Archive for the ‘Women's Soccer’ Category

December 8th, 2009 | 08:27 pm

W. Soccer Finishes Season Ranked No. 11

Forward Jasmyne Spencer was one reason the Terps finished with a surprising No. 11 ranking in the year's final NSCAA/adidas soccer poll. Photo by Vince Salamone/The Diamondback

Forward Jasmyne Spencer was one reason the Terps finished with a surprising No. 11 ranking in the year's final NSCAA/adidas soccer poll. Photo by Vince Salamone

Before this season, the Terrapin women’s soccer team had rarely held the spotlight or a ranking of any sort. Even the ACC coaches tabbed the Terps to finish eighth of 11 teams in the conference’s preseason poll.

But after quickly blazing through their nonconference schedule undefeated, winning four conference games, and advancing to the Sweet 16, the Terps made their mark on the ACC and the rest of the country.

Tuesday, the Terps (14-6-2, 4-4-2 ACC) were rewarded with a No. 11 ranking in the final NSCAA/adidas postseason rankings. The Terps were placed one spot behind Santa Clara, a team they beat 1-0 earlier this season.

Nonetheless, the ranking is one of the best in program history for a team that accomplished much more than expected.

“This is a terrific team honor, and recognition of what was an outstanding season,” coach Brian Pensky said in a press release. “From top to bottom, this group set out to achieve big things, and this is just the beginning.”

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November 21st, 2009 | 01:55 pm

W. Soccer: Terps, Tar Heels tied after 1st Half

The Terrapin women’s soccer team is locked in a scoreless match with the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16 as the teams head into the locker rooms after the first half.

After a fast, first 15 minutes to begin the match, where both teams had great scoring opportunities, the defenses have settled in. Terps goalkeeper Mary Casey continues to make clutch saves to keep them in the game and finished the first half with five.

Meanwhile, North Carolina forward Casey Nogueira is powering the Tar Heel ofense with three shots, two of which were on goal. But different from the past two matches against the Tar Heels, the Terps have held possession in their half of the field.

The Terps tried to expose the North Carolina pressure-oriented defense by sending through balls to forward Jasmyne Spencer, but she has been flagged for offside multiple times already.

The first half played out how Pensky wanted – defense stepping up and not allowing a goal while the offensive has better possession. He wants North Carolina to force something and in turn make a mistake that the Terps can take advantage of.

But preventing the Tar Heels from scoring is an enormous feat. The Terps have not lost this season when leading or tied at halftime (12-0-2) – just a statistic to remember if history is made today.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s soccer beat reporter for the 2009 season. He can be reached at eckard@umdbk.com

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September 19th, 2009 | 01:04 am

Friday Terp scoreboard

Just a quick recap of the day’s scores and highlights:

ajoseph@umdbk.com

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September 14th, 2009 | 10:15 am

Women’s Soccer Ranked No. 9

After winning two games this week, the Terps were vaulted into the top 10 of Soccer America’s Top 25 poll released earlier this morning.

This past week, the Terps (7-0) went on the road to defeat American last Wednesday and beat James Madison at home yesterday, 1-0.

The team is off to its best start since 1996, when it went 15-0-1 to begin the season. The Terps are one of just three teams in the ACC that remain unbeaten, joining North Carolina and Boston College. UNC still holds the No. 1 spot, while Boston College comes in at No. 4.

Including the Terps, there are only six unbeaten teams remaining in the top 25. Forward Jasmyne Spencer leads the team with four goals, while senior goalkeeper Mary Casey has notched five shutouts so far this season.

The last time the team was ranked in the top ten was at the beginning of the 1997 season, when the Terps were No. 7.

Chris Eckard is The Diamondback’s women’s soccer beat reporter. He can be reached at eckard@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ceckard

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August 23rd, 2009 | 06:04 pm

Terps now 2-0 after victory at Fordham

Terrapin womens soccer player Jasmyne Spencer has opened the 2009 season on a tear and today was no different against Fordham.

The sophomore out of Bay Shore, N.Y., scored the only two goals of the day for the Terps as they went on to beat the Rams, 2-1. The Terps (2-0) have back-to-back wins to begin the season for the first time since 2002, when they defeated Towson and Duke.

“It feels great,” coach Brian Pensky said. “Our soccer and finishing has been good. Today was more about guts and determination. We’ve had four games in ten days, including preseason, and this was Fordham’s first game. We didn’t let up.”

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The wins can mostly be attributed to the scoring outburst of Spencer. The forward, who scored her first career goal in the season opener against Army Friday, was able to separate herself from the defense to break the game open with a goal in the 29th minute.

“Spencer has been terrific,” Pensky said. “She had a very good preseason and is a constant threat. She has the ability to change the game in a second. The kid has a ton of heart and determination.”

Early in the second half Fordham was able to tie the score up at one with a goal by Brittany Hogan. Only 26 seconds later, Spencer came through once again. Using her speed, Spencer broke free from the defense to score the decisive goal after the goalkeeper fell to the ground leaving an open net.

Terps goalkeeper Mary Casey made four stops on the afternoon, while the defense held the Rams to six shots overall. Meanwhile, the Terps offense continued to find success, finishing with 11 shots. Sophomore Ashley Groves assisted on both scoring plays today and has three assists overall on the year.

“We’re going to keep getting better in terms of our discipline on both sides of the ball,” Pensky said. “Today the heat set in a bit and we lost our discipline. But the mentality of our team is outstanding right now.”

The Terps will start practice back up Tuesday in preparation for their home opener on Friday night. The Terps face the Seton Hall Pirates at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field.

Chris Eckard is The Diamondback’s womens soccer beat reporter. He can be reached at eckarddbk@gmail.com

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August 22nd, 2009 | 12:33 pm

Women’s Soccer Wins Season Opener

After a scoreless first half, the Terrapin women’s soccer team exploded for three goals in its season opener against Army on Friday night.

Adjusting to a new lineup and season beginning nerves, the Terps were unable to get their offense rolling. That all ended when Ashley Grove jump-started the offense with a goal in the 55th minute, as the Terps when on to defeat the defending Patriot League champions, 3-0.

From the beginning the Terps took control of the game and displayed a strong defense. The Black Knights were limited to only one shot on goal, while the Terps had twelve. Maryland goalkeeper Mary Casey registered her fourth career shutout performance.

A minute after Grove ended the tie, sophomore Jasmyne Spencer scored her first career goal to put the Terps up by two. Spencer, who scored in both the Terps’ preseason matches, was assisted by Casey and midfielder Caitlin McDowell.

The last goal of the evening was scored by Caitlin Mooney, who was playing in her first career game. The Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year scored in the 74th minute and was unassisted. Mooney, who did not start the game, was one of four freshman to get playing time in the game.

The Terps are now 3-0-2 in season openers under coach Brian Pensky. The team will stay in New York to face Fordham on Sunday at 1pm.

Stay tuned for more women’s soccer updates throughout the weekend and the rest of the season.

Chris Eckard is The Diamondback’s womens soccer beat reporter. He can be reached at eckarddbk@gmail.com

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