Second-Ranked Terrapins Open Season In Omaha
8/27/2003 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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Aug. 27, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's soccer team travels to Omaha, Neb., to take place in the Diadora Challenge hosted by Creighton. The tournament features three nationally-ranked teams in Maryland (2nd), Creighton (8th) and Furman (15th), as well as upstart Butler. The Terrapins, ranked second in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll and first according to College Soccer News, return all 11 starters from last year's squad that made it to the College Cup before being eliminated by UCLA in the NCAA semifinals. Junior forward Abe Thompson returns as the team's top scorer and senior midfielder Sumed Ibrahim was a first-team All-American in 2002. Junior keeper Noah Palmer was 18th in the NCAA in goals against average in 2002 and senior middle-back Seth Stammler is the team captain and the anchor of one of the stingiest defenses in the nation.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
* Furman: The Paladins return eight starters from a team that advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament before being ousted by eventual NCAA runner-up Stanford. Furman has won five consecutive Southern Conference regular season titles and 12 of the last 13. Midfielder Clint Dempsey was a second-team All-American last year scoring six goals and adding six assists. Drew Moor was one of the top freshmen in the nation last season as a defender and midfielder earning the Southern Conference's Freshman of the Year award. Alex Maslow was outstanding in goal recording nine shutouts and 68 saves.
* Creighton: The Blue Jays played in the bracket opposite of Maryland in the 2002 College Cup. Creighton dropped a 2-1 decision to Stanford, 2-1, in the NCAA semifinals. Senior midfielder David Wagenfuhr is a two-time All-Midwest Region and All-Missouri Valley Conference player and serves as the team's catalyst and is recognized as one of the better left-footed players in the country. The Blue Jays lost top-scorer Mike Tranchilla to graduation but still have Julian Nash (8g, 8a, 24 pts.) and Damien Westfield (8g, 4a, 20 pts.) returning to the lineup. Creighton will be breaking in a new goaltender this year after losing Mike Gabb to graduation, but the Blue Jays have talent in the back in seniors Shane Havens and Matt Thomas that should take pressure of the keeper. In preseason action, Creighton defeated Hastings College, 4-1.
* Butler: The Bulldogs return 18 letterwinners from 2002 but are without top-scorers Nick Pantazi and Michael Mariscalco. and goalie Grant Barrie. The team will look to midfielder Thulio Goncalves and defender Blaise Hilgenbrinck, second-team all-league selections, to help them get back to the NCAA Tournament. The offensive burden will likely fall to Scott Olsen (a member of the Horizon All-Rookie Team), Chance Ernst or Andy Pancino. The Bulldogs have more experience in the back with fifth-year senior Scott Beer and keeper Evan Reinhardt. Reinhardt, a transfer from Indiana, played sparingly last season seeing action in just four games, but still posted 26 saves and a 0.81 GAA.
FOR STARTERS... Maryland is 33-21-0 in season openers and has won its last three. Head coach Sasho Cirovski is 6-4-0 in openers in his 10 seasons at Maryland. The Terrapins are 4-1-0 in the month of August.
BREAKING NEW GROUND The first regular season game at the new Creighton Stadium will be played by Maryland and Furman. The field is synthetic grass, much like the new practice turf used by the Terrapin football team.
FAMILIAR FACES Maryland's starting lineup from the 2002 College Cup returns intact, as well as 12 reserves from last season. The Terrapins lost just one player from last season and added freshman goaltender Keegan Riseling to round out the roster.
MARYLAND ACC PRESEASON FAVORITE Maryland, the 2002 ACC Champions, has been selected as the favorite for the upcoming 2003 ACC Men's Soccer season, as determined by a vote of the league's seven head coaches. The Terrapins finished the 2002 campaign with a 20-5 overall record, including a 4-2 league mark and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup. Heading into 2003, Maryland collected 48 points in the pre-season balloting, edging out defending ACC regular-season champion Wake Forest, who finished second in the poll with 40 points.
The Demon Deacons finished the regular-season with a 4-0-2 league record and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship. Finishing third in the poll was Virginia with 30 points. The Cavaliers advanced to the finals of the 2002 ACC Championship and made their 22nd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship. Completing the pre-season poll in order of finish is North Carolina (28), Clemson (26), Duke (17) and NC State (7).
Considered by many to be one of the top soccer conferences in the nation, ACC schools have won 10 national championships in men's soccer over the last 19 years.
LAST TIME OUT VS. D.C. UNITED (EXH.) D.C. United scored two goals in the first 10 minutes to take a 2-0 decision over Maryland's men's soccer team in an exhibition contest Wednesday night at Ludwig Field. Over 2,700 fans attended the contest at the renovated stadium, which has added seating behind both goals and signage around the perimeter of the field, making it the fifth-largest crowd to watch a Maryland game.
"It was a great night because after a week of training we were able to see a couple of areas that we need to get better at," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "We moved the ball well, better than we did last year against them, and we had some good possessions and quality play.
"The crowd tonight was amazing," Cirovski continued. "It's a tribute to the direction our program is headed, and the class that D.C. United showed to come out and put on a great show. I thought it was a match with a great spirit to it."
Earnie Stewart led off the scoring in the fourth minute of action when he finished a header off a corner kick by Marco Etcheverry that found the foot of Ryan Nelson before Stewart put the ball in the back of the net. Just over four minutes later, Jose Alegria sent a ball deep over the Maryland defense and found former Virginia standout Alecko Eskandarian on a breakaway for the score.
D.C. United held a slim advantage in total shots, 16-14. Nino Marcantonio put two shots on goal in Maryland's best scoring opportunities.
TOP-RANKED TERRAPINS After a run at the national title in 2002, College Soccer News believes that Maryland is the team to beat in 2003. The publication ranked Maryland ahead of UCLA, St. John's and ACC rival Wake Forest. It is the first time under head coach Sasho Cirovski that the Terps have earned top-billing in a preseason poll. In the NSCAA/adidas Coaches' Poll and in the Soccer America Preseason Poll, Maryland is ranked second behind the Bruins.
LOADED SCHEDULE A look at the Terrapin schedule is a "Who's Who" among the nation's elite. In addition to taking on the defending NCAA champions in UCLA, 13 other opponents on Maryland's schedule participated in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Further, eight Terp opponents are ranked among the nation's top 25 in the preseason NSCAA/adidas Coaches' Poll. Head coach Sasho Cirovski believes that his team's schedule among the toughest ever compiled in recent history.
"I want to make sure we find some weaknesses in our team during the season, and the only way we can do that is to play really good teams that can expose you," Cirovski says. "Then we use those moments to educate our team and get them to correct those things, so we are playing our best soccer in November and December."
THOMPSON, SUMED ON WATCH LIST Junior forward Abe Thompson and senior midfielder Sumed Ibrahim were recently named to the Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Award watch list for the upcoming season. Thompson was the team's leading scorer in 2002 with 36 points (14 g, 8 a), while Sumed was a dominant force for the Terrapins in the midfield and scored 22 points (8 g, 6 a).
RUN FOR THE RECORDS Several players are close to making their mark on some Terrapin career records. Thompson's next goal will tie him for 10th with Tyler Twellman on the career goals list and he needs just five more points to crack the top 10 in career points. Sumed Ibrahim and Scott Buete have 21 career assists, which is good for fourth all-time. If Sumed is able to register 15 points in his senior season, he will earn a spot in Maryland's top 10 for career points.
STAMMLER NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN Senior defender Seth Stammler is the team's lone captain for 2003. Stammler, a native of Gahanna, Ohio, was a second team All-ACC selection in 2002, as well as earning All-ACC Tournament honors. This will be the second season that Stammler has served as captain.
HOME SWEET HOME The Terps completed their first-ever perfect home record in 2002, compiling a 10-0-0 record. Maryland went on to win three more games at Ludwig Field in the NCAA Tournament as it advanced to the College Cup. Overall, head coach Sasho Cirovski's teams are an impressive 65-25-4 at Ludwig since the facility opened in 1995. For this season, Ludwig has a dramatic new look with bleachers behind each goal and a signs that extend around the perimeter of the field to give it a true soccer stadium feel. The Terrapins will have home-field advantage in 12 games this season.
TERPS ON THE TUBE Three Maryland Terrapin men's soccer games will be televised on CN8/Comcast Sports Net this season. The Terps' Sept. 5 showdown with defending NCAA champion UCLA, the Oct. 12 meeting with UConn and the Oct. 31 battle against Virginia on Halloween will all be featured on TV.
2002 HIGHLIGHTS
* Terps Advance To College Cup -- Maryland's men's soccer team made its second appearance in the NCAA semifinals under head coach Sasho Cirovski. The Terps have been to the NCAA Tournament eight of the last nine years.
* ACC Champs! -- With a 3-0 win over Virginia, the Terrapins claimed their second ACC Tournament title in school history. Maryland's other title came in 1996.
* All-Everythings -- The Terrapins collected numerous honors during the course of the season, including first team NSCAA/adidas All-America selection Sumed Ibrahim and third-team pick Scott Buete. Sumed became the first Terp since 1999 to be named to the All-ACC first team in consecutive seasons and was named to the All-College Cup Team. Buete, Seth Stammler and Abe Thompson were named to the conference's second team, the most players Maryland has put on the second team since 1997.
In recognition of their outstanding play at the ACC Tournament, Noah Palmer, Nino Marcantonio, Domenic Mediate and Stammler were named to the All-Tournament Team. Thompson was cited as the tournament MVP.
* 20-Something -- Maryland's 20 wins were the most in school history, surpassing the previous best of 16 accompished in 1997 and 1998.
* Plenty of "O" ... -- Buoyed by Abe Thompson's offensive prowess, Maryland netted 60 goals last season, one shy of the team record. Thompson led the team with 14 goals (10th-best in a season) and recorded 36 points (tied for seventh-best in a season). Domenic Mediate surged late in the season and chipped in 31 points on 13 goals and five assists. Nino Marcantonio's dished out nine assists, giving him the eighth-best total in school history for a single season.
* ... Plenty of "D" -- Noah Palmer didn't let much get by, but neither did the defenders in front of him. Palmer ended the season with a 0.80 GAA, good for 18th-best in the NCAA. Palmer recorded 11 shutouts in 2002, one shy of the Maryland single-season mark, notching five of those shutouts in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Palmer's defensive line of Seth Stammler, Kenney Bertz, Clarence Goodson and Chris Lancos surrendered an average of 4.43 shots on goals per game during that seven-game stretch.
*Cirovski Gets 150 -- With a 1-0 win over Bucknell on November 6, head coach Sasho Cirovski recorded his 150th career victory. Cirovski's career total stands at 157-87-15 and his record at Maryland is 131-75-9.
DON'T MISS A GOAL! To receive up-to-date information on Maryland men's soccer, e-mail Adam Zundell at azundell@umd.edu to be put on the e-mail distribution list. Please put "Men's Soccer Info" in the subject line.
