Hey folks, hope you are having a happy holiday weekend. Aaron Kraut here, checking in after the Terps’ 72-51 win against Bryant at Comcast Center this afternoon.

More of the same from coach Gary Williams’ team today. Bryant (1-10) is in its first year as a D-I program and clearly didn’t have the talent or athleticism to keep up. The Terps defensive pressure, both in the full court and half court, was too much for the Bulldogs, causing 13 first half turnovers.

At times the Terps struggled with Bryant’s 2-3 zone- the Bulldogs got within nine points with 9:22 left after an 8-0 run. But guard Greivis Vasquez went on a 9-0 run of his own, with three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to lead the Terps (9-2) to a comforable 42-25 lead at halftime.They cruised on from that point.

But it wasn’t all good for the Terps. About midway through the second half Williams looked unhappy with the four bench players he had in the game with Vasquez, who were struggling to score and played an overall sloppy game. He subbed the other four starters in and forward Dave Neal immediately hit a layup to get the offense flowing again. The Terps bench combined for just 8 points.

“The bench should have played a lot better than what we did,” forward Cliff Tucker said. “When you put the bench in they’re supposed to keep up what the starters did…They were playing back in a zone today and that kind of slowed us down- we’re a fast-paced team.”

Williams also was concerned with the rebounding totals- the undersized Bulldogs managed 35 rebounds, the same amount the Terps grabbed.

“The bothersome part is the rebounding,” Williams said. “We have to rebound better than that…we got too many guys that rebounded with one hand and it gets scraped or whatever, it gets loose. We have to be tougher on the glass in the future, so we’ll work with that starting tomorrow.”

Next up: Elon on Tuesday night. Only three more games until the long awaited conference-opener against Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, when we will see what this team is truly made of.

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So, the Terps came through tonight at home against American. It’s funny I worded it that way, instead of something like “the Terps cruised against American” or “the Terps slept walked through American.” But because of last year’s upset loss to the Eagles, there was a sense this game was bigger than your typical December non-conference tune-up.

There was no such upset in the cards tonight- the Terps ensured that from the start. From the tip they blitzed American, who returned their top three scorers from that astonishing 67-59 win at Comcast Center last year, not allowing the Eagles to score until just under the 14 minute mark in the first half.

While the Terps were in control throughout, their lead hovered around just 10 points until the decisive 22-7 run over ten minutes in the second half, fueled mostly by turnovers created from the Terps full court pressure. After a nifty Greivis Vasquez behind the back fake and lay-up, the game was effectively over, the Terps leading 65-42 with 6:49 remaining.

Other then that “revenge”angle, there wasn’t much else notable about tonight’s game. Dave Neal seems to have firmly established himself as a starter, and burst out of the gates with 12 first half points- what he called the best half he’s ever had as a Terp. Vasquez was solid but unspectacular- he didn’t need to be. Landon Milbourne also played well, sharing the scoring lead with Neal with 14 points.

Here are some quotes. You could tell the Terps had this game circled on the schedule. Just read what Vasquez had to say:

Vasquez: “We wanted to send them a message- Merry Christmas. It was painful last year. Now it’s their turn to have a tough December… This is a team we’re supposed to beat, so we beat them, we’re better than they are.”

Neal: “When we saw the schedule this season, we saw American and we wanted to beat American. We can’t lose to those teams. American is a great team, they made the tournament last year, but we can’t lose these early season games. We’ve got to come out and play hard every game. I think we did a great job.”

Coach Gary Williams: “American is not the type of team that you could just walk out there and be up 20 at halftime, they’re very tough-minded… All those guys are back, they’ve experienced a lot of things and they have a great deal of pride because of what they’ve accomplished…In the second half we played with a little more energy and our press was really effective.”

So, obviously a semi-significant win for the Terps- if only to get over one of the December non-conference opponents who doomed their NCAA tournament hopes last season. But they still have four more games like it to go until their conference-opener on Jan. 10 against Georgia Tech. Next up: Bryant University on Saturday afternoon.

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Coach Sasho Cirovski, midfielder Graham Zusi and defender A.J. Delagarza participated in the Terrapin men’s soccer team’s final press conference of the season today at the Comcast Center, national championship trophy in tow.

They spoke about the whirlwind last couple of days- Cirovski didn’t get back to College Park until yesterday, then proceeded to the Comcast Sportsnet studios in Bethesda for his appearance on “Washington Post Live.” Zusi and Delagarza said they didn’t have much time for celebration, as final exams started almost immediately upon their return home.

Zusi and Delagarza said they are going to spend about a week off, then get right back to training for the 2009 MLS Player Combine Jan. 9-13 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. While Zusi should be able to find a spot on an MLS roster because of his offensive talent and performance last weekend in the College Cup, Delagarza’s size (5-foot-8) is a factor he thinks could unfairly be held against him in terms of a professional career on the backline.

“They worry about my size,” Delagarza said of concerns pro coaches might have. “But when it comes down to it, I don’t think size really matters. I’m gonna work my hardest everyday in practice, everyday in games.”

While Delagarza, Zusi and other seniors Rich Costanzo and Michael Marchiano will definitely be leaving the program, there are a number of underclassmen who are rumored to be leaving for professional careers as well. Cirovski wouldn’t elaborate because he said he wants to talk to each player individually about their options in exit meetings throughout this week, but foremost among them is defender Omar Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is projected to be taken in the first round of the MLS draft by a number of mock draft websites, and Steven Goff of The Washington Post reported Gonzalez considered an offer to join the Tigres youth academy in Monterrey, Mexico before committing to Maryland.

But there are others rumored to be considering making the jump. Midfielder Jeremy Hall, who led the team in goals (14) and assists (7), was probably the team’s most consistent player throughout this season- though Zusi certainly took the lead in the final seven or eight games. Defender Rodney Wallace, who some would argue was the most talented player on the team, is probably a long shot to leave.

But then again, it’s hard to know what foreign offers or MLS interest there are out there with the way college soccer is set up. After their 2005 national championship season, forward Robbie Rogers left the Terps for a Dutch team just before the 2006 season began. Also, don’t forget about midfielder Matt Kassel, who actually received a small contract offer from the New York Red Bull before his freshman season and was a top prospect in their Youth Academy. He said earlier this year he would sit down with the Red Bulls after the season to make a determination.

So obviously, Cirovski has a lot to sort out through the next couple of weeks, and he admitted such. For now though, he’s keeping quiet about that and celebrating his second national championship. As for next season:

“When it’s all said and done, whoever is here, we’re going to be good,” Cirovski said.

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FRISCO, Texas- Good morning from Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, home of this afternoon’s NCAA Tournament championship game between your Terps and the surprising No. 13-seed North Carolina Tar Heels.

You may not be able to notice while watching the game on TV (ESPN2) but it gets pretty windy down here in North Texas. It’s been gusting consistently at 30+ mph for the past two days, and shows no sign of stopping. Some Terps definitely noticed it when they stepped out on the field just a little bit ago to start warm-ups. The wind gusts could affect corner and free kicks- an important part of the Terps’ game- so it’s something to watch out for.

Meanwhile, the Terps stuck to the same pregame routines they’ve been going through all year and at yesterday’s press conferences everything seemed pretty normal. Coach Sasho Cirovski, midfielder Graham Zusi and defender A.J. Delagarza were calm and composed, making sure to praise the Tar Heels ability and skill whenever they could get a chance.

But the Terps have already beat the Tar Heels twice this season- 2-1 at Ludwig in the final regular season game of the year and 1-0 less than a week later in the ACC tournament quarterfinal- and they did so while controlling the pace of the game. They are the favorites.

More later…

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FRISCO, Texas- With its 1-0 win against No. 3-seed St. John’s tonight at Pizza Hut Park, the Terrapin men’s soccer team is one win away from the 2008 national title. They will face No. 13-seed North Carolina, who registered a huge 1-0 upset against No. 1-seed Wake Forest in the earlier semifinal, on Sunday at 1 p.m. eastern time.

As for tonight’s game against the Red Storm, it was more of the same. The Terps, now 22-3-0 with a 15-game winning streak, dominated possession and quality chances throughout. They out shot St. John’s 19-3, hit a post, shot a couple balls just wide or high and watched Red Storm goalkeeper Neal Kitson make a handful of tremendous diving saves.

But at the end, in the 104th minute of double overtime with the threat of penalty kicks deciding a match that the Terps had thoroughly dominated, midfielder Graham Zusi scored the game-winner. On a free kick from about 25 yards away, Zusi curled the ball from right to left just enough to get past Kitson, and set off a wild celebration on the field.

“Sasho told me [Wednesday] I was due for one,” said Zusi, referring to coach Sasho Cirovski. “It’s about time. I just wanted to give it a chance. You don’t want to over-hit those because that’s when they get out of control. It went where I wanted it to.”

The Terps domination on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field might have been expected. But the complete lack of aggressiveness and skill on St. John’s part was surprising, considering the Red Storm finished the year with 19 wins and were the Big East regular season champions.

But tonight was Zusi’s night. In all he registered a pretty amazing five shots on goal- the majority of which were quality strikes a lot of keepers might not save- and was the best player on the field.

Now the Terps take on the Tar Heels, a team they’ve beaten twice this season, with it all on the line. More from Saturday’s press conferences and other pre-championship thoughts tomorrow.

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FRISCO, Texas- Greetings from Frisco and Pizza Hut Park, home of this year’s NCAA College Cup and Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas. The No. 2-seed Terrapin men’s soccer team takes on No. 3-seed St.John’s at 8 p.m. eastern time in semifinal number two of the College Cup.

For the Terps (21-3-0), the Red Storm (19-2-3) should provide a challenge similar to the one California put up in the Terps’ 2-1 sweet-16 win two weekends ago at Ludwig Field. The Red Storm have a solid defense, allowing just 0.50 goals per game, but also a balanced attack. They came back from down 2-0 with eight minutes remaining to tie and eventually win their quarterfinal match against Indiana in overtime last weekend. They can test the Terps defensively, something Creighton- the Terps’ Elite 8 opponent- couldn’t do.

Okay. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the North Carolina-Wake Forest semifinal that ended about 45 minutes ago. The Tar Heels Brian Shriver, their best player who had been struggling lately, put Carolina on the board within the first five minutes with a point-blank header. It was 1-0 at half.

Then, as they have done all season the Demon Deacons turned up – and I mean WAY UP- the offensive pressure. Wake put up 15 shots in the second half, had headers bounce off the post and shots deflected from almost every angle but just could not get the equalizer. The result was a stunner- a 1-0 Tar Heels win.

It also means if the Terps win tonight, they won’t get another shot at the mighty Demon Deacons, who also lost in the ACC semifinals before a potential rematch.

Check back for post Terps/St. John’s match reaction.

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*Edited for accuracy in NFL history* 

After his typical media availability session today, Terrapins men’s basketball coach Gary Williams began talking some NFL with a few stragglers from the media who hadn’t left yet.

Williams predicted that the Baltimore Ravens will go 11-5 and still miss the playoffs, making NFL history by being the first 11-win team to fail to reach the postseason since the format was expanded to a 12-team playoff.

The Ravens would have to lose to Pittsburgh this week, beat Dallas in Week 16, and then lose to Jacksonville in Week 17 for such a scenario to happen. That would give them the 11-5 record with enough conference losses to potentially be bumped by another 11-5 wild card team in a further tiebreaker.

A lot would have to fall into place, but Williams’ prediction does appear to be possible.

More likely, the Patriots could go 11-5 and miss the playoffs, as they would lose a divisional tiebreaker against the Dolphins or Jets if either wins out (they can’t both win out as they play one another in Week 17). Then in the wild card department, the Patriots would be ousted in favor of Baltimore if the Ravens were to win two games or at least one of their AFC games.

Hope you enjoyed that NFL edition of Terps blogging. I have a headache.

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