Maryland lacrosse dominates Big Ten All-Conference teams

The Big Ten announced its All-Conference lacrosse teams Tuesday and Wednesday handling the men's and women's squads a bit differently. On the men's side, the conference named 10 players to its first team and 12 honorable mentions (due to ties in the voting). They also released the individual award winners. For the women, the list simply named 20 players as All-Conference and delayed announcing individual award winners until after the conference tournament.

It mattered little to Maryland as the Terps dominated both squads with four Terps on the men's first team and two honorable mentions while the Terrapins occupied eight of the 20 spots available for the women.

MEN'S TEAM

Casey Ikeda

Ikeda's stellar senior season continued as he not only received first team All-Conference honors but was also selected as the B1G Defensive Player of the Year. Ikeda anchored a defensive unit that led the nation in total defense, allowing just 6.43 goals per game. Ikeda finished Maryland's 14 game regular season with 12 caused turnovers, 19 ground balls and he added three assists from his defensive spot. During the season, Ikeda won Defensive Player of the Week honors four times.

Kyle Bernlohr

After biding his time behind All-American Niko Amato, Bernlohr, the junior goalie from Akron, Ohio, had a stellar season between the pipes for Maryland. Bernlohr started all 14 games for the Terps and finished with a .608 save percentage. He has led the nation in goals against average for the entirety of the season, allowing just 6.3 goals per game.

Joe LoCascio

Balanced rather than dynamic would be the most accurate description of Maryland's offense in 2015. LoCascio is emblematic of that balance. He is third on the Terps in goals with 23 and fourth in assists with nine. His 32 total points tie him for second best with Jay Carlson.

Matt Rambo

If the Terps could be said to have a dynamic goal scorer it would likely be Matt Rambo. The sophomore leads the Terps with 30 goals on the season. Because he draws so much attention, Rambo is the type of player who has the opportunity to garner some assists and he has done just that setting up his teammates 12 times  to lead Maryland with 42 points.

Jay Carlson and Charlie Raffa

Jay Carlson is another dangerous player for the Terps. Like LoCascio, he has 32 total points. Carlson's points have come on 26 goals and six assists.  Though is season has been somewhat derailed by injuries, Charlie Raffa has still shown himself to be one of the best faceoff specialists in the nation. He has taken just under half of Maryland's faceoffs and has a 62.1 winning percentage.

WOMEN'S TEAM

Maryland players occupy eight of the 20 spots available on the Big Ten Women's All-Conference Team. Nine players were unanimous selections and five of those come from the roster of the undefeated conference champs.

Taylor Cummings

No surprises here. Cummings has done nothing as a junior to take any sheen off her National Player of the Year sophomore season. If anything, she has shown a more well-rounded game in 2015. Cummings is second on the team in goals (53) and leads the squad in assists (28), points (81), ground balls (37), caused turnovers (30) and, of course draw controls (121). Before the season ends, she Will Likely surpass her sophomore season totals in every category. Cummings is a five time B1G Offensive Player of the Week and, just for good measure, complemented that two weeks ago with a Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Megan Douty

The only defender among the five 2014 Tewaaraton finalists, Douty again finds herself one of the 25 final Tewaaraton nominees in 2015. The senior rarely posts eye-popping numbers. She is second on the team in ground balls and caused turnovers. Douty shows her value as a shutdown on on one defender and in using her speed to initiate Maryland's transition offense.

Brooke Griffin

Griffin, a redshirt senior from Edgewater, MD, may only be third in goals and points for the Terrapins but she is a threat every time the ball is in her crosse. She is among the most creative passers and shotmakers in the the country.

Alice Mercer

Mercer is another stalwart in Maryland's defensive unit that is, according to the NCAA website, the eighth best defensive squad in the nation conceding just 7.06 goals per game. Mercer, a junior, has 14 ground balls, 10 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers this year.

Casey Pepperman

The third Terrapins defender to make the squad and last of the unanimous choices, Pepperman has made her presence felt crashing into the draw circle. She is third on the team with 28 draw controls. The senior is also tied for third in ground balls with 20.

Alex Fitzpatrick, Zoe Stukenberg and Megan Whittle

Of the three players who were not unanimous selections, perhaps the most surprising is Megan Whittle. Scoring at a clip of 3.29 goals per game, Whittle sits just behind the 3.50 average of fellow freshman Selena Lasota of Northwestern. However, Lasota was a unanimous choice. Both score three goals per game in conference play. Whittle has the edge in Freshman of the Week Awards winning six to Lasota's three.

Zoe Stukenberg, the 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year has added an All-Big Ten honor to her list of achievements. The sophomore from Ellicott City is fourth on the Terps in goals, third in assists and fourth in total points.

Alex Fiztpatrick is one of two goalies to be named to the All-Conference team. The transfer from Lehigh has started all 17 games in goal for Maryland and leads the B1G in save percentage (.481) and goals against average (6.68).