Brian Pensky, the all-time winningest coach in Terrapins women’s soccer history, has left to take the same position at Tennessee after seven seasons with the Terps.

Pensky was first contacted by the Volunteers late last week. After a visit to Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday, Pensky initially decided he would remain as Terps coach.

But after mulling his options over the weekend, Pensky ultimately chose to leave the program he led from mediocrity to national prominence.

“Today is a very sad day for me personally, because I’m no longer the head coach of the University of Maryland,” Pensky said in a phone interview last night. “I didn’t know that I’d really ever be saying those words.”

Pensky first took over the Terps’ program in 2005 after spending three seasons as an assistant for the men’s soccer team under coach Sasho Cirovski. Pensky replaced Cirovski’s wife, Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, as head of the women’s program.

The transition wasn’t particularly smooth for the Terps under their new coach. The team finished below .500 in each of Pensky’s first four seasons.

But beginning in 2009, the Terps moved from the bottom of the ACC and into conference and national contention.

In that stretch, the Terps went 44-14-9, twice reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2010, when the Terps were stunned in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Terps earned their first-ever No. 1 overall seed, and Pensky was named the 2010 Soccer America Coach of the Year.

“It stinks to see him go,” Cirovski said of his former colleague and close friend. “It’s a very big loss for me personally because he’s such a dear friend. … He’s a special person and we’re all going to miss him dearly and I certainly wish him the best of luck.”

The athletics department plans to begin a nation-wide coaching search for his replacement immediately, according to Deputy Director of Athletics Nate Pine.

“We thank Brian for all that he has done during his tenure at Maryland and all the success he has brought to this program,” Pine said in a statement. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Pensky met yesterday morning with his Terps team, which he said was stunned by the news. Pensky’s assistants, Jonathan Morgan and Laurie George, plan to remain in College Park and could be considered for the coaching vacany, Pensky said.

While the team he built awaits his replacement, Pensky will face his own set of unique challenges in the SEC.

He’ll take over a program that has reached the Sweet 16 five times since 2002, but hasn’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2008. In that time, the Terps knocked off the Volunteers twice.

He’ll also need to leave the life he and his family had built in the area — Pensky said his three children, whom he told about the move last night, “are 50 percent tears and 50 percent smiles” – and a team of players he recruited himself.

But the resources available at Tennessee, including a $7.5 million women’s soccer complex, and Knoxville’s passion for the Volunteers ultimately proved to be the deciding factor in a trying decision-making process.

“I love it here and I’ve had an amazing experience, but the opportunity that was presented to me and my family at Tennessee was too good to pass up,” Pensky said. “I’m very much looking forward to the challenge there.”

Terrapin men’s basketball guard Terrell Stoglin finished with 16 points against No. 8 Duke last night in the Terps 74-61 loss at Comcast Center. He had just four at halftime, but came out in the second half and hit three straight jumpers to seemingly break out of his offensive funk.

The sophomore has been the Terps’ scorer all season — leading the ACC in points per game — but his struggles against the Blue Devils were apparent. They seemingly have carried over from last season. Duke guards Tyler Thornton and Austin Rivers made it difficult for Stoglin to even get the ball, and his drives were often met by a pair of large Plumlee’s.

Stoglin wasn’t made available to the media last night, but his teammates and coach all had varying things to say on his game.

Guard Pe’Shon Howard: “They make him work hard. I mean, Duke makes anybody work hard. They pick up almost full court, they press you the whole time, they deny the wings. So it tires you out, really. Then you have to guard them. So that’s a toll on any offensive player. And then Terrell, have to go down there with the Plumlees, so, it’s just a tough situation for him period. Just their style.”

Coach Mark Turgeon: “I thought Duke did a great job on Terrell. When he did get an open shot, whether it was a 3-pointer or a free throw, it was tough for him to make. We did a better job of getting him moving in the second half.”

And forward Ashton Pankey: “We’re relying on Terrell too much. We have to get everyone involved, especially when he’s not having a great game. He was missing free throws he doesn’t normally miss and missing shots he doesn’t normally miss. We just have to get the whole team involved. I was playing really well early. I think we probably should have given me the ball a little more. We’ll be fine. Terrell will get out of it. We rely on him to get points and he didn’t really have a good game tonight, so that kind of cost us.” (Emphasis mine).

Pankey said the phrase “cost us the game” several times in his interview, FYI. Still, Stoglin couldn’t find the range late against Duke or Temple — both late game offensive collapses for the Terps.

Here’s a breakdown of Stoglin’s career games against the Blue Devils:

1/25/12 – vs. Duke (7-for-14, 0-for-4 from 3, 2-for-7 FT, 16 points, 3 assists, 0 turnovers)

3/11/11 – vs. Duke, ACC Tournament (2-for-10, 0-for-1 from 3, 1-for-2 FT, 6 points, 4 assists, 5 turnovers)

2/11/11 – vs. Duke (1-for-4, 2 points, 2 assists, 2 turnovers)

1/9/11 – at Duke (1-for-10, 0-for-6 from 3, 1-for-2 FT, 3 points, 5 assists, 3 turnovers)

His four game averages:
6.75 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 turnovers
FG -  11-for-38 (28.9%)
3-point – 0-for-11 (0.0%)
FT – 3-for-10 (30.0%)

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

For more from photographers Charlie DeBoyace and Jeremy Kim, click here.

Video by Lealin Queen.

If were home without access to ESPNU this winter break, you probably missed the Terrapin men’s basketball team. Don’t worry, we have you covered with a list of the most important events from the layoff.

The return of Alex Len and Pe’Shon Howard

Much to the pleasure of coach Mark Turgeon, the Terps welcomed back their starting point guard and center and finally pushed their healthy scholarship count to a reasonable amount (9). Howard, a sophomore out of Los Angeles, played his first game of the season against Radford on Dec. 23, while Len, a redshirt freshman from Ukraine, returned from his 10-game suspension against Albany on Dec. 28.

Their returns have had mixed results.

First with Len. The center has played at least 18 minutes every game aside from Saturday’s loss vs. Temple (when he sprained his ankle). He scored in double figures in each of his first four games (14, 13, 15, 12) and put up equally impressive rebounding numbers (8, 7, 9, 11). His double-double at N.C. State to open ACC play earned him conference rookie of the week honors. But since then, the 7-foot-1 center has been a mystery. In the last four games his points (5, 0, 3, 0) and rebounds (2, 9, 2, 0) have taken a drastic drop. He’s found himself in foul trouble and hasn’t established himself offensively.

Howard has yet to breakout of his funk, but his game Saturday may point in that direction. The guard broke a bone in his foot during preseason, which meant he couldn’t practice at all with the team (something Len could still do). The point has been anything but steady. He’s scored in double figures twice (Albany and Temple) and had two eight-assist games (Albany and N.C. State). But recently Howard has struggled with turnovers and his shot. He’s had at least three turnovers in eight of his nine games and has hit two of his past 16 3-point shots.

If the Terps expect to make any noise in the ACC the rest of the way, Howard and Len’s production is crucial.

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