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