Men's Soccer Opens Season with Fila Tournament this Weekend
8/23/1999 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 23, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md.-- -
Terrapin Standouts Receive Preseason Honors
Sophomore forward Taylor Twellman (St. Louis, Mo.) has been chosen as a preseason first-team All-American by both Soccer America and College Soccer Online. Classmate Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash.) was also tabbed by both sources as a second-team preseason All-American while fellow defenseman Dan Califf (Orange, Calif.) earned a second-team nod from Soccer America. -Twellman was dubbed the 1998 National Freshman of the Year, while Califf, Downing and Beckett Hollenbach (Havertown, Pa.) were tabbed as part of the 1998 Soccer America All-Freshman team.
Califf, Downing and Twellman are fresh off their summer experience as part of the U.S. Under-20 National Team which took the bronze medal at the Pan Am Games. Four other first-teamers on Soccer America's list joined the three Terrapins to compete for the United States in Winnipeg during the games.
Indiana, Maryland and UCLA dominated the preseason honors list with three representatives each. The three teams are also Soccer America's top three as released in its poll earlier this week. The ACC placed five individuals on the list, including the three Terps.
Maryland Men Start Year with High Rankings
In addition to the individuals who have received preseason accolades from several national publications, the Maryland men's soccer team has also been ranked a top-five team in two polls, hitting as high as No. 2 on Soccer America's preseason chart. The Terrapins are picked third by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, while Soccer News and Soccer Times have yet to release their preseason rankings.
Defending champion Indiana came in at No. 1 in both polls. Stanford, who ousted the Terps from the NCAA Tournament last year in the semifinals, was picked second by the NSCAA, but only fifth by Soccer America. UCLA earned the runner-up slot from Soccer America, but finished a distant ninth in the pack in the NSCAA poll. ACC rival Clemson was a unanimous choice for fourth.
At the conference level, Clemson edged the Terps by two points in the coaches' preseason poll. The defending conference champion Tigers accumulated 40 points and the Terrapins were second with 38. Virginia came in third in the voting with 35 points, followed in order by Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and NC State.
The Terrapins meet a total of seven ranked opponents during the regular season, including two top-four teams, No. 1 Indiana and No. 4 Clemson. Other ranked foes include No. 6 Virginia, which will compete in the University of Maryland/Fila College Preseason Tournament, No. 12 Duke, No. 16 Connecticut, also a University of Maryland/Fila College Preseason Tournament participant, and No. 21 William & Mary.
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1999 MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
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MARYLAND (0-0, 0-0 ACC) |
Terps Begin Season With Top-Level Competition
The Terrapins will accept the first challengers of the season when they take the field against Connecticut in the opening round of the University of Maryland/Fila Preseason College Kick-off Tournament on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. One of the most competitive preseason tournaments in the nation, the University of Maryland/Fila Preseason College Kick-off will also feature Virginia and Rutgers. All games played at the tournament are exhibition games.
Maryland's first-round opponent at the University of Maryland/Fila College Preseason Kick-off is No. 16 Connecticut, which it met last in the 1995 Connecticut Tournament. Maryland came away with a 5-1 win over the Huskies, and also leads the series by a 5-1 margin.
Maryland's last contest against the Scarlet Knights was during the 1997 NCAA Tournament. The Terps defeated Rutgers 1-0 in the opening round of the tournament. The win was the first for Maryland in the series versus Rutgers, as it trails the Scarlet Knights 2-1.
Maryland opens up its regular season action with the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers as part of the adidas Classic at Indiana on Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. All tournament games at Indiana will be featured live over the internet, both audio and video. The webcast will be the first such exposure for the Terrapin men's soccer team. Once available, the web address for the games will be released.D
This year's meeting will be the first between the Terrapins and the Hoosiers.
Maryland holds a 1-0 advantage over second-round opponent No. 14 Butler, with their only contest a 5-0 decision in favor of the Terps on October 9, 1994.
A Look at the Terp Newcomers
Nine newcomers grace the 1999 men's soccer roster, making this the second year in a row the Terps have attracted one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. National player of the year A.J. Herrera (Albuquerque, N.M.) highlights the incoming class. Herrera was both the Parade National Player of the Year and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Player of the Year.
The class also which includes two players from Ghana, Sumed Ibrahim (Louisville, Ky.) and Siba Mohammed (Louisville, Ky.). Ibrahim and Mohammed both lived with their guardian family, Bill and Diana Schmied in Louisville, Ky., before coming to Maryland. Ibrahim was an All-America from the Walden School, as well as the MVP in 1996 and 1998, while Mohammed was an all-state pick, and his team's leading scorer in 1996, '97 and '98 at the Walden School.
Top goalie prospect Jacob Banas (Cedarburg, Wis.) was an Olympic Development Team regular in Wisconsin, while helping his team to two state championships, and should challenge for time this season.
Before Maryland, forward Reed Rickert (Sewickley, Pa.) was part of what USA Today tabbed as the No. 1 team in the nation in 1996 when they went undefeated and took the state championship.
Local-product Scott Buete (Bowie, Md.), comes to Maryland off a year which earned him a spot on the NSCAA all-South team. A two-time Prince George's County Journal Player of the Year, Buete joins junior goalie Christian Lewis (Ellicott City, Md.) as the second player on the roster from within state lines.
Two transfers join the Terps this year along with the freshman newcomers. Nick Purdom (Orange, Calif.) makes the cross-country trip from Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, Calif., where he has been for the past two season. He was a California State All-American as well as a NSCAA All-American in 1998. Nouf Tajini (Casablanca, Morocco) completes the international flavor of the Terps' roster, hailing from Casablanca, Morocco. A member of the 1996 Morocco Under-17 National Team, Tajini comes from Northern Virginia Commonwealth College which he attended in 1997.
Wisconsin-native Brad Falk (Mukwonago, Wisc.) complete the new faces on Sasho Cirovski's roster this year. A 1997 all-state selection, Falk will have to wait for next year to see action as he will redshirt this year due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
