Oct. 10, 2002
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VIRGINIA (6-3-2, 0-1-0) at MARYLAND (7-5-0, 1-2-0)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2002 * 7:00 p.m.
LUDWIG FIELD (4,000/Grass), COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Live Audio: wmucsports.com link off umterps.com
Terps Look To Bounce Back Against Virginia On Friday Night
* The Maryland women's soccer team looks to get back on the winning track this Friday night as the Terps (7-5 overall, 1-2 ACC) host Virginia (6-3-2, 0-1 ACC) in a key regional and ACC match at 7 p.m. The Terps lost a tough 1-0 decision to Penn State on Tuesday night as they played the final 37 minutes with just 10 players as freshman goalkeeper Mariel Wilner (Owings Mills, Md.) was given a red card and ejected from the game. Wilner, by rule must sit out Friday's game with the Cavaliers, giving junior Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.) her first career start in goal -- against her hometown team.
Higgins-Cirovski To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame On Monday
* Maryland head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on Monday, October 14, 2002 in Oneonta, N.Y. The Hall of Fame announced on June 24, 2002, the selection of three champion midfielders slated for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2002. Higgins-Cirovski, former NASL/Cosmos star Vladislav "Bogie" Bogicevic and veterans U.S. men's captain Adolph Bachmeier will be inducted into the Soccer Hall.
* "These great midfielders represent three distinct eras in U.S. soccer history," said National Soccer Hall of Fame President Will Lunn. "Bachmeier captained the U.S. during the difficult building period of the 1960's and 70's, Bogicevic was a star with the Cosmos of the North American Soccer League of the 1970's and 80's and Higgins-Cirovski was the standout midfielder for the U.S in the 1980's and early 90's and a key to the USA's victory at the first FIFA Women's World Championship in 1991. We look forward to welcoming them into the Hall of Fame and honoring their accomplishments."
* Higgins-Cirovski, who starred collegiately at the University of North Carolina is just the third women to enter the Hall as a player (joining April Heinrichs and Carin Jennings-Gabarra) and is the youngest person to enter the hall at just 34 years old.
* "This really puts what being a pioneer is, into perspective," said Higgins-Cirovski. "It is truly an amazing honor, obviously as you move past your playing days and reflect on them, they seem to move further away. It is so nice of the committee to recognize my accomplishments. To think of all of the players that I watched, such as Bogicevic and other Hall of Famers ... to be joining them is such an honor."
* Higgins-Cirovski had a star-studded career at North Carolina. She helped the Tar Heels to four national championships (1986, '87, '88, and '89), scoring the game-winning goal in the final three titles. She posted an 89-0-6 record as a collegian and was named a two-time first team All-American in 1988 and '89. She was named national Player of the Year by Soccer America in 1988 and named consensus national player of the year in 1989. At the conclusion of her career at UNC, the playmaking midfielder had tallied 39 goals and 51 assists for 129 points in 94 matches.
* She was the second-ever female recipient of the prestigious Hermann Trophy Award as the nation's top Division I women's soccer player in 1989 and also captured the Honda Award as the top female athlete in the nation after that season. She was honored with the first-ever Mary Garber Award given to the ACC's top female athlete. She is one of nine women's soccer players to have her number (No. 3) retired at North Carolina. She graduated from Chapel Hill in 1990.
* Higgins-Cirovski played for the United States national team from 1987-91, as she helped the squad to the 1991 Women's World Cup title in China. Her free kick set up the first goal in the 2-1 championship victory over Norway in the '91 final. She retired from international play with 51 caps, second most of any player at that time.
* She was named to Soccer America's Team of the Century, as one of the top 11 players to have impacted women's soccer in the 20th century. She was also honored as one of the ACC's best players at the league's celebration in 1999.
* Higgins-Cirovski entered the coaching ranks in 1991 at George Washington University and led the Colonials for seven seasons. She led them to their only NCAA Tournament bid in 1996. She was named Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year in 1994. After coaching the United States U-18 team for a season, Higgins-Cirovski was hired as Maryland's women's head coach on Jan. 13, 1999. She joined her husband, Sasho, on the Maryland athletic staff, who has been the men's soccer coach since 1993.
Terps Kick Offense Into Gear
* Maryland's offense has kicked it into high gear this season. Through 12 games this season, the Terps have 28 goals this season in 11 games, (2.51 per game). That total is four more than the entire season total for all of 2001, when the Terps tallied 24 goals in 19 goals (1.26 per game). Maryland surpassed that 24-goal mark in the ninth game of this season in the 3-2 win over Duke on Sept. 27.
* The offense has been paced by freshman forward Ali Andrzejewski (Lutherville, Md.) who scored twice vs. George Washington on Sept. 22 for her second two-goal performance of the season. The striker has six goals and two assists for 14 points. Her six goals in 12 games are more than Maryland's leading scorer for all of last season, as Jen Biscoe (Baltimore, Md.) and Kim King (Media, Pa.) each had five goals for the 19-game campaign. In fact Andrzejewski passed that five-goal mark in the win over GW in the eighth game of the season.
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Maryland:
2002 Record: 7-4-0 (1-2-0 ACC)
2002 Rankings: Soccer Times (Votes)
Head Coach: Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (UNC '90)
Coach's Record: 105-92-14 (.531)/11th season
Coach's Record at UM: 36-33-3 (.521)/4th season
Ass't Coach: Kerry Dziczkaniec (George Washington '93)
Ass't Coach: Steve Campbell (Maryland '96)
Leading Scorer: Ali Andrzejewski (6 g,2 a, 14 pts.)
Virginia:
2002 Record: 6-3-2 (0-1-0 ACC)
2002 Rankings: Soccer Times (18th), S.Buzz (Votes)
Head Coach: Steve Swanson (Michigan State '94)
Coach's Record: 137-77-16 (.630)/13th season
Coach's Record at UVa: 34-15-5 (.676)/3rd season
Ass't Coach: Suzanne Eastman (Dartmouth '99)
Ass't Coach: Hershey Strosburg (SUNY Cortland '97)
Leading Scorer: Noelle Keselica (5 g, 3a, 13 pts.)
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* Juniors Katie Ludwig (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Audra Poulin (Silver Spring, Md.) have five and four goals, respectively, in 12 games -- which is more than each player scored all of last season. Ludwig had two goals in 2001, although she did play most of the year on defense and Poulin had three goals last season -- the first three of her career.
* The assists have also been coming at a fast rate with all of the goals. Junior Jenny Biscoe and freshman Kimmy Francis (Richboro, Pa.) lead the team with five assists in 12 games. For Biscoe, the five equals her total for all of last season. Earlier this season, she tied a school-record with a three-assist performance at Rutgers on Sept. 6. Francis has handed out five helpers , including the corner kick that led to the team's lone goal in the 1-0 win over William & Mary on Sept. 29. She also scored her first college goal vs. George Washington.
* Senior Kim King (Media, Pa.) has been an important cog off the bench as she has two goals and two assists for six points this season. She notched the game-winning goal on a penalty kick on the win over Duke, scoring in the 66th minute. Freshman Simone Dekker (Ringwood, N.J.) has been a great addition, as the speedy forward has played in all 11 games and posting four goals and nine points. Senior Dana Jarzyniecki (Rochester, N.Y.) continues to provide stability in the midfield in her fourth year. She has played in all 71 games since she came in College Park in 1999 and ranks tied for 11th in career assists with 11.
* The Terps' defense has been strong as well with freshman goalkeeper Mariel Wilner (Owings Mills, Md.) in the net. Wilner has a 1.65 goals against average and a .638 save percentage in her first collegiate season. Wilner picked up her first collegiate solo shutout with five saves against William & Mary. Junior goalkeeper Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.) has been a capable backup. She showed her worth when she came on in the 33rd minute against Duke, when Wilner was injured, and made five saves in preserving the Terps' critical ACC win for her first collegiate victory.
* Aiding the keepers on the backline is junior All-ACC selection Lindsay Givens (Downingtown, Pa.) along with sophomores Jennifer Lovecchio (Vineland, N.J.), Lindsay Niehaus (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshmen Mallory Mahar (Medina, Ohio) and Kristin McHugh (Gaithersburg, Md.). Mahar has been a force on set pieces recording three goals all on headers off corner kicks this season including the game-winner vs. William & Mary.
About The Cavaliers
* Mid-Atlantic regional rival Virginia is off to a 6-3-2 start this season. The ended a two-game winless streak in their last outing with a 2-1 win over UAB last Sunday. The Cavaliers dropped their only ACC match, 1-0 to Clemson on Sept. 28 and tied Richmond, 1-1 in its following game on Oct. 1. The Cavaliers have a very young team and are led in scoring by freshman and Gaithersburg native Noelle Keselica., who has five goals an three assists for 13 points. Alyssa Benitez also has five goals and totals 12 points. Junior goalkeeper Anne Abernethy has started all 11 games and has a 0.98 goals against average, giving up just 11 goals.
The Maryland-Virginia Series
* Virginia leads the all-time series with Maryland 17-1-2, dating back to the first match on Oct. 4, 1987 -- a 3-0 Cavalier win in Charlottesville.
* Virginia won the last meeting at Virginia, 1-0 on Oct. 5, 2001 as Lindsay Gusick scored in the 68th minute.
* The Terps took a 2-0 lead in the last game at Ludwig Field but lost late, 3-2 as Darci Borski scored with 7:15 left in regulation to lift the Cavaliers to the win on Oct. 6, 2000. Maryland busted out for the 2-0 lead on goals by Courtney Beirne and Carly Viher (Mentor, Ohio) in the first 31 minutes.
* Maryland won its first-ever game in the series against Virginia on Oct. 8, 1998 at Ludwig Field, as Keri Sarver's goal 5:36 into the first overtime lifted Maryland to a 3-2 win over the then-ranked No. 17 Cavaliers. Sarver also scored Maryland's first goal at 6:12 to tie the game at 1-1 after Virginia's Liz Botta scored just 4:41 into the match. Maryland's Emmy Harbo sent the game to overtime at 2-2 as she scored with 18:38 left in regulation off a pass from Sarver.
Terps Moving Up Assist Chart
* Three Terps are moving up the Maryland career assist chart. Lindsay Givens is tied for eighth all-time with 12 assists after picking up her first of the 2002 season on a throw-in to a Mallory Mahar goal against Notre Dame on Sept. 15.
* Dana Jarzyniecki (Rochester, N.Y.) has 11 in her career to stand tied for 11th all-time at Maryland. She added her 11th assist against George Washington.
* With her fast start this season Jenny Biscoe now has 10 career assists and is closing in on the top 12. Biscoe tied the school record for assists in a game with three at Rutgers. Jarzyniecki set the record originally vs. Howard on Oct. 11, 2000.
Viher, Harrison, Lawrence, Lovecchio On The Injury Report
* Three Terp defenders are still out with major injuries. Senior Valerie Lawrence is redshirting the 2002 season as she continues to recover from a torn ACL in her left knee. Junior captain Carly Viher is also out for the season after tearing the ACL in her left knee for the second time in just over a year on Sept. 17 in practice. She underwent surgery on Friday, Sept. 27. Junior Sally Harrison, who was granted a redshirt year in 2001 after playing just four games, is still working her way back from a dislocated knee cap suffered in an intrasquad scrimmage on Sept. 16, 2001.
* Sophomore Jennifer Lovecchio sat out the Penn State game with a mild concussion and is questionable for the match on Friday.
Media Information
* WMUC Radio: Maryland's student radio station WMUC (88.1 FM) will broadcast up to 11 Maryland women's soccer games in 2002. A pregame show will air approximately 30 minutes prior to kickoff. WMUC's broadcasts can be heard live on the Internet at wmucsports.com and will be linked to umterps.com. Josh Madden will handle play-by-play. He will be assisted by Mark Zaner and Ariel Agami.
* 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.
* 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.
The Shannon Higgins-Cirovski Show
* WMUCSports.com will air the Shannon Higgins-Cirovski show every other Thursday at 7 p.m. This week's show ran on Oct. 9 with guest Lindsay Givens. The first show ran on Sept. 12 with Higgins-Cirovski joined by junior Katie Ludwig. Senior Sarah McClellan was the guest on the second show which ran on Sept. 26 The shows are available on umterps.com and WMUCSports.com with hosts Josh Maurer , Josh Madden and Ariel Agami.
