Terps End Injury-Ridden Year At 10-9, Narrowly Missing NCAA Bid
11/13/2000 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 13, 2000
College Park, Md. - The Maryland men's soccer team finished its 2000 season with its first round overtime loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament. The Terps fought to the bitter end, but suffered the heartbreaking double-overtime defeat despite their efforts. In a year with seven season-ending injuries to major impact players, the Terps had to rely on a large amount of freshmen in the starting lineup almost immediately. The freshmen did not disappoint, and stood as the Terrapins' top five scorers when the season came to an end.
Birch Earns All-ACC Recognition
Senior midfielder Rob Birch (West Islip, N.Y.) was honored with second-team all-ACC recognition at the 2000 ACC men's soccer banquet, which is held in conjunction with the conference's annual tournament. Birch was a stronghold for the Terps all season in the midfield, even scoring three goals and two assists. The conference honor was the first for Birch in his career, and marked the only Terp to earn All-ACC honors in the 2000 season.
Cirovski Reaches 100, 125, 200
Finishing his eighth year at Maryland, head coach Sasho Cirovski saw three milestones pass him during the 19-game season. He has compiled a 100-58-14 (.622) record at Maryland. A 1985 graduate of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Cirovski owns a 126-70-14 (.633) through his first 10 years of head coaching. The Terps' 3-0 win against American on Sept. 27 marked the 200th game Cirovski has coached in his career, and Maryland's 1-0 victory against William & Mary on Oct. 22 stood as his 125th career victory. Cirovski won his 100th game with the red, black, white and gold on Oct. 25 against Loyola. The win against Loyola made him the second coach in Maryland history to reach the 100-win milestone. Doyle Royal (1946-73), who coached at Maryland for the first 28 years of the program, is the only other head coach with 100 or more victories with the Terps.
Sardis Finishes Senior Campaign Fourth On Career Assists List
Senior Jason Sardis (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) jumped onto the career assists list at Maryland in 1999, and kept on climbing after rejoining the team just weeks into the 2000 season. Sardis finished his Terp career with 20 assists, which puts him in the No. 4 spot.
Maryland's Career Assists List 1. 35 Keith Beach (1995-98) 2. 32 Eberhard Klein (1962-64) 3. 21 Shane Dougherty (1993-94) 4. 20 Jason Sardis (1997-Pres.) 5. 19 Randy Merkel (1996-98) 6. 18 Jason Cropley (1996-99) 7. 17 Taylor Twellman (1998-99) 17 Steve Armas (1995-98) 9. 16 Gino Ferrin (1985-86) 16 Rocco Morelli (1968-69)Top Five Terp Scorers Only Freshmen13 Nick Downing (1998-Pres.) 11 Beckett Hollenbach (1988-Pres.)
After freshman Seth Stammler's (Gahanna, Ohio) scored two goals against Duquesne on Oct. 18, he moved into the Top 5 Maryland scorers for the 2000 season. On the final stat sheet, that made the first five scorers on Terps' list entirely new faces on the Maryland roster. Freshman Abe Thompson (Fairfax Station, Va.) led Maryland with 13 goals and five assists, with Clarence Goodson (Springfield, Va.) second with four goals and five assists. Classmate Bryan Vitagliano (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is third with four goals and four assists. Stammler and Philip Salyer (Dallas, Texas) were tied for fourth with four goals and two assists each.
Bitten by the Injury Bug
Sophomore Scott Buete suffered a broken foot during the 36th minute of the Indiana game on Sept. 8, beginning an injury streak previously unseen by head coach Sasho Cirovski. Buete missed the rest of the season, but will apply for a medical redshirt. The sophomore starter underwent surgery on Sept. 13. Sophomore A.J. Herrera also suffered a season-ending foot injury, and will redshirt as well.
On Friday, Sept. 29, both Siba Mohammed (Tamale, Ghana) and Matt Roberts (Hillsborough, N.J.) underwent operations to correct lingering knee problems from earlier surgeries. The pair joined Buete and Herrera on the sidelines for the rest of 2000, bringing the number of season-ending injuries to four.
In what the Terps hope is the final wave of surgeries for the team, Herrera and freshman Jason Arnold (Fairfax Station, Va.) both underwent surgery about in the beginning of October to have screws inserted in their feet to stabilize stress fractures. That brought the number to five.
Sophomore Sumed Ibrahim also underwent foot surgery during the preseason, and did not recover fully during the 2000 season, adding him to the medical redshirt list, as well. Rounding out the list is junior goalkeeper Kevin Schmidt (Westfield, N.J.), who sprained his toe in late September and missed the rest of the season with the injury. All total, nine out of 21 Terps sustained injuries which caused them to miss either entire games, crucial minutes of play, or the remainder of the season. Five were projected starters before the 2000 campaign began, seven will take medical redshirts.
Thompson On the Attack
Freshman striker Abe Thompson led the Terrapin's scoring efforts during the 2000 season, posting 13 goals and five assists. Thompson even had an eight-game scoring streak going down the stretch, but saw his scoring streak end at eight games when the Terps were held scoreless on Nov. 4 at Virginia. The freshman striker started his streak on Oct. 4 when he netted his first career hat trick in the Terps' 5-1 victory over Monmouth. Thompson added two more goals against George Mason on Oct. 11, and netted the game-winner on Oct. 14 against Virginia Commonwealth. The Fairfax-native's penalty kick helped the Terps orchestrate the upset against No. 21 Loyola on Oct. 25. Against Clemson on Oct. 28, he scored the Terps' first of two goals in the 3-2 loss to extend the streak to eight. The talented freshman also assisted the Terps' lone goal against North Carolina on Oct. 7 and added two more assists on Oct. 18 against Duquesne to help string together eight-straight games with at least one point each.
Salyer Shines For Terrapins
Freshman Philip Salyer was undoubtedly an asset in both the defensive and offensive halves of the field all season during 2000. At the beginning of the year, Salyer immediately stepped into a starting role on Maryland's defensive, further complementing the veteran unit of Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash.), Beckett Hollenbach (Havertown, Pa.), and Mike Shebuski (Bloomington, Ind.) and spelling the loss of Danny Califf (1998-99) in the back.
After the Terps were bitten by the injury bug, Salyer was moved into the midfield to give the team a lift. He did just that, scoring four goals in a four-game stretch between Sept. 27 and Oct. 7. Salyer scored twice in Maryland's 3-0 win over American on Sept. 27, notching Maryland's first and last goals of the day. He also tied the game at three for the Terrapins on Oct. 1 against Wake Forest. Against North Carolina on Oct. 7, he scored the Terps' only goal of the day.
Against George Mason on Oct. 11, Salyer was moved back to the defense, accepting the assignment to mark Eduardo Lima, then the nation's third-leading goal scorer. Before that game, Lima was 1.2 goals per game and 2.60 points per game. Salyer held the striker scoreless through 90 minutes, breaking Lima's string of seven-straight games with a goal, displaying once again that he is another one of college soccer's bright stars. Salyer ended the season as the Terps' fifth-leading scorer.
One of the Toughest Schedules
An injury-depleted Maryland squad has nothing to be ashamed of after facing the nation's best toe-to-toe without flinching, and ending the 2000 season with a 10-9 record. The Terps' strength of schedule finished ranked 27th in the nation, with the Terps facing a schedule of which half was ranked nationally for all or part of the year. Maryland also competed in what was the top-rated conference in Division I men's soccer, according to College Soccer Online.
Bidding the Seniors Farewell
When Donald McIntosh hit the gamewinner for Duke in the ACC Tournament, the careers of five senior Terrapins came to an end in the same moment. Starting goalkeeper Christian Lewis (Ellicott City, Md.), second-team all-ACC midfielder Rob Birch, defender Mike Shebuski, midfielder Jason Sardis, and striker Nick Purdom (Orange, Calif.) all ended their Maryland careers at Spry Stadium. An exceptional class on and off the field, the Terrapin seniors finished their four-year careers with a 56-29-1 overall record (.657), and an 11-12-1 ACC record (.479), and were a pivotal part in the Terps' 1998 finish as NCAA semifinalists. To our seniors, thank you and good luck - you will be missed!
