Terps Aim For Third Win In Row In Crucial ACC Match At Clemson
10/17/2002 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 17, 2002
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MARYLAND (9-5-0, 2-2-0) at CLEMSON (9-5-0, 3-2-0)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2002 * 1:00 p.m.
RIGGS FIELD (6,500/Grass), CLEMSON, S.C.
Terps Aim For Third Win In Row In Crucial ACC match At Clemson
* Coming off a back-to-back shutouts, the Maryland women's soccer team travels to Clemson, S.C., to take on the Tigers this Sunday at Riggs Field. The Terps behind junior goalkeeper Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.) have blanked conference rival Virginia, 2-0, and regional foe George Mason, 3-0, in their last two matches. For Barnhill, the shutouts have come in her first two college starts, marking the first time in eight years that a Maryland keeper had shutouts in her first two starts. In September of 1995, freshman Kassie Knecht shut out William & Mary and Old Dominion in back-to -back games making three saves in each of her forst two college starts.
* Sunday's game is a huge conference match as both teams are fighting for position at the ACC Tournament which will be held at Florida State in three weeks. The Terps come into the game with a 9-5 overall record and 2-2 ACC record while Clemson is also 9-5 (3-2 in the ACC) coming off a 2-1 win over No. 15 Wake Forest on Thursday night at Riggs Field.
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Maryland
2002 Record: 9-5-0 (2-2-0 ACC) 2002 Rankings: NSCAA (Votes), Soccer Times (Votes) Head Coach: Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (UNC '90) Coach's Record: 107-92-14 (.535)/11th season Coach's Record at UM: 38-33-3 (.534)/4th season Ass't Coach: Kerry Dziczkaniec (George Washington '93) Ass't Coach: Steve Campbell (Maryland '96) Leading Scorer: Audra Poulin (7 g, 3 a. 17 pts.)
Clemson
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* Maryland and Clemson have a history of playing tight games including last season's game at Ludwig Field when Audra Poulin (Silver Spring, Md.) netted her first career goal for a dramatic upset victory for the Terps.
* Last season, on Oct. 13, 2001, Maryland downed the then-No. 8 Tigers, 1-0 as Poulin scored in the 111th minute of double overtime off a pass from Jen Biscoe (Baltimore, Md.) and beat keeper Katie Carson. Clemson won the last game at Riggs Field, 1-0, on Oct. 13, 2000. The Terps also pulled off a dramatic upset of the Tigers two years ago, when current New York Power midfielder Emily Janss scored in overtime to lift Maryland to a 2-1 overtime win over the then-No. 9 Tigers.
* The last four regular-season games between the teams have all be one-goal affairs.
* Clemson leads the all-time series, 6-5, but the teams have split the last six games.
* Each team has never lost on its home field, with Clemson picking up five wins in the games at Riggs Field.
Maryland Kicks Offense into High Gear
* Maryland offense has continued its high-scoring pace this season with a 33 goals in 14 matches for a 2.36 goals per game average. That total is nine 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 attack has been led by Audra Poulin, Ali Andrzejewski (Lutherville, Md.) and Katie Ludwig (Mount Laurel, N.J.). Both Poulin and Andrzejewski lead the team with seven goals. Poulin, who leads the team with 17 points, has scored three in the last two games including her first multi-goal game against George Mason on Oct. 16, with two goals in the first 16 minutes. Andrzejewski also has seven goals after netted the final tally against Mason on Oct. 16. She has 16 points on the season having added a pair of assists. Ludwig has five goals and three assists for 13 points to rank third on the team. For Poulin and Ludwig, 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 six assists in 14 games as each picked up a helper in the win over Mason. For Biscoe, the six passes 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 six 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.
On the Defensive Side
* Junior goalkeeper Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.) has been strong in her two starts in the last pair of games posting shutouts over Virginia and George Mason. 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. 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. She followed that up with two saves vs. the Patriots.
* The Terps' defense has been strong as well with freshman goalkeeper Mariel Wilner (Owings Mills, Md.) in the net for the first 12 starts of the season. 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.
* Aiding the keepers on the backline is junior All-ACC selection Lindsay Givens (Downingtown, Pa.) along with junior Katie Kruse (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), sophomore Lindsay Niehaus (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshmen Mallory Mahar (Medina, Ohio) and Kristin McHugh (Gaithersburg, Md.). Mahar, who has also moved up to midfield in the last few games, 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. Jennifer Lovecchio (Vineland, N.J.) got back into action against Mason, playing 27 minutes after sitting out two games with a mild concussion.
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.
Losses To Top Teams
* 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).
Terps Moving Up Assist Chart
* Three Terps are moving up the Maryland career assist chart. Lindsay Givens is tied for seventh all-time with 13 assists after picking up her second of the 2002 season on a corner kick that led to Ali Andrzejewski's goal vs. George Mason.
* 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 on Sept. 22.
* With her fast start this season Jenny Biscoe now has 11 career assists and is closing in on the top 10. 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. Biscoe pickd up her sixth assist in the win over George Mason.
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. But played 27 minutes vs. George Mason.
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. 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.
