Sept. 7, 2002

New Jersey natives Katie Ludwig (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Jennifer Lovecchio (Vineland, N.J.) returned to their home state on Friday night and helped the Terps to a decisive 5-2 victory over host Rutgers. The game was an emotional and important one for the players, here are their thoughts in this edition of What's Up With Women's Soccer.

Coming into this game we had mixed emotions. We were both excited and anxious to play in our home state. In all honesty we were extremely nervous. We had old coaches, old teammates, and many family members at the game. Despite the odds against us in the rankings, we had an overall great feeling about this game.

We knew we were the better team, we just had to prove it ..... and that we did. We came out hard from the first whistle and with the exception of the first ten minutes of the second half, we controlled the game.

Before the game we knew we had to shut down two key players. Both Carli Lloyd and Erica Schubert, New Jersey natives, whom we have played with for many years, run the Rutgers offense. It is strange to see them playing on the opposite team but it's a great feeling to be on the team that came out on top.

It is also ironic that two and a half years ago we almost went to Rutgers together. Everyone always says, "Things happen for a reason." In this case, they were right and we have never been happier about the decision we made.

Best of all, its exciting to come back to New Jersey, win a big regional match up, and show them that us "Jersey girls" are in good hands as TERPS!!!