July 22, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After helping to lead their team to the semifinals of the 1998 College Cup, five members of the Terrapin men's soccer team are set to represent Maryland in both the Pan-Am Games and the United States Soccer Festival being held this summer.

Three of the five, including 1998 National Freshman of the Year Taylor Twellman (St. Louis, Miss./St. Louis University HS), are competing for the U.S. team at the Pan-American Games which begin tomorrow in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Senior forward Jason Cropley (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) and sophomore defender Dan Califf (Orange, Calif./Orange) will also represent the Terrapins when they take on Cuba in the first round tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. MST at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex.

While Califf and Twellman have received national team recognition before this, the Pan-Am Games will be Cropley's first call-up to national team competition. Cropley and Twellman were starters last year on Maryland's frontline, and look to secure the attack again this fall.

Califf was part of the almost all-freshman backline last season for the Terps with fellow classmates Beckett Hollenbach (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash./Eastlake), who are also seeing summer action as part of the United States Amateur Soccer Association's (USASA) East Regional team. The team will compete in the United States Soccer Festival, which will take place between August 1-8 in Portland, Ore.

All five Terrapins, who are seeing summer action on national teams, were starters last year for a Maryland team that tallied 16 wins, the highest in program history.

The Terrapins are gearing up for what looks to be an exciting year for the program. The team kicks off its 1999 season when they host the 1999 University of Maryland/FILA Pre-Season College Kick-off Tournament on August 27 and 28. The tournament will include some potential top-ten teams, including ACC rival Virginia, and Big East members Rutgers and Connecticut.

The following is the schedule of events for the Pan-Am Games which begin soccer action tomorrow.

July 23  10:00-12:00  USA vs CUB
July 25  19:00-21:00  HON vs USA
July 29  19:00-21:00  USA vs JAM
July 31  19:00-21:00  USA vs URU