Terps Face Regional Rival George Mason; Travel to ACC Foe Clemson
10/15/2002 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 15, 2002
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GEORGE MASON (5-8-0) at MARYLAND (8-5-0)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2002 * 7:00 p.m.
LUDWIG FIELD (4,000/Grass), COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Live Audio: wmucsports.com link off umterps.com
MARYLAND (8-5-0, 2-2-0) at CLEMSON (8-5-0, 2-2-0)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2002 * 1:00 p.m.
RIGGS FIELD (6,500/Grass), CLEMSON, S.C.
Terps Face Regional Rival Geo.Mason; Travel to ACC Foe Clemson
* The Maryland women's soccer looks to continue with the momentum it picked up in a big regional and ACC win over rival Virginia last Friday, as the Terps take on Mid-Atlantic region opponent George Mason on Wednesday and conference foe Clemson on Sunday. The Terps (8-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 ACC) host George Mason on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field. Then the team will travel to Clemson S.C., to face the Tigers on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Riggs Field.
* The Terps picked up their second-ever win over Virginia and the first shutout over the Cavaliers in program history, last Friday night at Ludwig Field. Maryland sent head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski off to her National Soccer Hall of Fame induction with a solid 2-0 victory over the Cavs. The defense, led by junior captain Lindsay Givens (Downingtown, Pa.) and junior Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.), held Virginia to just six shots. For Barnhill, the victory came in her first career start in goal as she beat her hometown team by making three saves. On offense, the Terps got goals from senior Kim King (Media, Pa.) and Audra Poulin (Silver Spring, Md.) to secure the win.
Higgins-Cirovski Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
* The ranks of the National Soccer Hall of Fame formally grew by three with induction ceremonies on Monday, October 14. Maryland head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, a midfielder for the United States team which won the first women's world championships as well as four University of North Carolina NCAA championship teams was joined by Adolph Bachmeier, a defender and defensive midfielder from the 1950s and 1960s; Vladislav (Bogie) Bogicevic, a star midfielder for the North American Soccer League Cosmos from 1978-84 as the class of 2002.
* 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.
The Losses Aren't So Bad
* Each of the Terps defeats this season has come to a team ranked in this week's NSCAA Top 25. Maryland, which is aiming to return to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in eight years faces one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. The Terps five losses have come to this week's No. 9 Penn State (1-0 on Oct. 8), No. 10 Connecticut (3-1 on Sept. 1), No. 15 Wake Forest (3-1 on Sept. 20), No. 20 NC State (2-1 on Oct. 4) and No. 23 Notre Dame (5-2 on Sept. 15).
A Look At The Terps
* Maryland's offense has kicked it into high gear this season. Through 13 games this season, the Terps have 30 goals this season, (2.31 per game). That total is six 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 13 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.
* Juniors Katie Ludwig (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Audra Poulin (Silver Spring, Md.) each have five goals and three assists to 13 points to rank second on the team in both goals and total points.Both of the goal totals are more than each player had scored in 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 13 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 three goals and two assists for eight points this season. She notched the game-winning goal on a penalty kick on the win over Duke, scoring in the 66th minute and the game-winner in the 43rd minute against Virginia on Oct. 11. Freshman Simone Dekker (Ringwood, N.J.) has been a great addition, as the speedy forward has played in all 13 games and posting four goals and 10 points. Senior Dana Jarzyniecki (Rochester, N.Y.) continues to provide stability in the midfield in her fourth year. She has played in all 73 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 has come up big in her two major playing opportunities this season. First, 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. Then on Oct. 11, Barnhill drew her first start after Wilner was issued a red card at Penn State and was forced to sit out the Virginia, and Barnhill made three saves in posting her first solo shutout.
* 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 Patriots
* Mid-Atlantic regional rival George Mason is off to a 5-8-0 start this season. They are riding a two-game winning streak with wins over Towson (1-0) last Friday and a 2-1 overtime victory over Delaware on Sunday. The Patriots are led by senior forward Katy Robertson, who has four goals and three assists for 11 points.Katy McGee and Caroline Kent also have four goals also. Senior keeper Naomi Hines has started 10 games and has a 1.60 goals against average.
The Maryland-George Mason Series
* Maryland holds an 7-5-1 series lead against George Mason, dating back to the first meeting in 1987. Maryland has 6-0-1 record in the last seven regular-season games, outscoring the Patriots 17-3 in those seven games. The Terps have shutout the Patriots in five of the six wins.
* Last season, the Patriots and Terps played to a 1-1 tie in Fairfax, Va., on Sept. 26. Jen Biscoe scored her first goal of the season as Maryland came back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the game. George Mason got on the board early in the first period as junior midfielder Kerri Beck scored from five yards out in the seventh minute after receiving a tip pass from senior defender Erika Webster .
* George Mason's last win came in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, when the Patriots upset the Terps, 2-1 in College Park.
* In the last game at Ludwig Field, 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.
* Three seasons ago, 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.
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 and Virginia games with a mild concussion.
Taking On The Tough Teams
* The Terps have of the toughest schedules in the nation, having faced three teams ranked in the top 11 already this season. Against Duke, Maryland picked up its 32nd all-time win against a team ranked in the NSCAA Top 25, beating the No. 22 Blue Devils, 3-2 on Sept. 27. Last season, Maryland defeated No. 17 Duke, 2-0 on Sept. 2 and No. 8 Clemson, 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 13.
* During each of Shannon Higgins-Cirovski's seasons at Maryland, she has led the Terps to at least one upset of a top-10 ranked team, leading Maryland to a 4-3 win at No. 9 Duke on Sept. 19, 1999 and a 2-1 victory over Clemson on Oct. 17, 1999; a 3-1 win over No. 4 Penn State on Aug. 29, 2000 and a 1-0 overtime over No. 8 Clemson, last season on Oct. 13.
* Maryland takes on 12 teams that played in last season's Women's College Cup including three teams that advanced to the NCAA national quarterfinals including runner-up North Carolina. In addition to the Tar Heels, Maryland will also take on 2001 NCAA qualifiers (Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Loyola, Notre Dame, Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia, Wake Forest and William & Mary). Of those 12 teams, eight were ranked in the top 20 of the final NSCAA poll.
* In taking on preseason No. 9 UConn in the second game of the season, Maryland got a quick taste of what much of its season will be like -- games against top ranked teams. Once again, Higgins-Cirovski has scheduled one of the nation's competitive schedules. The Terps take on eight teams in the preseason NSCAA poll including five in the top nine. The Terps face No. 2 North Carolina (Nov. 1), No. 6 Virginia (W, 2-0 on Oct. 4), No. 7 Notre Dame (L, 5-2 on Sept. 15), No. 8 Penn State (L, 1-0 on Oct. 8), No. 9 Connecticut (L, 3-1 on Sept. 1), No. 14 Clemson (Oct. 20), No. 17 Florida State (Oct. 25) and No. 19 Rutgers (W, 5-2 on Sept. 6).
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. Last 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.
