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Md. Terrapins beat Duke, head to NCAA lacrosse championships

By WTOP Staff

FOXOBOROUGH, Mass. – After splitting the regular-season series, Maryland routed Duke in the matchup that mattered most to the ACC rivals.

The Terrapins rattled off six straight goals in the fourth quarter and beat the third-seeded Blue Devils 16-10 on Saturday to advance to the NCAA lacrosse championship game for the second straight year.

Drew Snider tied his career high with four goals, Owen Blye scored three times and Kevin Cooper had a goal and four assists for the Terps, who scored the first three goals of the game and never gave up the lead.

“Duke’s a great team. They made a couple runs in the game and fortunately our defense was able to come up with some stops and the offense was able to keep producing all the way until the end of the game,” said goalie Niko Amato, who finished with 10 saves.

The Terps (12-5) will play for the national title Monday against top-seeded Loyola, the Baltimore school only 30 miles away from Maryland’s campus. Loyola held off Notre Dame 7-5 in the first semifinal.

Nine players scored for Maryland and four of them finished with multiple goals in a shooting performance the Terps’ basketball team would envy.

Maryland took 29 shots and 16 found the back of the net.

“We were finding each other in good spots on the field,” Snider said. “We all felt really comfortable with our offensive game plan and I thought we were very organized.”

Maryland put away the Blue Devils (15-5) with a run of six straight goals after Duke pulled to 10-8 early in the fourth quarter.

“At times this year, we’ve let teams make runs on us. In the playoffs, our defense has really been able to buckle down and limit the momentum,” Amato said. “We really just concentrated on getting the next stop and giving the ball back to our offense because they knew they were going to be able to do something with it.”

Duke hadn’t allowed more than 15 goals in a game this season.

“The Maryland kids were sharp. They shot very well and put the ball on each other’s sticks,” Duke coach John Danowski said. “I thought they were much more confident than we were.”

Duke’s Dan Wigrizer allowed 13 goals before being pulled in the fourth quarter as Maryland put the game out of reach.

The Blue Devils unraveled quickly after making it close.

Robert Rotanz pulled Duke to 10-8 with an unassisted goal 2:16 into the fourth quarter. It was his second of the game and 40th of the season, but Maryland answered right away on Snider’s goal with 12:17 left.

“We know the game was close, but we did have the lead so we weren’t panic or anything like that,” Maryland defenseman Jesse Bernhardt said. “I think we did a great job of controlling the tempo and our offense did a great job possessing the ball and putting it in the back of the net.”

Blye bounced a shot past Wigrizer for his second goal of the game, putting the Terps up 12-8 with 10:09 left, then Joe Cummings added another for Maryland just 59 seconds later. It was the 31st goal of the season for Cummings, who also had three assists and leads the Terps in scoring.

Now down 13-8 minutes after pulling within two, Duke called a timeout after Cummings’ goal with 9:10 left.

It didn’t help.

Duke also replaced Wigrizer in goal with Kyle Turri, who charged way out to try an intercept a pass, leaving a wide-open net for Blye’s third goal of the game, putting Maryland up 14-8 with 6:01 remaining. Turri got caught out of position again with 5:02 to go and Kevin Forster took advantage with his second goal of the game.

Sean McGuire made it 16-8 with his first goal of the season with only 2:57 remaining.

Duke finally ended the Terps’ scoring run when he scored with 1:27 left as both teams sent in the reserves to finish out the game.

“You could see it looked bad, but we didn’t play up to the level we’ve been these past couple weeks, which makes it kind of disappointing,” said Justin Turri, who scored twice for Duke. “We just didn’t do a good job of being patient enough.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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