The ACC’s conference predictions came out today. As things stand, the Terps are projected to finish fourth in the conference, behind defending conference champions Duke (1), North Carolina (2) and Florida State (3).

Boasting the nation’s second-best recruiting class, the Terps enter this season without a single senior. They do, however, return four starters from last year’s team which only graduated one contributor in sharpshooter Lori Bjork. Highly touted freshmen Lauren Mincy and Alyssa Thomas were named to the “Newcomer Watch List.”

The Blue Devils will be led by explosive guard Jasmine Thomas, the preseason favorite for conference player of the year.

Here’s how the rest of the conference looks to shake out (with first-place votes in parentheses).

1. Duke (24)
2. North Carolina (6)
3. Florida State (2)
4. Maryland
5. Georgia Tech
6. NC State (1)
7. Boston College
8. Miami
9. Wake Forest
10. Virginia
11. Virginia Tech
12. Clemson

In the aftermath of Sunday’s huge win over North Carolina for the No. 6 Terps, forward Sade Ayinde has been dubbed the ACC’s player of the week. She scored both goals in the Terps’ 2-1 win over the No. 3 Tar Heels, including a decisive set-piece tally with just five minutes remaining.

Ayinde also assisted on Ashley Grove’s goal against Wake Forest in Thursday’s loss, the only goal for the Terps.

Ayinde is the third different Terp to receive the honor this season, as fellow forward Jasmyne Spencer and defender Colleen Deegan have also received the weekly award.

Ayinde was also honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, being named the national player of the week. Deegan also earned the award three weeks ago.

This week’s NSCAA rankings have yet to be unveiled. It’ll be interesting to see where the Terps stand, as No. 5 Oklahoma State lost both decisions over this past weekend. The Terps combined a huge win with a disappointing loss, so it would be surprising if they move down. At the same time, it remains to be seen if they will move up, as they have now knocked off three top-10 opponents.

The Maryland men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams kicked off their 2010-11 campaigns in North Carolina in a pair of ACC battles this past weekend with varying degrees of success.

The women’s team defeated North Carolina State in Raleigh on Saturday, 173-127, and picked up a come-from-behind win Sunday against Duke, 163-136, in Durham, to mark a 2-0 start.

The men’s squad had a less auspicious opening weekend as it was trounced by NC State, 190-108, on Saturday, before falling to the Blue Devils, 168-124, on Sunday.

Junior Ginni Glover had an outstanding weekend for the Maryland women (2-0, 2-0 ACC), winning the 200 free and 200 back against both ACC rivals. She also teamed with Annie Fittin, Megan Lafferty and Blair Cross, a Raleigh native, to capture the 200 free medley relay on Saturday.

Upperclassmen and a host of sophomores contributed for the lady Terps as Fittin won the 50 free and 100 back on consecutive days. Sophomores Chelsey Eberwein, Addison Koelle and Lafferty also aided Maryland’s sweep.

“The women’s depth, teamwork and senior class leadership is what carried us to a victory today,” coach Sean Schimmel said Sunday. “Everyone counted. Going on the road and winning back-to-back conference dual meets in two days in definitely a challenge.”

Freshmen saw a fair amount of action for the men’s team (0-2, 0-2 ACC) as Brad Dillon, Chris Turner and Jon Hauser all had top-three finishes in their Saturday debut.

“The men’s team had great composure,” Schimmel said after the meets on Sunday. “I was really proud of how they handled themselves today in the midst of having training and keeping their focus on ACCs and our championship season.”

Roger Dent, a senior, nabbed first in the 200 fly on both days while Andrew Relihan had a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 back.

Both teams face another ACC opponent this week as they host North Carolina on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.

The No. 6 Terps traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., today coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss to Wake Forest and missing two starters, Ashley Grove and Domenica Hodak.

In the biggest win in program history, the Terps knocked off the defending champs, 2-1, with two second half goals by reserve forward Sade Ayinde.

Check out tomorrow’s Diamondback for a complete recap on the Terps’ historic victory.

The Terrapin men’s soccer team showed more of its same self through the first half of tonight’s game – a slow start, dominant shot advantage and a goal in the final 20 minutes of the half.

No. 3 Terps defender Taylor Kemp launched a long shot from about 40 yards out that Wake Forest goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald could only block back into the penalty box. Forward Jason Herrick shot off the rebound, but Fitzgerald pulled off another deflection save.

Midfielder Paul Torres, in his second start of the season, put through the third shot to the right side of the goal past Fitzgerald for the first goal of the evening. The Terps hold a 1-0 lead heading into the break against a Wake Forest team struggling to maintain possession.

The Demon Deacon’s only shot of the half came off a mistake by midfielder Matt Kassel, which gave Wake Forest midfielder Chris Duvall a shot on the right side of the box that MacMath saved.

Halftime statistics:
Shots – Terps 13, Wake Forest 1
Corners – Terps 8, Wake Forest 0
Saves – Terps 1, Wake Forest 3
Fouls – Terps 2, Wake Forest 4

Scoring summary:
29:05, Terps – Paul Torres off rebound of Jason Herrick shot.

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

It seems the No. 6 Terps’ trip to No. 3 North Carolina tomorrow is going to be more difficult than originally anticipated.
The Terps will be without the services of starting forward Ashley Grove and starting defensive center midfielder Domenica Hodak, both of whom received red cards with :32 left on the clock in Thursday’s 2-1 loss at Wake Forest.
As far as I can tell, Hodak was handed consecutive yellow cards: one for yapping to the official, and the next for grabbing a Demon Deacons’ jersey. In the aftermath of Hodak’s red, Grove was shown the door. I still can’t give you the specifics of Grove’s ejection.
This is not what the Terps needed, seeing as they are 0-30-1 against the defending national champs all-time.
The good news for the team is that forward Sade Ayinde saw 43 minutes against the Demon Deacons after seeing limited action for weeks as she recovered from a head injury.
My guess at what tomorrow’s starting line-up could look like:

Goalkeeper: Yewande Balogun
Defenders (left to right): Skyy Anderson, Mallory Baker, Colleen Deegan, Caitlin McDowell
Midfield: Danielle Hubka (in place of Hodak), Molly Dreska, Lydia Hastings, Amy O’Sullivan
Forward: Jasmyne Spencer, Ayinde (in place of Grove)

Should be interesting, folks. We’ll have to wait and see how the Terps respond as they continue to search for their program-best fifth conference win of the year.

The Terrapin men’s soccer team will look to secure the second seed in the ACC Tournament tonight with a win against a young Wake Forest team at Ludwig Field.

The No. 3 Terps (10-2-1, 4-1-1 ACC) also wants to stop its three game skid against the Demon Deacons (5-6-2, 3-1-1) and tonight may provide the best opportunity. Wake Forest has struggled during its non conference slate this year with a lineup slew of freshmen and sophomores (9 of 11 starters).

They had an MLS record four first round picks this past winter and are recovering from the mass exodus.

The Terps have soared through the second half of their schedule and ride a six-game win streak. They lead the nation in scoring, while goalkeeper Zac MacMath boasted a career high seven saves against Colgate on Tuesday.

Defender Greg Young gets the starting nod at right back tonight as starter London Woodberry is out due to sickness. At midfield, Doug Rodkey has returned from his sickness that held him out of Tuesday’s match while Paul Torres gets his second straight start at center attacking midfield.

Starting lineup:
GK – Zac MacMath
D – Greg Young, Alex Lee, Ethan White, Taylor Kemp
M – Matt Kassel, Doug Rodkey, Paul Torres, Billy Cortes
F – Jason Herrick, Casey Townsend

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

Forward Katie O’Donnell scored two goals and dished out an assist, and defender Jemma Buckley scored the game-winning goal with just more than two minutes remaining, as the No. 2 Terrapin field hockey team defeated No. 1 North Carolina, 3-2.

After an insertion from O’Donnell, defender Harriet Tibble set up a straight shot for Buckley, who rifled a hard ball into the right side of the cage.

The goal gave the Terps a decisive 3-2 lead and the victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 1617 fans.

With the win, the Terps (16-1, 5-0 ACC) secured the No. 1 spot in November’s ACC Tournament, while the Tar Heels (16-1, 4-1 ACC) will play with the No. 2 seed.

Goalkeeper Melissa Vassalotti stopped three North Carolina shots, and the defense held preseason All-ACC selection Kelsey Kolonjejchick to no points and just one shot.

Check Monday’s Diamondback for a full recap of today’s action, including reactions from players and coach Missy Meharg.

Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Field Hockey beat reporter. You can reach him at jengelke@umdbk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.