April 17, 2008

By Eric Detweiler The Diamondback

April 17, 2008

College Park, MD (UWIRE) -- After splitting halves in goal with Jason Carter for the first eight games of the University of Maryland Terrapin men's lacrosse season, Brian Phipps has not appeared in two out of the team's last three games.

But that is just fine with him.

On March 29 against Virginia, the Terps charged to a 9-3 half-time lead behind Carter, prompting coach Dave Cottle to leave the redshirt junior in for the second half as the Terps upset the then-No. 1 Cavaliers.

"At the Virginia game, I was like 'There's no way I should go in,'" Phipps said. "Why would we risk taking out Jason, who's playing really well, to put me in who would be just starting to warm up?"

Saturday at Johns Hopkins, Carter made six first-half saves to keep the game close at 3-2. Cottle left Carter in, and the defense collapsed, allowing six third-period goals as the Terps lost 10-4, which Phipps was happy enough not to be a part of.

"I know against Hopkins, like, if I was in for the third quarter and they went on a run then, it would look bad on my part," Phipps said.

Although the system has not stayed as clear cut as it once was, the Terps will continue with the dual goalie system - at least for now.

Cottle said he has an open mind about the rest of the season and could see either goalie winning the job outright or the split continuing.

Although Cottle declined to name a starter Tuesday, both goalies said they expect Phipps, who played the first half of the middle game of that stretch against Navy and made eight saves while allowing five goals, to start Saturday against Penn.

Cottle just wants to continue seeing the goalies earn their playing time like Carter did against Virginia and Johns Hopkins, where he felt it would be unfair to bring in Phipps in those situations.

"It's like taking out a kid who is pitching a no-hitter at the end of eight," Cottle said. "You've got to let him start the ninth."

Carter, who struggled in the second half against Johns Hopkins and allowed several long shots past him, said it's been fun to play more but not necessarily easy to get used to.

"I wouldn't even say it helped because you go into games expecting to play a half," Carter said. "So you're kind of surprised when you get to step in there and play a second half. It hasn't really changed anything except giving me more experience for later on in the season."

Cottle said he would have pulled Carter after the third quarter on Saturday but left the more athletic goalie in to double team the Blue Jays.

By the numbers, Phipps is having a better season. His save percentage is higher (58.8 percent to 58.2 percent) and his goals against average is lower (6.39 to 7.94). But Carter has played more than 100 more minutes than Phipps and has made 31 more saves.

For now, Phipps, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year, can only be patient and do what he can with his opportunities.

"It's frustrating not being able to help the team win, but I'm not mad I've only been playing a half," Phipps said. "I do want to play better to help the team win, but I understand if Jason is playing better then just keep him in."

And despite playing five of the last six halves, Carter is eager to share the workload. All season long the pair has maintained support for one another, and Carter said simply having two goalies is better than one.

"You can get hot for a game, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee you're going to be hot the next week," Carter said. "I think it's still in the best interest of the team for us to switch off."

It will be interesting to see how the 26-year head coach handles the situation the rest of the way. He's never employed such a rotation before, but that does not mean he is not happy with the results.

Before the Virginia game, Cottle expressed concerns that the goalies were not playing as well as he would have liked.

Since then his outlook has changed despite back-to-back losses.

"I think both of them are playing a lot better," Cottle said. "The one good thing is that the goalie play is improving for the University of Maryland."

(C) 2008 The Diamondback via UWIRE