Maryland Women's Soccer Vaults To No. 14 In NSCAA Poll

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Sept. 4, 2001

Terps Vault To No. 14 In NSCAA Poll

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

The ranking is 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 equals Maryland's second highest ranking since the start of the 1998 season. The Terps were also 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 teams in the top 25.

Terps Face Richmond On Thursday

Maryland will host Richmond (0-1) for the first time in school history this Thursday.

Last season, in the initial meeting between the teams, Richmond upset the No. 9 Terps, 1-0 on Sept. 9, 2000. Jenna Merriam scored the only goal of the match at the 5:30 mark to give the Spiders the shocking win.

In 2001, the Spiders opened the season with a 4-0 loss at No. 10 Clemson last Sunday.

Wolff Named ACC Player Of The Week

Maryland senior goalkeeper Ali Wolff was named ACC Player of the Week in women's soccer after leading the Terrapins to consecutive shutout victories. In her first two games of the season, the Richmond, Va. native paced the Terps with five saves, as they defeated Towson 3-0 and No. 17 Duke 2-0.

Wolff handled Towson with ease, making only one save in the season opener. On Sunday, Maryland opened up conference play with a 2-0 upset at Duke, as Wolff stopped all four Blue Devil shots on goal. With the clean sheet, Wolff is now tied for first in Maryland's record books with 13.5 shutouts in her career.

It's Early, But The Terps Top The ACC

Sure there has only been one ACC match this season, but the Terps can lay claim that they are in first place in the conference by virtue of their 2-0 win at Duke last Sunday. The Terps have equaled their conference win total from last season with their first ACC win of 2001.

Maryland is also atop the conference in scoring defense (0 goals allowed) and shutouts (2).

Katie Ludwig (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is tied for the ACC lead in points with five (along with Cindy Schofield of FSU).

Playing The Tough Schedule

Once again, Maryland is playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Six teams on the Terps' schedule are ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 or in others receiving votes. North Carolina leads the way at No. 1, followed by Virginia (No. 6), Clemson (No. 11), Florida State (No. 13), William & Mary ((No. 22) and Wake Forest (RV).

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 were: 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).

2001 Captains

The Terps have a pair of captains for 2001 in senior goalkeeper Ali Wolff and sophomore defender Lindsay Givens (Downingtown, Pa.). Both players sat out last season as redshirts, but return for the 2001 campaign. Wolff ranks in the top five on every Maryland career goalkeeping chart. Givens was named a Soccer Buzz Freshman All-American in 1999.

Recapping The European Tour

The Terps began the 2001 season with a preseason training trip to Europe, where they played five games against teams from Germany, Holland and Belgium, recording a 2-1-2 record.

Maryland played to 1-1 ties in its first two games against FCC Frankfurt (Aug. 18) and Eendracht Aalst of Belgium (Aug. 20). They continued with a win over ODC Boxtel of Holland, 4-2 on Aug. 22, a loss to FCR Duisburg of Germany, 3-2 on Aug. 23, before closing with their best effort of the trip a 5-0 trouncing of Oost Kapelle of Holland.

Media Information

WMUC Radio: Maryland's student radio station WMUC (88.1 FM) will broadcast up to 10 Maryland women's soccer games in 2000. 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 and Manny Fantis will be on the color commentary.

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.

Maryland Women's Soccer Vaults To No. 14 In NSCAA Poll

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