Dave Cottle said. “We’re going to have to win a few more games [before I consider getting one]. I’m too ugly for a mohawk. Slaf’s a good-looking guy.” Brown is back While some might have guessed Maryland still would be unbeaten entering April, almost no one would have believed Brown would be perfect at this point.
Yet the Bears, 4-10 last year, charged into a share of No.10 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings after drilling Loyola 14-3 last Saturday. Brown is 6-0 for only the third time in school history and the first since Dom Starsia led it to a 13-0 regular season in 1991 before the team lost in the NCAA quarterfinals. Much of the credit goes to fourth-year coach Scott Nelson, who won three Division III titles at Nazareth before taking the Brown job after the 2000 season.
After some growing pains, an experienced nucleus that includes junior attackman Chazz Woodson (17 goals) and senior goalie Mike Levin (5.22 GAA) has the Bears in the postseason hunt. “I think Division I is so much different [than Division III],” said Nelson, whose team plays No.3 Syracuse in Providence today. “Everyone prepares harder, and you lose a little more. Losing is tough to take. I knew we were getting better. We just had to show some patience.”
Giant killers Virginia has the unusual task of facing the top-ranked team in the country for the second straight week. The Cavaliers (3-4) shocked then-No.1 Johns Hopkins 9-8 last weekend and travel to new No.1 Maryland this afternoon.
However, it might be a mistake to label any Virginia victory over a No.1 team an upset since the Cavaliers are 11-3 against top-ranked foes under coach Dom Starsia.
“I really can’t explain it,” Starsia said. “It’s probably just the fact that we probably haven’t been that far away from No.1 in all our years here. The few opportunities to play a higher-ranked team truly gets the kids’ attention. I don’t hit them over the head with it. I don’t recall any special preparation. It’s probably a little bit of a special occurrence since it doesn’t happen that often.”
If Virginia is to knock off another No.1, it will have to do it without midfielder Newton Gentry. The sophomore, who has scored four goals this season, dislocated his left kneecap against Hopkins and is unlikely to return until at least next month. Starsia isn’t sure who will replace Gentry on the Cavaliers’ man-up unit, though sophomore Foster Gilbert and freshman Drew Thompson are possibilities.
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