Aug. 17, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's soccer team has been picked
second in the Soccer America Preseason Top 20 which was released
Tuesday. Defending champion Indiana comes in at No. 1 in the poll while
UCLA starts the year in third. ACC rival Clemson is fourth.
Maryland begins action on August 27 against Connecticut as part of the
University of Maryland/Fila Preseason College Kick-off. The Terps play
Rutgers the next evening with the team's regular-season opener against
top-ranked Indiana on Sept. 3 in the first round of the adidas Classic
at Indiana. Maryland squares off against No. 4 Clemson to end its ACC
season on Oct. 30 at Clemson.
Early last week, the Terps finished third in the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America's preseason poll. That poll also picked the
Indiana Hoosiers first, with Stanford capturing the No. 2 spot. Clemson
also took fourth in the coaches poll, but managed to squeeze out the top
spot in the ACC coaches poll by two points to be the conference favorite
ahead of the Terps.
Head coach Sasho Cirovski greeted the Maryland men's team when they
arrived on campus on Monday to begin the year. The team begins training
on Wednesday. Returning for the Terrapins are National Freshman of the
Year Taylor Twellman (St. Louis, Mo.), as well as Soccer America
All-Freshman team members Dan Califf (Orange, Calif.), Nick Downing
(Redmond, Wash.), and Beckett Hollenbach (Havertown, Pa.). All were
members of what was regarded last year by most as the best recruiting
class in the country will be joined by an equally talented group this
year.
Parade's high school Player of the Year A.J. Herrera (Albuquerque,
N.M.), leads a cast of prospects which includes transfers Nick Purdom
(Orange, Calif.) and Nouf Tajini (Casablanca, Morocco) as well as
Pennsylvania native Reed Rickert (Sewickley, Pa.). Top goalie prospect
Jacob Banas (Cedarburg, Wis.), Prince George's County native Scott
Buete, and Ghana natives Sumed Ibrahim (Louisville, Ky.) and Siba
Mohammed (Louisville, Ky.) round out a class that will challenge
returning upperclassmen for playing time and starting spots.
Senior forward Jason Cropley (La Canada, Calif.), junior goalkeeper
Christian Lewis (Ellicott City, Md.), and junior midfielder Rob Birch
(West Islip, N.Y.) are all returning starters for the Terrapins this
season. Head coach Sasho Cirovski and Terrapin women's soccer head coach
Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, his wife, will both be available for
interviews at Maryland's first annual Soccer Media Day that will be held
on Monday, August 23, at 2:00 p.m. on Ludwig Field. Players and staff
for both teams will also be available at approximately 2:30 p.m. for
interviews and photos. Both teams will hold training sessions
immediately following media day at 3 p.m. The men's team will hold its
session on the practice field behind Byrd Stadium, with the women's team
training on Ludwig Field.
1999 Soccer America Preseason Poll
Schools 1998 Res.
1. Indiana 23-2-0
2. Maryland 16-8-0
3. UCLA 17-4-0
4. Clemson 22-2-0
5. Stanford 18-5-2
6. Virginia 16-4-3
7. Southern Methodist 15-5-1
8. Brown 12-3-2
9. St. John's 16-5-3
10. Connecticut 17-4-0
11. Santa Clara 15-5-2
12. Saint Louis 14-5-1
13. Cal State Fullerton 14-5-2
14. Washington 16-4-0
15. Creighton 16-4-2
16. Duke 18-4-0
17. South Carolina 15-4-0
18. South Florida 12-8-2
19. William & Mary 15-8-2
20. Jacksonville 19-5-0
