One is a New Jersey native and mechanical engineering major who spends long hours in the library. The other is a Virginian with a passion for the outdoors.
Yet on the field, senior defenders Ray Megill and Steve Whittenberg are nearly identical, playing tough, punishing defense and keeping many of the nation’s top scorers at bay.
The two preseason first team All-Americans have been thrust into the spotlight after two years of playing alongside stars such as Joe Walters, Bill McGlone, Xander Ritz and Brendan Healy. With the Terp offense lacking that star power this season, Megill and Whittenberg have become the team’s biggest names and perhaps most valuable players.
After three seasons starting side-by-side, the two have managed to perfect their games and play off each other, making their individual skills all the more notable.
“Sometimes we don’t even need to say anything, we just know what each other is going to do,” Whittenberg said. “He may be ready to slide and he just goes, and I know he’s ready to go so I slide and cover his guy or vice versa.”
Megill, the engineer, and Whittenberg, the outdoorsman, are both vocal senior leaders with strong personalities on and off the field. They have provided the Terps with toughness and great effort, providing role models for younger teammates. Both have been anchors guarding the opposing team’s top two offensive weapons for coach Dave Cottle.
But the similarities stop there.”Ray’s an engineer ; Steven’s more like a steel worker,” Cottle joked. “Steve is nuts-and-bolts and hard. Ray is tough, but he’s also trying to figure out the logic of situations.”
Last year on a road trip, a problem with the team bus arose ,and the general feeling was that the team would have to wait for emergency road service. But Megill, along with the bus driver, managed to put his engineering skills to use, and the bus was quickly back on the road to North Carolina.
Between lacrosse and his intense engineering major, along with a girlfriend, Megill lives a busy life. Senior midfielder Chris Feifs, Megill’s roommate, said that Megill is never around, lacking any real down time.
“You don’t see too much of Ray,” junior goalie Jason Carter said. “He’s at practice, and he’s on the engineering pass. He does a lot of school work.”
Carter is also a good friend of Whittenberg’s, hunting geese and duck with him on multiple occasions. Teammates describe Whittenberg as relaxed off the field, despite his rough-and-tumble demeanor on it. While working at Bass Pro Shop during the summer, Whittenberg would sit idly at his station blowing a goose call that would echo through the store, Carter said.
Whittenberg has taken his passion for the outdoors and joined Brown Dog Services, a community service organization that takes “at risk” teenagers from hostile environments into the world of the outdoors. Whittenberg teaches fishing and hunting to many inner-city youth, in the process removing them from their normal surroundings for a few hours.
Above all else, his teammates described Whittenberg as a man of principles with loyalty to friends.
“He’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met,” senior midfielder Jimmy Borrell said. “He’ll always be there for you no matter what. … You ever need someone to talk to, you get in trouble, you’re about to get into a fight, he’s always there for you.”
Borrell has known Whittenberg since high school, when the two attended Lake Braddock Secondary School. In one of their first encounters, Whittenberg, a sophomore at the time, was playing short stick midfielder in practice and defending the smaller Borrell, then a senior. Whittenberg attempted to check Borrell with the short stick, accidentally breaking Borrell’s arm.
Rather than being upset with the powerful sophomore, Borrell was amazed at Whittenberg’s strength and the fact that he could inflict such damage with a short stick. The two have developed a long-standing friendship in the six-plus years since, with Borrell not forgetting how strong his younger friend is.
“He’s always been like my little brother ever since high school,” Borrell said. “He’s a big little brother though, definitely.”
Both Whittenberg and Megill are known for their vicious hits on the lacrosse field. With only one goal between them in their careers, the two stars manage to have a major impact without providing much offense.
Having two of the top close defenders in the nation has provided an otherwise talented defense with even more flexibility, as Borrell and the other defensive midfielders can play more aggressively and have insurance in case they are beat by their man.
They have also provided a lot of leadership for other defenders, preparing players like freshman Brian Farrell for increased roles on the defense in the future.
“They’re just great to have on defense,” Farrell said. “They talk me through everything, make sure I do everything . … It’s really nice to have, because every time you have a question that you don’t feel like asking the coach or you’re more comfortable asking an older guy. You know, they’ve proven themselves, so I just feel like they are two of the main people I can rely on when I need help.”
More than their individual talents, Megill and Whittenberg have learned to work together as a team. Cottle said the two joined the Terps with strong egos, but rather than letting those egos and personality differences push them apart, they have become off-the-field friends and on-the-field partners.
As different as they are, Whittenberg and Megill have carried the No. 8-ranked Terps and formed one of the top close defense combinations in the country, taking the newfound star status in stride and keeping a simple, workman-like attitude.
“Before every game we always say that the game always starts with the defense, and we have to carry it onto the offense,” Megill said. “We just do what we do, and if it comes down to us stopping teams, then that’s what we have to do.”
Contact reporter Adi Joseph at ajosephdbk@gmail.com.
