Aug. 25, 2003

RICHMOND - The No. 23 Maryland women's soccer team played to a 2-2 tie at Richmond on Monday night. The tune-up was the lone preseason game on the Terps' schedule before they head to the University of Washington for the Arena Sports Pac-10/ACC Challenge this weekend.

"I was very pleased we were able to play everyone for quality minutes," said head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski. "It was a quality preseason match for us and will help us prepare for the regular season which starts this weekend. They challenged us in good ways and I was happy with the character we showed at the end of the game."

Sophomore Ali Andrzejewski (Lutherville, Md.) opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game as she scored off a pass from senior captain Jen Biscoe (Baltimore, Md.). Richmond tied the game in the 28th minute and the teams went to halftime deadlocked at 1-1.

The Spiders took a 2-1 lead 20 minutes into the second half. But Maryland was resilient as senior Audra Poulin (Silver Spring, Md.) scored off a rebound from an Andrzejewski shot with about four minutes left in regulation.

Maryland outshot the Spiders, 14-8 in the game that ended in a tie. The teams took penalty kicks to simulate pressure situations after the game and the Terps outscored the Spiders, 8-7 in PK's.

Higgins-Cirovski cited several players for having outstanding games including Andrzejewski and defender Kristin McHugh (Gaithersburg, Md.). Freshman defender Ashly Kennedy (Edgewater, Md.) made a strong collegiate debut according to Higgins-Cirovski.

Sophomore Mallory Mahar (Medina, Ohio), the 2002 Soccer Buzz Mid-Atlantic Freshman of the Year, came off the bench and contributed in her return from off-season surgery to repair a torn ACL.

"It was great to get Mallory some minutes to help build her confidence as she continues to make her comeback," said the coach.

On the injury front, it was learned on Monday that junior Melissa Anderson (Annapolis, Md.) was lost for the 2003 season with a torn right ACL suffered during training last week.

In nets, senior Kristen Barnhill (Charlottesville, Va.) played the first half and was relieved by sophomore Mariel Wilner (Owings Mills, Md.) who played the first 35 minutes of the second half before giving way to freshman Anna Sheveland (Farmers Branch, Texas), who finished out the game.

The Terps open the regular season this Friday as they play the host Huskies in the Arena Sports Pac-10/ACC Challenge in Seattle at 7:30 p.m. PT. Check umterps.com for the latest updates on the trip to the Great Northwest.