After it all, after all the madness that ensued just minutes earlier, the Michigan State men’s soccer team floated a ball to the upper left corner of the goal in overtime, past an outstretched Zac MacMath.

The game ended. The Terps, who had battled back from a two-goal deficit and took the lead with a minute remaining, were left stunned. MacMath ran into the back of the net and fell to the ground.

“It was an emotional roller coaster,” Cirovski said.

No one could have imagined what just happened.

(more…)

Freshman forward Jill Witmer scored the game winning goal and dished off an assist, while goalkeeper Melissa Vassalotti recorded five saves, as the No. 2 Terps (3-0) defeated No. 16 Old Dominion (1-2), 3-1, in the Terps’ regular season home opener.

Three out of the game’s four goals came off penalty corners. The Terps took 12 total penalty corners — 11 of them coming in the second half — and Witmer’s game winning goal started with a corner taken by midfielder Katie O’Donnell.

O’Donnell passed the ball to Colleen Gulick at the top of the circle, and then Gulick dished it off to Megan Frazer. Frazer then faked a shot that turned into a pass to Witmer on the back post. Witmer finished the with an easy back-door goal, giving the Terps a 2-1 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the contest.

The Terps went on to score one more late goal en route to their first home victory of the season.

Check out The Diamondback on Tuesday for a full game story from tonight’s action.

Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s Terrapin field hockey beat reporter. He can be reached at jengelke@umdbk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.

I’m here checking in from Ludwig Field, which now sports nifty signs touting “MARYLAND SOCCER” and “THE CREW” on the stands behind each goal. Both the No. 6 Terrapin men’s soccer team and the No. 24 Michigan State Spartans are warming up at the moment.

If you didn’t get a chance to check out my preview, here it is, but it was mostly about the random connections coach Sasho Cirovski (whose brother I believe I spotted here in College Park) and forward Casey Townsend have with the Spartans.

I’m going to try out something different tonight – a live feed/chat with some of my commentary/analysis and hopefully user comments and questions. Starting at 7:15, you can access the chat: TERPS VS. MSU CHAT

A rundown of Michigan State:
Last season: 11-8-2, garnered a 14th seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lost at home in the second round to Duke.
Top returners: Forward Rubin Bega (10 of Spartans’ 28 goals), Goalkeeper Avery Steinlage (NCAA recordholder for consecutive shutout minutes)
Head coach: Damon Rensing (2nd season, 11-8-2)

Michigan State leads the all-time series with the Terps, with a 3-1-1 record. The last meeting took place in 1998, and before that it was 1979.

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

Coming into this weekend’s Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Maryland Invitational, the Terrapins women’s volleyball team has fair reason to be confident. The Terps won two of their three games at the Tiger Invitational in Missouri last weekend, putting them at 2-1 early this season.

But Coach Tim Horsmon knows that there is still a lot of work to be done this season.

“We still have to get better each week,” Horsmon said. “We need to be a lot more focused, play hard and come out with a better idea of how to win matches. It’s all about improving and making adjustments.”

They have a chance to build on their success in a three-match schedule this weekend, beginning with Fordham (4-0) Friday night.

The Terps will place twice Saturday, facing Bradley (2-2) in the afternoon and Georgetown (1-3) at night. The Terps have won just once in four matches against Bradley, but are 41-15 all-time against the local rival Hoyas.

“I think we match up favorably against these three teams,” Horsmon said. “If we play a good brand of volleyball, play hard and focus, I think we have a good chance to be successful.”

Leading the Terps this weekend will be senior Bethany Springer and freshman Mary Cushman, who were both named to the All-Tournament team at the Tiger Invitational last weekend. They both played their best against the host Tigers, a tournament team from last season.

“That was probably one of the better matches we’ve played since I’ve been at Maryland,” Horsmon said, referring to his team’s 3-0 loss to Missouri. “We actually had a chance to win each set, but we just couldn’t win any of the big points towards the end. The key for us will be learning how to win big games, and right now we’re still trying to figure that out.”

And with ACC play beginning just over two weeks from today, Horsmon knows that his team must continue to make strides in early-season play.

“These invitational tournaments are extremely important for us,” Horsmon said. “Learning how to win, getting some confidence and improving every day are huge for us, and these tournaments help. Obviously this is a tough conference, so we need to have a good early-season record and be prepared to get into it.”

As for the games this weekend, Horsmon’s expectations for his team are fairly simple.

“If we come out sluggish, we’ll struggle,” he said. “But if we come out and we’re ready to play, we’ll be great.”

– Josh Vitale

The No. 10 Terrapin women’s soccer team knows it should beat visiting Stony Brook on Sunday at Ludwig Field.

The Seawolves will arrive in College Park winless on the season and having just lost to an Iona team that the Terps (4-0-0) dismantled in their season opener Aug. 20.

The issue of preparation for the Terps becomes more mental than physical.

“For us, it’s having the mentality to be great,” Terp coach Brian Pensky said Thursday. “It really doesn’t matter who we play, we want to try to be the best we can be. That doesn’t change, even though we’re playing a team that’s obviously off to a slow start.”

That mentality will be pivotal if the Terps hope to continue to tear through lesser opponents and avoid marring their NCAA tournament resume with an unsightly loss or tie to a team such as Stony Brook.

Similar slip-ups are fresh in the mind of Pensky and many of the Terps. Early in a promising 2008 season, the Terps lost consecutive games to Bucknell and Elon, setting the tone for what ended up being a disappointing losing season.

“I really don’t need to say a whole lot to this group about what a win Sunday means to us,” Pensky said. “If we don’t take care of business, this game can kill us.”

Therein lies the challenge for the Terps. Despite the veteran nature of the group, Pensky still noted the difference in the Terps’ excitement level approaching this game as compared to that of a conference match.

Regardless, Pensky and the Terps seemed to be brimming with confidence as they closed practice on Thursday. And as the team concluded their cool-down, Pensky walked through his squad, shouting fitting advice: “Be great, even in your stretching.”

– Conor Walsh

NAVY 21, TERPS 24

As you pull onto Interstate 95 from Baltimore toward Washington, there it is, a towering billboard with an unmistakable tagline.

“BE THERE FOR THE COMEBACK”

There might be a comeback in these Terps, but it won’t happen Monday.

Sure, they’ve had all summer to prepare for stopping Ricky Dobbs and Co. But they did last year, too, and we all remember what Jahvid Best ended up doing to avenge his stomach-churning memories of  the year before.

Quite simply, Navy is better at what it does best — the triple option — than Maryland is at what it does best — about which we still have no clue.

It might not be pretty, and the Mids’ minute-eating attack might not sit well with fans hoping for a good ol’ time at Monday’s matinee, but it will be ruthlessly effective. They don’t call it three yards and a cloud of dust for nothin’, folks.

The Terps have too much talent at the skill positions to render this a blowout. But with questions lingering at quarterback and offensive line, the extent of their efficacy remains uncertain. Any one of Torrey Smith, Da’Rel Scott or Jamarr Robinson could explode Monday, but without a stable offensive line that ensures the Terps’ stars will work in concert, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

With the two defenses seemingly equal and the Terps’ special team issues still unresolved, Monday’s victor will be the afternoon’s better offense. Unless coach Ralph Friedgen has somehow molded this young and unproven group into the type that ran through the ACC when he first arrived, the advantage clearly goes to the Midshipmen.

Jonas Shaffer is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at shaffer@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonas_shaffer.

The Terrapin athletics department officially released the 2010-2011 men’s basketball schedule earlier this afternoon, after a good chunk of it had already been leaked from various different sources.

More analysis is to come on the blog, but here is what it shapes up to be. The Terps could have the makings of a quality non-conference slate with Villanova, Pittsburgh and either Illinois or Texas.

Mon. Nov. 1 FLORIDA SOUTHERN (Exhibition) 8:00
Mon. Nov. 8 SEATTLE UNIV. (2K Sports) TBA
Wed. Nov. 10 CHARLESTON (2K Sports) 7:00 ESPNU
Sun. Nov. 14 MAINE 2:00
Thu. Nov. 18 vs. Pittsburgh (2K Sports in New York) 7:00 ESPN2
Fri. Nov. 19 vs. Illinois/Texas (New York) 5:00/7:00 ESPN2
Tue. Nov. 23 DELAWARE STATE 8:00
Fri. Nov. 26 ELON 8:00

Wed. Dec. 1 at Penn State (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) 9:15 ESPN2
Sun. Dec. 5 vs. Temple (BB&T Classic, Verizon Center) 8:00
Wed. Dec. 8 UNC GREENSBORO 7:30
Sun. Dec. 12 BOSTON COLLEGE* 4:00
Wed. Dec. 22 NJIT 8:00
Wed. Dec. 29 NORTH FLORIDA 8:00

Tue. Jan. 4 COLGATE 8:00
Sun. Jan. 9 at Duke* 8:00
Wed. Jan. 12 at Wake Forest* 8:00
Sat. Jan. 15 at Villanova 1:00 CBS
Thu. Jan. 20 VIRGINIA TECH* 9:00 ESPN or ESPN2
Sat. Jan. 22 CLEMSON* 2:30
Thu. Jan. 27 at Virginia* 7:00
Sun. Jan. 30 at Georgia Tech* 7:45

Wed. Feb. 2 DUKE* 9:00 ESPN
Sat. Feb. 5 WAKE FOREST* 1:00
Wed. Feb. 9 LONGWOOD 8:00
Sat. Feb. 12 at Boston College* 1:00
Tue. Feb. 15 at Virginia Tech* 8:00
Sun. Feb. 20 NC STATE* 5:30
Wed. Feb. 23 FLORIDA STATE* 9:00
Sun. Feb. 27 at North Carolina* 7:45

Wed. Mar. 2 at Miami* 7:00 ESPNU
Sat. Mar. 5 VIRGINIA* 2:00

March 10-13 at ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.)
(CAPS – Home; all times in pm)

As I said above, look for more analysis and breakdown here on TerrapinTrail.com

Chris Eckard is a senior staff writer for the Diamondback. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com

Injured kicker Nick Ferrara will will be a game-time decision for the Terps’ season-opening showdown against Navy, coach Ralph Friedgen said Tuesday.

Ferrara has had a rocky preseason, struggling with blocked kicks and suffering a groin pull.

Ferrara earned freshman All-America honors last year for the Terps, making 18 of 25 field goal attempts and all 26 of his extra point kicks.

“To be a good place kicker, you need to be 70 to 80 percent efficient, and to me he could be better there,” Friedgen said. “But I think for a true freshman, what he did was an exceptional job.”

Friedgen said his achievements especially stood out last season because he pulled double duty as the Terps’ punter in five games after ankle and finger injuries to punter Travis Baltz.

Against the Midshipmen, the role could be reversed. Baltz has taken on kicking duties and will perform both roles if Ferrara isn’t recovered by Monday. But Friedgen would prefer for each to play his respective role.

“I’d like for Nick to be the place kicker and I’d like for Travis to be the punter,” Friedgen said.

– Kate Yanchulis

Tight end Devonte Campbell will be on the sidelines when the Terrapin football team plays Navy at M&T Bank Stadium on Monday, coach Ralph Friedgen said at Tuesday’s press conference.

That means the top two players on the tight end depth will be out of commission. Campbell suffered a knee strain Aug. 23, and junior Lansford Watson underwent knee surgery for a torn ACL and MCL on Aug. 24 and is out for the season.

Campbell does not expect to be out long, but injuries to the Terps’ two most experienced tight ends will leave sophomore Matt Furstenburg as the starter against the Midshipmen. While Furstenberg played in 11 games last season, he caught just one pass.

The team also will have redshirt freshman Dave Stinebaugh as an option, but Will Yeatman, another backup tight end, is out with a broken finger.

The rest of the receiving corps is ready to step in and help out at the short-handed position, though.

“With the tight end injury, we could add an extra receiver on the field, so we’re definitely embracing the challenge,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “We’re deep at receiver — we’ve got about 10 or 11 guys that can play right away. So with the tight ends being down, hopefully it won’t affect us to much.”

Friedgen is looking forward to seeing Campbell and Yeatman healthy again and back on the field later this season.

“The good news is we only lost one of our tight ends for the whole year,” Friedgen said. “The others will be back.”

– Kate Yanchulis

In today’s story on the Terrapin men’s soccer team, I wrote that last year’s team submitted it’s worst offensive output in a decade.

Since I couldn’t squeeze all the statistics into the story, here is the breakdown of what I found. I would go back further, but the umterps.com website only has stats starting from 1998 in men’s soccer.

As you can see, the 2009 Terps averaged the same amount of shots as previous years, but their accuracy fell complete short, not even breaking double-digits in percentage. The defense, while starting four new defenders, still held opponents to under a goal a game.

A few things that stick out (at least to me):

- The early 2000’s (up to 2005) the team routinely scored 2+ goals per game
- Throughout the decade, the Terps have hovered around 15 or 16 shots per game
-The key to a national championship? Scoring around two goals per game and hold opponents to less than one. But stats can only tell part of the story.

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