When the Terrapin women’s soccer scheduled was released, it’s fair to say that they hoped to start the season 4-0.
Nobody expected it to happen the way it has.
The Terps (4-0-0) clinched the title for the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic Sunday with a 4-0 win over Kennesaw State. Tournament MVP Jasmyne Spencer and defender Caitlin McDowell each scored twice en route to the victory.
The Terrapin field hockey team defeated No. 11 Drexel, 4-2, Friday and Villanova, 5-0, earlier this morning to start their 2010 campaign off with two consecutive victories.
The No. 2 Terps (2-0) have now won their season-opener for the past 13 years.
The team’s four seniors made a significant impact this weekend. Midfielder Katie O’Donnell scored two goals and dished off three assists, defender Jemma Buckley scored two goals and added one assist, while defenders Alicia Morawski and Amanda Himmelheber started both contests and anchored the backfield.
After losing seven seniors to graduation, the Terps had to replace their entire defensive back line. Heading into the 2010 season, coach Missy Meharg emphasized how important it is for the defense to step up in order for the team to succeed.
This weekend, the defense did just that, holding Drexel (0-1) to just nine shots and Villanova to just one. The Wildcats (0-2) offense was stifled and their one shot came in the game’s 62nd minute.
“Missy’s been working a lot with us, with the defense,” Buckley said. “A lot of the seniors did graduate last year, and there’s a new group in there this year. But after getting a few games under our belt, we’re developing as a group.”
Another important development from this weekend’s games is that it looks as if the Terps are primed for a season-long goalie competition. Redshirt junior Melissa Vassalotti started against Drexel and recorded four saves, while freshman Natalie Hunter started against Villanova and recorded one save.
“We’re in a position where we need both of these women to get quality Division I experience,” Meharg said. “Minutes are everything, and they’re both playing well and are confident, so that’s how we’re going to be handling that for right now.”
Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Field Hockey beat writer. He can be reached at jengelke@umdbk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.
Highly touted forward Jasmyne Spencer picked the perfect time to register her first goal of the season for the No. 14 Terrapin women’s soccer team in Friday’s 3-1 win over Tennessee.
While Spencer’s goal proved to be nothing more than an insurance goal, it broke a back-and-forth scoreless streak with the Lady Volunteers to extend the Terps’ winning streak to three games to start the season. The goal also happened to come on Spencer’s 20th birthday.
“I couldn’t think of a better time for Jasmyne to break through and get her first goal,” coach Brian Pensky said. “She put the game out of reach.”
The Terps (3-0-0) came out flying with Lydia Hastings and Ashley Grove notching goals in the 16th and 18th minutes, respectively. Grove’s goal was her fourth of the young season and proved to be her third game-winner in as many games.
The Lady Vols (2-1-0) were able to sneak one past Terp goalkeeper Yewande Balogun after a long flurry off a corner kick in the 24th minute, but that didn’t put a damper on the game’s hot start in Pensky’s eyes.
“Getting two in the first 20 minutes certainly helped us subdue their crowd a little bit,” the sixth-year coach said. “I was proud of our want to attack them. We really came out and played our own soccer.”
The Vols attempted 11 shots in the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic game, but only managed to put one on net, a testament to the Terps’ traditionally strong defense that was a question mark entering the season.
“Our backs and our goalkeeping have been under some intense pressure [Friday against Tennessee and Sunday against Missouri], and I feel good about the fact that we’ve shown that individually we can defend and collectively we can defend,” Pensky said.
And while Pensky and the Terps are undoubtedly pleased with their hot start, especially with 12 goals over three games, Pensky said the focus is to not let the success get to his team’s head.
“Confidence is high, but the first thing we talked about after [Friday’s] game was that this is nothing,” Pensky said. “This game can be cruel if you take it for granted, so as cliché as it may sound, we’re taking things one game at a time.”
The next test for the Terps comes on Sunday when they face off against Kennesaw State in their second and last game at the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic.
– Conor
So I know I’m fairly late, but if you didn’t catch it – the Terrapin men’s soccer team easily defeated preseason No. 17 St. Johns 3-0 in its first exhibition game this year.
For the first action of the season, the Terps looked great against a team that could make a run this season. Goalkeepers Zac MacMath and Will Swaim pitched a shutout, while defender Greg Young, midfielder Matt Kassel and forward Casey Townsend each scored.
Last night, the Terps weren’t so fortunate. The preseason No. 6 team in the country fell to cross-staterival UMBC in Baltimore, 1-0. I couldn’t make it out to the game, but when I get more details I’ll be sure to update.
Here’s what coach Sasho Cirovski had to say after the St. John’s win though:
The No. 16 Terrapin women’s soccer completed a successful opening weekend Sunday with a 3-2 comeback victory over visiting Missouri at Ludwig Field.
After rolling over Iona, 6-0, on Friday, the Terps faced a stiffer test in the defending Big 12 regular season champion Tigers. Despite their obvious success, the Tigers were left out of the NCAA Tournament field and came to College Park looking to harness the ACC’s high RPI with a win to boost their postseason resume.
But the Terps had different ideas, overcoming an early deficit and riding the momentum of three consecutive goals to earn their thirteenth straight non-conference victory.
“[Missouri] got an early one, and that made us a little bit nervous,” coach Brian Pensky said. “But it woke us up and inspired our kids. We were on fire after that.”
Forward Ashley Grove’s third goal of the season in the 71st minute proved to be the game-winner. It was her second game-winner in as many games.
Early on, it certainly appeared that the Tigers had an upset on the mind. They jumped out to a 1-0 in just the sixth minute, when a floater found its way past Terp goalkeeper Yewande Balogun.
The Tigers were able to hold off the Terps’ potent attack until the 37th minute, when Sade Ayinde blasted a header past Tiger goalkeeper Jessica Gwin off a corner kick to knot the score. Amy O’Sullivan put the Terps ahead for good early in the second half, and despite a 78th-minute Tigers goal, the Terps were able to hold off a comeback.
“We knew if we competed hard in the second half we’d get our goals,” Pensky said.
The come-from-behind nature of Sunday’s victory is something Pensky was relieved to see, as he had expressed worry that his team would lose some of its hunger as a result of its high preseason ranking. He added that the Tigers had a similar up-tempo style of play to that of No. 1 North Carolina that kept the Terps from getting into a rhythm early on.
The Terps (2-0) will continue to gear up for conference play — a warm-up they’ll need in a conference with six other teams ranked in the top-17 — next weekend in Knoxville, Tenn., where they’ll play unranked Tennessee and Kennesaw State as a part of the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic.
– Conor
Tomorrow, the No. 6 (NSCAA/adidas) Terrapin men’s soccer team kicks off its fall schedule with an exhibition against No. 17 St. Johns at Ludwig Field in College Park.
The Terps also face UMBC in Baltimore on August 24 and Georgetown at home on August 28 as preseason tune-ups before the start of the season. With the season right around the corner, mark these dates in your calendar.
TOP-FIVE GAMES TO WATCH IN 2010:
Coach Brian Pensky and the No. 16 Terrapin women’s soccer team find themselves in an unfamiliar situation as they enter today’s season opener against Iona.
For the first time since 2003, the Terps enter the season ranked in the top 25 and with the expectations to win — especially after returning eight starters from last season’s Sweet 16 team.
“In years past, we’ve been coming in feeling like we’ve got to prove to ourselves and other people out there that we can win,” Pensky said. “Now, we expect us to win.”
The Terps’ attack, which averaged nearly two goals per game last season, appears to be the team’s strength entering their first match. The attack is headlined by Jasmyne Spencer, who led the Terps in scoring last season and is one of 44 players to be placed on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, women’s soccer’s most prestigious award.
“There’s a confidence about us, but still a hunger,” Pensky said.
The Terps will need to harness that hunger to avoid being upset Friday by underdog Iona. Pensky said that while the Gaels’ 2009 record of 8-12-1 isn’t overly impressive, he sees them as a scrappy defensive-minded team capable of shutting the Terps down if they don’t get out to a quick start.
A bigger test awaits the Terps on Sunday, when Missouri visits College Park with a bitter taste in their mouths from last season, when they won the Big 12’s regular season title but were left out of the NCAA Tournament field. Against a ranked team from one of the sport’s power conferences — the ACC has seven teams in the top 17 of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index — the Tigers could notch and early and important nonconference win.
So while Pensky and the Terps certainly believe that their depth and experience can take them to new heights this season, Pensky remains grounded.
“If we don’t focus on our responsibilities, we’re going to get bit,” Pensky said. “We can’t lose our humility.”
– Conor Walsh
The Terrapin field hockey team played its first and only preseason scrimmage today, beating Penn State, 3-1.
The Terps will play their annual red/white game tomorrow at 9 a.m., but today’s matchup against the Nittany Lions was the team’s only real competition before the regular season begins on Aug. 27 at Drexel.
The result was expected, as the Terps are a perennial power, while Penn State didn’t even qualify for last season’s NCAA Tournament.
The Terrapin field hockey team was selected to finish second in the ACC by the six conference coaches, commissioner John Swofford announced today.
The Terps, who won the ACC regular season and tournament last season, placed behind defending national champion North Carolina.
The Tar Heels received 24 out of the 25 possible points, as the Terps claimed one top-place vote en route to a total of 21 points.
The nod to North Carolina makes sense, as the Tar Heels defeated the Terps 3-2 in last year’s national championship game on a last minute penalty corner. North Carolina also returns seven starters, while the Terps only return four.
The Terps went a perfect 5-0 in league play last year, including a 4-1 victory over the Tar Heels on Oct. 24, but it was their final game of the season that inevitably made North Carolina the conference’s top dog.
The conference also announced it’s preseason All-ACC team today. Attacker Katie O’Donnell, the 2009 Honda Award winner and and reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and midfielder Megan Frazer were the only two Terps to make the squad.
North Carolina placed three players on the team: midfielders Katelyn Falgowski and Kelsey Kolojejchick and goalie Jackie Kintzer.
Duke and Virginia had two players receive a nod, while Wake Forest and Boston College had one.
For the full list of players on the all-conference team and the full order of predicted finish, check out the ACC’s press release.
The Terps open their season on Aug. 27 at Drexel, with their second game of the season coming just two days later at Villanova. The team’s first home game is Sept. 3 vs. Old Dominion.
The team will also host a scrimmage against Penn State this Friday at 11 a.m. and play its annual red/white scrimmage on Saturday at 9 a.m. Check terrapintrail.com on Friday for an update about what happened against the Nittany Lions.
Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s Terrapin field hockey beat reporter. He can be reached at engelke@umdbk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.
Trotting onto the pitch this year, Terrapin men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski will find himself accompanied by several new faces.
In less than a month following the 2009 season, Cirovski saw both of his assistant coaches leave to take jobs elsewhere.
Russell Payne, who spent six seasons under Cirovski’s tutelage, landed the head coaching job at Army in mid-December. Payne was Cirovski’s first blue-chip recruit for the Terps back in 1993 and went on to be a four-year starter in goal.
Just two days later, Cirovski’s other assistant coach, Rob Vartughian accepted the assistant coach/goalkeeper coordinator position with the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. Vartughian had spent the previous seven years with the Terps.
The pair of assistants helped lead the Terps to two ACC Championships, four College Cup appearances and two National Championships.
Following the departures, Cirovski went searching. He found Michael Dello-Russo and Brian Rowland. He also created another staff position called Director of Soccer Operations, hiring Matt Burke for the job.
“I got all three guys that I wanted,” Cirovski told Jonas Shaffer of the Diamondback. “They’re all ones I wanted and we didn’t have to go too deep into the search. They’re great. They’re terrific. They’re all relatively inexperienced in the coaching ranks, but I feel like it’s a perfect fit for the program myself because I can mold them into the Maryland way pretty quickly. They’ve already done a great job and the players love them.”
Here’s the description of each and what they will bring to the Terp in the 2010 season: