Sept. 25, 2001

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* Having allowed just two goals this season in six games, Maryland (4-2 overall, 1-1 ACC) will face two local rivals this week in hopes of continuing its strong defensive play.

* The Terps will travel to George Mason for just the second road game this season, on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

* Maryland will return home to play Loyola this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The game was moved to accommodate the Maryland men's soccer team, which rescheduled its game against Wake Forest to take place at noon.

* Maryland has recorded shutouts in all four of its wins as senior captain Ali Wolff (Richmond, Va.) has a sterling 0.33 goals against average.

The Series With George Mason

* Maryland holds a 7-5-0 series lead against George Mason, dating back to the first meeting in 1987. Maryland has won the last six regular season games, outscoring the Patriots 16-2 in those six games. The Terps have shutout the Patriots in five of those six wins. * George Mason's last win came in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, when the Patriots upset the Terps, 2-1 in College Park.

* In last season's game on Sept. 27, 2000, Maryland blanked George Mason behind a solid defense playing with a pair of marking backs and a sweeper, at Ludwig Field. Keeper Riki-Ann Serrins recorded her fourth shutout of the season. Maryland got on the board as Kim King scored on a shot into the left side of the net from eight yards out at the 55:28 mark in the second half.

* In the last game at George Mason on Oct. 6, 1999, captain Jackie Mynarski scored the only goal of the day at 81:26 to lift Maryland to a 1-0 victory over George Mason. GMU was called for a foul just outside the penalty box which set up the game winning score. Lindsay Basalyga took the penalty kick and found Mynarski on the left side of the goal. She headed the ball in from about three yards out.

All-Time Series: Maryland leads, 7-5-0

The Meetings
9/27/00 Maryland 1, George Mason 0
10/6/99 Maryland 1, George Mason 0
9/23/98 Maryland 4, George Mason 2
11/16/97 George Mason 2, Maryland 1 (NCAA First Round)
9/10/97 Maryland 3, George Mason 0
9/24/96 Maryland 2, George Mason 0
9/6/95 Maryland 5, George Mason 0
10/5/94 George Mason 2, Maryland 1
10/20/93 George Mason 3, Maryland 0
10/3/92 Maryland 2, George Mason 1 (OT)
9/21/91 George Mason 5, Maryland 1
10/10/87 G. Mason 4, Maryland 0 (WAGS)

Terps' Trip To Colorado Canceled
* The Terps had their two-game road trip to Colorado cancelled due to the national tragedies in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.The game at Colorado scheduled for Sept. 14 and at Denver on Sept. 16 will not be made up.

Maryland's Rebuilt Defense
* Head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski has had to juggle her lineup due to injuries to three starting defenders. All three of Maryland junior backs have missed part of the season or will miss the entire campaign.

* Junior Carly Viher (Mentor, Ohio) will miss the entire season after suffering a torn left ACL in practice on Aug. 29. She underwent successful surgery on Sept. 13.

* Junior Valerie Lawrence (Silver Spring, Md.) suffered a severely sprained ankle against East Carolina on Sept. 9 and missed her first career games last weekend sitting out the games vs. George Washington and Wake Forest.

* Junior Sally Harrison (Virginia Beach, Va.) had her streak of 45 consecutive starts ended by a dislocated kneecap suffered in a scrimmage on Sept. 16. She also missed the George Washington and Wake Forest games.

* With Viher out, Katie Kruse (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) has started the past five games, playing all 90 minutes in helping the Terps to a 0.33 goals against average.

* With Lawrence and Harrison missing, Higgins-Cirovski has moved starting forward Sara Gustafson (Reisterstown, Md.) to right back for the past two games. Also, freshman Lindsay Niehaus (Cincinnati, Ohio) has drawn her first two starts in the backfield as well.

The Series With Loyola
* Maryland renews the rivalry with Loyola, Sunday, Sept. 30, as the teams meet for the first time since 1995. The Terps hold a 5-0 lead in the all-time series, winning the last game 3-0 on Sept. 12, 1995.

* In the five games, the Terps have outscored Loyola 20-2 dating back to the first match, a 7-1 win in 1987.

Schedule Update: Alumni Day, Family Day, Senior Day Set
* Head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski has announced three important events on the upcoming soccer schedule.

* Alumni Day has been set for Oct. 5, when the Terps take on North Carolina at 7 p.m. Maryland will honor its former greats, including a special ceremony to recognize the three former Terps in the WUSA, the professional women's soccer league. Michelle Demko (Philadelphia Charge), Emily Janss (New York Power) and Keri Sarver (Washington Freedom) will be honored at the game.

* Family Day has been slated for Oct. 13, when Maryland faces Clemson on Saturday at 1 p.m. All of families of the Terps' players have been invited for the special weekend with the team.

* Senior Day will take place at the Terps' regular-season home finale on Oct. 30 against Mount St. Mary's. Maryland will recognize and honor seniors Courtney Beirne (Westminster, Md.), Jenny Boyd (Herndon, Va.), Sara Gustafson (Reisterstown, Md.), Debbie Lieberman (Commack, N.Y.) and Ali Wolff (Richmond, Va.).

Wolff Sets Maryland Career Shutouts Mark
* Maryland senior goalkeeper Ali Wolff continues to add to her Maryland school record for career shutouts as she moved her career total to 15.5 with seven saves vs. George Washington on Sept. 21. Wolff set the school record with 14.5 when she made one save as the Terps blanked East Carolina, 1-0 on Sept. 9. Wolff broke the tie she had been in with former teammate Riki-Ann Serrins, who had 13.5 from 1997-2000.

* She now has four shutouts and a 0.33 goals against average on the season.

* Wolff was named ACC Player of the Week (Aug. 31-Sept.3) after recording her first two shutouts of the season including a 2-0 upset over No. 17 Duke on Sept. 2, 2001.

* She ranks in the top five in every one of Maryland's all-time goalkeeper stats.

Shutouts First 15.5
GAA Fourth 1.65
Games Played Fourth 55
Saves Fifth 212
Games Started Third 50
Minutes Played Fourth 4,252

The Rankings
* Maryland is not ranked in the NSCAA top 25 poll of Sept. 24. The Terps were second among teams receiving votes in the Sept. 10-17 poll.

* After not being ranked in any preseason polls, the Terps cracked three of the national women's soccer polls released Sept. 3, coming in at No. 14 in the NSCAA poll.

* On Sept. 3, The Terps checked in at No. 14 in the NSCAA Coaches' poll, No. 16 in the College Soccer Online media poll and No. 25 in the Soccer Buzz.com poll.

* After upsetting No. 17 Duke, 2-0, the Maryland women's soccer team jumped into the NSCAA Coaches' Poll at No. 14 after beginning the year unranked. That put the Terps are back in the NSCAA poll for the first time in nearly a year when they were No. 21 in mid-September of 2000.

* The No. 14 ranking was the second highest for the Terps in the tenure of Shannon Higgins-Cirovski. Last season, Maryland was ranked No. 9 for a week after upsetting then-No. 4 Penn State on Aug. 29, 2000.

* It also equaled Maryland's second highest ranking since the start of the 1998 season. The Terps were No. 14 for a week in the middle of October in 1998.

* Maryland's win over a ranked team marked the 30th time in school history the Terps beat a team in the Top 25. Since 1995, the Terps have won 25 games against top 25 teams.

Playing The Tough Schedule
* Once again, Maryland is playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Five teams on the Terps' schedule are ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 of Sept. 24. North Carolina leads the way at No. 1, followed by Florida State (No. 12) Virginia (No. 14), Clemson (No. 15) and William & Mary (No. 22).

* Nine of the teams on the Terps' schedule qualified for the 2000 NCAA Tournament including defending national champion North Carolina. Other 2001 opponents who played in last year's tournament are: Clemson (quarterfinals), Duke (second round), Florida State (second round), Loyola (play-in), Richmond (second round), Virginia (third round), Wake Forest (second round) and William & Mary (first round).

Media Information
* WMUC Radio: Maryland's student radio station WMUC (88.1 FM) will broadcast up to 10 Maryland women's soccer games in 2001. A pregame show will air approximately 30 minutes prior to kickoff. WMUC's broadcasts can be heard live on the Internet at wmuc.umd.edu. Heather Schwartz will handle play-by-play.

* Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland women's soccer news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email women's soccer contact Jason Yellin at jyellin@wam.umd.edu with the message "Women's Soccer Email" as the subject and you will receive every update distributed about the team.

* Mediateamlink.com: Releases, statistics and other sports information from all ACC schools as well as other conferences and institutions around the country are available by accessing www.mediateamlink.com. MediaTeamlink is FREE to all accredited media. Log on to www.mediateamlink.com if you do not already have an account, and click the "Sign Up Here" button and complete the short form.

* Terrapin Fan Phone: For up-to-date reports, comments from coaches, and other Maryland athletic department information, phone the Terrapin Fan Phone at (301) 314-TERP.