No. 6 Maryland Hosts ACC Showdown With No. 20 Blue Devils
9/19/2002 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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GAME 8 Sunday, Sept. 22 No. 6 Terps (6-1, 1-0 ACC) VS. Duke (4-1-1, 1-0 ACC) ~ 2 p.m. AT Ludwig Field (4,000) College Park, Md.Maryland's Next Game: Wednesday, Sept. 25 No. 6 Terps vs. Manhattan ~ 7 p.m. AT Ludwig Field (4,000) College Park, Md.
No. 6 Maryland (6-1-0, 1-0 ACC) hosts No. 20 Duke (4-1-1, 1-0 ACC) on Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. on Ludwig Field. The Terps are in the middle of a three-game homestand and welcome Manhattan to town on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m to finish the home stint before traveling to Wake Forest for a Sept. 27 match-up.
Getting Things Started
The No. 6 Terps 6-1 start is the team's best start since the 1999 season when Maryland held the same record heading into the Duke game. The then-No. 1 Terps lost a 3-0 decision in Durham for only their second loss of that season on Sept. 25. Should the Terps beat the Blue Devils this time around, it would be their best start since 1968 when the team captured a share of the NCAA championship. Maryland finished the 1968 season undefeated at 14-0-1. The Terps' only tie came in the championship game, a 2-2 deadlock with Michigan State to split the crown that year.
All-Time Series vs. the Blue Devils
The series with Duke is one of the oldest in Maryland's history and dates back to 1949. Maryland holds the edge in the series 36-17-3, despite dropping the last four decisions to the Blue Devils. Last year, Duke handed Maryland a 1-0 loss on the road in the ACC opener for both schools. The last time Maryland beat Duke was in 1998, a 3-2 overtime win at Maryland.
Current Terps vs. Duke
Abe Thompson (Fairfax Station, Va.) is also the only current Terp who has scored a goal against Duke. Sophomore Bryan Vitagliano (Scottsdale, Ariz.) provided the assist with Terp alum Jason Sardis (1997-00) in 2000's ACC Tournament game.
Terps Move Up to No. 6
The University of Maryland men's soccer team climbed to No. 6 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll this week after spending the weekof Sept. 9 in the 10-spot. Six of the Terps' opponents this season are ranked in the current poll, including No. 20 Duke, who Maryland hosts on Sunday.
Maryland was also ranked 10th in the NSCAA preseason poll, but fell out of the rankings after a one-goal loss to then-No. 20 Kentucky at the Virginia Soccer Classic during week one of the season.
UM vs. Ranked Opponents
The then-No. 10 Terps' meeting with No. 8 Loyola was the second time this season Maryland has met an opponent ranked in the NSCAA Top 25. The first time then-No. 20 Kentucky upset the Terps 2-1 at the Virginia Soccer Classic when Maryland was ranked No. 10. On Sept. 11, the Terrapins earned a commanding 3-1 win over then-No. 8 Loyola, also when Maryland was ranked No. 10.
Wake Forest Game Moved
The No. 6 Maryland men's soccer game originally schedule for Saturday, Sept. 28, at Wake Forest has been moved to Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. The game will still be played in Winston-Salem, N.C. at Spry Stadium.
Terps Climbing All-Time Assists List
Two current juniors are climbing Maryland's chart for career assists. Sumed Ibrahim (Tamale, Ghana), paced by a 13-assist season last year, is tied for No. 5 all-time with Randy Merkel (1996-98), while tri-captain Scott Buete (Bowie, Md.) is tied for No. 7 with Taylor Twellman (1998-99) and Steve Armas (1995-98). All three have 17 career assists. Classmate A.J. Herrera (Albuquerque, N.M.) is making a run at adding his name, as well, and currently has 14 career assists.
Maryland Career Assists Chart 1. 35 Keith Beach (1995-98) 2. 32 Eberhard Klein (1962-64) 3. 22 Jason Sardis (1997-2000) 4. 21 Shane Dougherty (1993-94) 5. 19 Sumed Ibrahim (1999-Pres.) 19 Randy Merkel (1996-98) 6. 18 Jason Cropley (1996-99) 7. 17 Scott Buete (1999-Pres.) 17 Taylor Twellman (1998-99) 17 Steve Armas (1995-98)
Maryland is Tops in this Week's Regional Rankings
Maryland has moved to the top of the South Atlantic Region's rankings after downing Loyola, last week's top team in the region, and NC State last week to raise its record to 5-1. Maryland is followed in the top eight by, in rank order, American, Virginia, Loyola, George Mason, VCU, James Madison, and Navy.
Cirovski Celebrates 10th Anniversary
The 2002 season marks the 10th year that head coach Sasho Cirovski has guided the Terrapin men's soccer program. The Terps' bench boss has piloted the program to a 117-71-9 record during his 10 years in College Park. Cirovski, a 1986 graduate of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is entering his 12th year overall and has a 145-83-15 career record.
Under Cirovski, the Terrapins have over 100 wins, a 1998 appearance in the national semifinals, and eight NCAA appearances. Maryland won the 1996 ACC Championship and has had numerous Terrapins sign professional contracts in the United States and abroad.
Honest Abe
Maryland's Abe Thompson is continuing what he started his freshman year when he led the Terrapins in scoring with 31 points. Through seven games, Thompson has six goals and three assists to lead the Terps in 2002.
The redshirt-sophomore has netted the game-winner in the Terps' past two games, both on penalty kicks.
Thompson picked up Maryland/FILA Classic all-tournament honors after netting two goals and adding an assist against Virginia Commonwealth. Thompson was also named Maryland Student-Athlete of the Week for his game-winner against NC State.
Super Sumed
No one's found the answer yet for the Terp Sumed Ibrahim, who started the 2002 season with a bang and is second on UM's scoring chart behind Abe Thompson. At the Virginia Soccer Classic, Sumed scored seven points in the first half of the Rhode Island game off two goals and three assists, a single-game record at the Virginia Soccer Classic. His performance helped lift the Terps to a 8-0 victory and grabbed Sumed all-tournament honors.
The dynamite midfielder picked-up more hardware at the Maryland/FILA Classic when he earned Offensive MVP and all tournament team honors. In the Terrapins' 2-1 victory over the Nittany Lions, Sumed scored the game-winning goal in the 36th minute of play.Against Virginia Commonwealth, his assist came on the Terps' first goal of the day to set the offensive pace in the second half. The 2-0 weekend earned the Terps the tourney title for the first time in Maryland/FILA Classic's three-year history.
His Maryland/FILA Classic performance also earned him ACC Player of the Week and Soccer America Team of the Week honors.
Against Loyola, Sumed netted his third game-winning goal of the season and now has 12 points after seven games. His four assists are tops for Maryland in that category. Last season, Sumed was Maryland's top scorer with 31 points on nine goals and 13 assists.
The Sasho Cirovski Coach's Show
Maryland's head men's soccer coach Sasho Cirovski debuted "The Sasho Cirovski Show" on Friday, Sept. 13, on www.wmucsports.com. The chat show will air at 6 p.m. every other Friday throughout the 2002 season on WMUC's Internet station. Every show in the series will feature a different Terps' player.
Missed the first installment? Each show will be archived on www.wmucsports.com under the following link:
http://www.wmucsports.com/coaches_arch.html
The tentative schedule for the show this season is as follows:
Sasho Cirovski Coach's Show Schedule Sept. 27 6 p.m. Oct. 4 6 p.m. Oct. 11 6 p.m. Nov. 1 6 p.m. Nov. 8 6 p.m. Postseason Schedule to Come
