Aug. 23, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - New Maryland head coach Shannon Higgins -Cirovski will get her first taste of coaching the Terps in a familiar setting, when Maryland travels to George Washington to open its 13th season of collegiate soccer on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. Higgins-Cirovski spent seven seasons as the head coach of George Washington from 1991-1997 and led the Colonials to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1996.

The Coach On Facing GW Higgins-Cirovski made her name as a college coach at George Washington, becoming the school's all-time leader in coaching wins with a 69-59-11 record. She was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996. Sunday's season opener will be an emotional one for Higgins-Cirovski.

"Obviously, I have a tremendous amount of respect for that program," Higgins-Cirovski said. "I will always take that program incredibly serious. They have great players and a good coaching staff.

"Going into this game, I'm scared for ourselves and I hope for success on the Maryland end, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for their program. It is ironic that we are playing George Washington in my first game as the Maryland coach, but I am excited for the challenge."

Higgins-Cirovski's Hopes For 1999 In her first season as the head coach at Maryland, Higgins-Cirovski is looking to continue the winning tradition that has been built at Maryland over the last decade. The Terps have qualified for the last four NCAA Tournaments and have not finished below .500 during that time.

"My hopes for the team in 1999 are that we can reach our potential," said the coach. "I would hope that could get ourselves to the point where we can play an attractive style that results in victories.

"Overall, I hope that we can place in the top three of the ACC and make another NCAA Tournament appearance. That can happen if we beat the teams we should beat and be in every game that we are as good as the teams we are playing."

	Maryland's NCAA Tournament Years
	Year	Overall	Pct.	ACC	Pct.	NCAA
	1995	18-6-0	.750	4-3-0	.571	Quarterfinals
	1996	19-5-2	.769	2-3-2	.429	Quarterfinals
	1997	12-9-3	.563	4-3-0	.571	First Round
	1998	11-11-1	.500	3-4-0	.429	Second Round

1999 Captains Named Higgins-Cirovski has named a trio of captains for the 1999 season. Returning as a captain for the second straight year is senior defender Emily Janss (Brandon, Fla.) The All-America candidate was an All-ACC second-team selection as both a sophomore in 1997 and junior in 1998.

Joining Janss are senior midfielder Jackie Mynarski (Somers, N.Y.) and junior goalie Ali Wolff (Richmond, Va.)

A Look At The Top Returnees Mynarski is Maryland's leading returning scorer, with five goals and five assists for 15 points in 1998. She enters the season 11th on Maryland's all-time scoring list with 34 points, tied for 10th on the all-time goals scored chart with 13 and tied for 10th in career assists with eight.

Following Mynarski on the scoring charts was Janss, who tallied four goals for eight points. Sophomore Carrie Klotz (Cortland, N.Y.) was the Terps' top scoring freshman last season with two goals and two assists for six points.

In the nets, Wolff split time with 1998 All-ACC second-team choice Riki-Ann Serrins (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in 1998, recorded a 2.37 goals against average in 1998. Wolff started 10 games, including the Terps' second-round NCAA Tournament game against William & Mary.

Serrins posted an impressive 9-3-1 record in 13 games, recording a 1.32 goals against average and 3.5 shutouts.

Newcomers To Watch Maryland's roster features eight new players for 1999. Here are capsules on each of them.

Forward Sara Gustafson (Reisterstown, Md.) returns home after playing at Indiana in 1998. She was a standout at Franklin High School earning first-team all-metro honors in 1996 and second-team in 1995 and 1997 by the Baltimore Sun.

Defender Lindsay Givens (Downington, Pa,) was the Southeast Pennsylvania Player of the Year as a freshman, sophomore and junior by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Defender Sally Harrison (Virginia Beach, Va.) was all-state first team as a senior and Eastern Region and Tidewater Player of the Year by the Virginia-Pilot.

Forward Dana Jarzyniecki (Rochester, N.Y.) was a first-team All-New York State selection as senior and named private/parochial Player of the Year at Aquinas Institute in 1998.

Midfielder/forward Kim King (Media, Pa.) was named area player of the year as a junior by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Delaware County News player of the year as a senior.

Defender Katie Kruse (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) was a first-team all-Ohio selection as a senior after leading Chagrin Falls High School to the state title. She was also the all-area Player of the Year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1998.

Midfielder Valerie Lawrence (Silver Spring, Md.) was the All-Met Player of the Year as a senior by the Washington Post and the Montgomery County Player of the Year.

Midfielder/Defender Carly Viher (Mentor, Ohio) was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio and the Lake Erie League Player of the Year.

Terps Play Eight Ranked Teams After earning a 1998 NCAA Tournament bid by virtue of a strong schedule, the Terps once again will play one of the toughest slates in the nation. Maryland will play eight teams ranked in the national preseason top 25 coaches poll. Maryland will face No. 1 North Carolina, No. 10 William & Mary, No. 12 Clemson, No. 16 UCLA, No. 17 Baylor, No. 18 Virginia, No. 23 Wake Forest and No. 24 USC. Maryland, which is not ranked in the top 25 of the preseason poll, is the third team in others receiving votes behind Alabama and 1999 opponent James Madison.

Terps Picked Sixth In ACC Poll The Terps have been selected sixth in the preseason coaches poll in 1999. Perennial power North Carolina leads the way, gaining all seven first-place votes and 56 points. The Heels are followed by Clemson (42 points), Virginia (39), Wake Forest (36), Duke (33), Maryland (24), NC State (12) and Florida State (11).

The All-Time Series With GW The Terps and Colonials have met 13 times overall and in every season since Maryland women's soccer first became a varsity sport in 1987. GW is one of three teams to have played Maryland every year since 1987, with the other two being North Carolina and Virginia.

George Washington holds a 6-5-2 advantage in the series, but has not won in the last five meetings with Maryland winning four and the other game ending in a 2-2 tie in 1997.

In games played at George Washington, the Colonials hold a 3-1-1 advantage.

In the only NCAA Tournament matchup between the teams, Maryland topped GW, 2-0 in 1996.

The Last Five Maryland-George Washington Scores
1998	Maryland 3, George Washington 2 (OT)
1997	Maryland 2, George Washington 2
1996	Maryland 2, George Washington 0 (NCAA)
1996	Maryland 5, George Washington 0
1995	Maryland 5, George Washington 1

The Last Maryland-GW Game Senior forward Keri Sarver scored the game-winning goal with 1:46 remaining in the first overtime period to lead Maryland past George Washington, 3-2, on Oct. 28, 1998 at Ludwig Field. Maryland scored with 1:10 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2-2 and send the game into overtime.

Sarver scored the game-winner at the 103:14 mark. Junior midfielder Jackie Mynarski sent a pass to Sarver that she collected as she ran past the Colonial defense. Sarver then sent a shot past goalkeeper Rima Sidhu for her career-high tying 16th goal of the season. She also scored 16 goals during the 1996 season. Mynarski, who was credited with an assist on the game-winner by Sarver, scored the game-tying goal at the 88:50 mark. She slid home a cross from the left side of the box from junior Lindsay Basalyga.

G. Washington	2	0	0	-	2	
Maryland	1	1	1	-	3	
GOALS: George Washington - Jane Lea (Kesha Christoph), 10:49, 
Jane Anderson (Erin Coppedge), 26:16, Maryland - Robin McCullough 
(penalty kick), 25:34, Jackie Mynarski (Lindsay Basalyga), 88:10, 
Keri Sarver (Jackie Mynarski), 103:14.  SHOTS: George Washington, 7,
 Maryland 24.  CORNER KICKS: George Washington, 3, Maryland, 8. 
 FOULS: George Washington, 3, Maryland, 6.  SAVES: George Washington 
(Rima Sidhu, 12 saves, 3 goals allowed, 103:14 played).  
Maryland (Ali Wolff, 4 saves, 2 goals allowed, 103:14 played).

Terps Vs. George Washington Jackie Mynarski and Lindsay Basalyga have enjoyed success against the Colonials during their careers at Maryland. Mynarski has scored two goals (one in 1997 and 1998) and assisted on another goal in 1998 to lead all Terps in scoring against the Colonials with five points. Basalyga has record two of her three career assists against George Washington with one in 1998 and one in 1997.

In goal, Ali Wolff has played both games against GW in the past two seasons. She has a 1-0-1 record with a 1.67 GAA. In 223 minutes, she has recorded six saves, while allowing four goals.