Maryland coach Dave Cottle was doubly impressed with what he saw from his goalkeeping tandem of redshirt junior Jason Carter and sophomore Brian Phipps against then-No. 7 Georgetown last Saturday. Cottle, who spoke before the No. 5 Terps’ 17-7 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, said he was comfortable with splitting time between Carter and Phipps.

"We felt in the preseason that two of the top five players on our team were our goalies," Cottle said. "We have two guys that are that good. It’s not fair to either one of them not to play. So we went back and forth. As a coach, I’ve never done that, but we just decided that each brings something different to the table, something that our team really likes and needs. Just because we haven’t done it before doesn’t mean that we can’t do it now."

Carter, who missed the entire 2007 season with a broken collarbone, earned the start against the Hoyas, turning away seven shots and surrendering four goals. Phipps, who started all 16 games last season, registered three saves and allowed just two goals.

Maryland (2-0) travels to No. 2 Duke this Saturday, and Cottle declined to declare a starter against the Blue Devils.

"We’ve got to give you guys something to talk about," he said. "So we’re going to leave that up in the air a little bit."