Maryland's Yeatman either "probable" or "game-time decision" for Saturday
When No. 5 Maryland takes the field at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday evening against No. 15 Johns Hopkins in the second game of the Smartlink Day of Rivals doubleheader, it's unclear whether the Terps (7-2) will have senior Will Yeatman in the fold.
Yeatman, who sat out last Saturday's 11-9 victory over then-No. 20 Navy because of a broken left thumb, is scheduled to have the stitches in that thumb removed Thursday, and there's a chance that he could practice later that day and Friday, according to coach Dave Cottle.
"If he practices Thursday, I'm probably going to play him Saturday," Cottle said, adding, "I'd go [with] probable [as Yeatman's official designation]. If he's practicing, he's playing."
Seconds later, however, Cottle reminded two reporters that the biggest priority is Yeatman's health, and that will play a significant role in his availability against the Blue Jays (5-5).
"I don't want to put him back in with a chance to hurt himself, and I don't want to put him back in if he's not ready," Cottle said. "So we'll have to see how he practices on Thursday and Friday. I would say game-time decision."
Yeatman, who is still tied for second on the team with junior attackman Travis Reed for goals with 11, missed last year's meeting with Johns Hopkins due to a sprained ankle. At 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, Yeatman, who has played mostly midfield until he scored four goals in Maryland's 11-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, could be a match-up problem for the Blue Jays.
Cottle also revealed that redshirt junior long-stick midfielder Brian Farrell has been playing despite a stress fracture in his foot. Farrell, who sat out after three games last year because of a cracked rib and internal bleeding, has not missed a start this season, but he looked out of sorts in back-to-back losses to No. 3 North Carolina and the Cavaliers.
"The Carolina game, he was limping all over the field," Cottle said. "The Virginia game, he limped. He was a little better this week [against Navy]. The reason why I can tell you all of this is because he's starting to get better. But he's played hurt for the last three weeks. He's starting to turn the corner. He's not limping, he's doing his conditioning in the pool and on the bike, and last week, he had a good week of practice. So he'll start to get better again."
