Sept. 5, 2000

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Coming off the first-ever win over a top-five team in school history -- a 3-1 victory over No. 4 Penn State on Aug. 29 -- the Maryland women's soccer team has shot up to No. 9 in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll of Sept. 4. The ranking is the highest Maryland has received in the poll since it began the 1997 season as the No. 7 ranked team in the preseason poll.

"Obviously we are very flattered by the No. 9 ranking in the coaches' poll," said head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski. "We hope we can continue to play like we did against Penn State and continue on the road of a No. 9-ranked team and get better as the season moves along."

Game Facts and Coverage

Game 4: Towson at No. 9 Maryland
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2000
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Ludwig Field (4,500), College Park, Md.

2000 Records: Maryland: 2-1-0 (0-1-0 ACC), Towson: 3-0-0 (0-0-0 America East)

Series History: Maryland leads 1-0-0.

Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 1992 - Maryland 12, Towson 0.

The Coaches:

Maryland: Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (82-70-12/.537 overall/9th yr., 13-11-1/.540 at Maryland/2nd yr.)

Towson: Leslie Kerhin (11-9-0/.550 overall/2nd yr., all at Towson)

Radio Coverage: Maryland: WMUC (88.1 FM) or on the Internet at www.wmuc.umd.edu. (talent: Jonathan Miller and Rishi Barran)

Game 5: No. 9 Maryland at Richmond
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9, 2000
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: UR Soccer Complex (4,000), Richmond, Va.

2000 Records: Maryland: 2-1-0 (0-1-0 ACC), Richmond: 1-1-0 (0-0-0 CAA)

Series History: First meeting.

The Coaches:

Maryland: Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (82-70-12/.537 overall/9th yr., 13-11-1/.540 at Maryland/2nd yr.)

Richmond: Peter Albright (208-115-26/.633 overall/20th yr., 47-34-4/.576 at Richmond/5th yr.)

Ranking High

The No. 9 ranking in the NSCAA poll is the highest ranking Maryland has received in four seasons, dating back to a No. 7 ranking to start the 1997 season. Overall, Maryland has been ranked for all of part of the season for the last eight years. Maryland's highest ranking came when the Terps were No. 4 midway through the 1996 season after Maryland reeled off 14 consecutive victories to start the season. Maryland played four games as the No. 4 team spanning Oct. 1-13, 1996.

Maryland has only been ranked higher during two previous seasons in 1996 and 1997.

Records & Rankings

Maryland enters the Towson game with a 2-1-0 record after winning at Rutgers (1-0) and upsetting No. 4 Penn State (3-1) before falling to No. 22 Duke (2-1). Last season, Maryland was 11-10-1 and 4-2-1 in the ACC as it finished the season ranked No. 23 in the final NSCAA poll. The Terps advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year before losing to national semifinalists Penn State, 3-2 in the second round.

In the 2000 NSCAA poll, the Terps are ranked No. 9. In the other polls, Maryland is ranked No. 17 by Soccer Buzz, No. 19 by Soccer America and No. 24 in the SoccerTimes.com and American Soccer Writers polls of Aug. 28.

Towson is 3-0 after defeating Georgetown (3-2 over OT), Lehigh (3-1) and Mount St. Mary's (2-1). The Tigers are not ranked in any polls.

Richmond is 1-1 entering this week's play. The Spiders defeated Pittsburgh (1-0) to open the season, then had their Sept. 1 game at UNC Greensboro cancelled due to lightning before losing to Duke (1-0) on Sept. 3 in their home opener. Richmond is not ranked in any polls.

Series Histories with Towson and Richmond

Maryland and Towson have met once on Sept. 16, 1992 with the Terps coming away with the largest margin of victory in program history, a 12-0 win. The 12 goals is also a Maryland single-game record.

Regional rivals Maryland and Richmond will be meeting for the first time this Saturday.

King Scores Early On

Sophomore Kim King (Media, Pa.) scored her first goal of the season in Maryland's third game against Duke on Sept. 1. It was King's fourth career goal with the Terps.

Three of her four goals have come during the Terps first three games of the season. Last season she opened her collegiate career scoring in her first two games at George Washington (Aug. 29, 1999) and against UMBC (Sept. 1, 1999). King's other collegiate goal came against William & Mary on Oct. 2, 1999.

King leads the Terps in total shots with even through three games.

Facing An Old Face

When the Terps meet Towson on Wednesday, they will be taking on a former Terp -- Tigers' head coach Leslie Kerhin.

Kerhin played three years at Maryland (1992-94) and finished her career with six goals and 15 assists for 27 points. Her career assist total still ranks fifth all-time at Maryland. Kerhin tied for the team lead in goals (5) and points (14) in 1993.

Kerhin is married to a former Terp men's soccer player Sean Wray (1991-94).