Johns Hopkins Gazette: April 3, 1995

Riordan Relishes Role As Part Of Blue Jays' Lacrosse History


By Chris Rowett

     It was like pouring salt in their wounds. And Terry Riordan
felt sorry for them.

     The University of Virginia's No. 1 men's lacrosse team was
being toppled by Hopkins by a score of 21-13 last month. Then
senior attackman Riordan scored--for the sixth time--and became
the all-time leading scorer in Hopkins' 112-year lacrosse
history. The Hopkins fans offered him a rousing standing ovation,
briefly interrupting the game. 

     UVa's Cavaliers did not look happy. "I felt badly for them,"
team co-captain Riordan said. "We really pounded them."

     The win put the Blue Jays in the No. 1 position in the
country for the first time since 1989. The team was scheduled to
play 11th-ranked North Carolina Saturday, April 1. Results were
not available at press time.

     It was the last goal--Riordan's 152nd--that made Hopkins
history. The record had remained at 151 since 1976 when it was
set by Franz Wittelsberger.

     "I don't think it's that big a deal," the Long Island, N.Y.,
native said. "I knew it was going to happen at the beginning of
the season. To have it happen at home was nice."

     To have it happen in front of an estimated 8,000 fans didn't
hurt either.

     "It was moving," Riordan said of the crowd's reaction. "I
looked up and the first person I saw was my Mom. She sits in the
same place for every game."

     A  superstitious person who wears the same socks and shirt
for each practice and game ("But don't worry. I wash."), Riordan
is reluctant to discuss the possibility of breaking the all-time
NCAA record. Between 1977 and 1980, North Carolina State's Stan
Cockerton scored 193 goals. Seven games remained on Hopkins'
season schedule after the Virginia game, not including the four
games of the post-season. With the possibility of 11 games to
score 42 goals, the record is within Riordan's reach.

     "It's kind of a jinx [to talk about it]. That's in the way
back of my mind," he said. "But that would do just fine."

     Hopkins sports information director Andy Bilello tackles the
subject more directly.

     "He's got a shot," Bilello said. "It's a possibility."

     Though Riordan may consider his latest feat no "big deal,"
he plans to have all the players on the team sign the
record-breaking ball, which was given to him after the game. 
Then, he said, he will put it in a clear case and give it to his
10-year-old brother.

     "He's a big fan," Riordan said.

     He is not alone. Head coach Tony Seaman is a fan of all his
players, but called Riordan the team's "bread and butter."

     "He's just a great, great player," Seaman said. "He's been
here four years and performs every time he goes out on the field.

     "The amazing thing about Terry Riordan and [senior
attackman] Brian Piccola and the amount of goals they've scored
while they've been here is that our schedule has every year been
the toughest schedule in the country," Seaman added. "They're
scoring against the best people in the country."

     The proud coach is optimistic about Riordan's future.

     "He's got a great shot at being first team All-American, and
at being the Player of the Year and at being Attackman of the
Year," Seaman said. "Probably his biggest rival is Brian
Piccola."

     Piccola is No. 5 in goals scored with 127; he has also
amassed 73 assists. Riordan, however, has plans decidedly beyond
his lacrosse career. The 21-year-old sociology major hopes to
become an actor in New York.

     "I've spent a lot of time in the city," he said. "Some
people say you just have to jump into it with both feet."

     And even if he never see his name etched into the bronze of
an Academy Award, he likes knowing it is etched in the annals of
Hopkins lacrosse.

     "I think a lot about that," Riordan said. "When I'm done
with my life at least my name is somewhere, and I'll be
remembered. To have my name somewhere forever is nice."

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