Maryland to keep an eye (or four) on Virginia's Stanwick
It goes without saying that Virginia junior attackman Steele Stanwick warrants the kind of attention that a player who is a Tewaaraton Award finalist deserves.
But handcuffing that player of Stanwick’s caliber is easier said than done. Bucknell, No. 2 seed Cornell and No. 6 seed Denver have tried and failed as the Baltimore native and Loyola graduate has recorded 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists.
The task now falls on unseeded Maryland to figure out a way to solve Stanwick. Specifically, senior defenseman Brett Schmidt is the likely choice to shadow Stanwick as he did in the regular-season meeting between these teams on April 2.
“I think you can say he’s definitely stepped it up,” said Schmidt, who limited Stanwick to a single goal although he was hampered by a right foot injury at the time. “I think he has 20 points in the last three games. He just plays so smart. He hangs his guys up all the time on big-littles [picks]. He just finds ways to make it happen and sets it up for his teammates. So we’re just looking to play our team defense, give them shots that [redshirt freshman goalie] Niko [Amato] can save, and get the ball going in transition.”
Stanwick has taken on a more prominent after the dismissal of senior midfielder Shamel Bratton and the indefinite suspension of his twin brother and senior midfielder Rhamel Bratton.
“That’s pretty apparent, and why not?” Terps coach John Tillman said. “It’s funny because he’s emerged to become the guy that he was in high school in terms of being very intelligent, making everyone around him better. Everything kind of goes through him. He quarterbacks it.”
