Sept. 19, 2003

College Park, Md. -

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The No.1 Maryland men's soccer team will try to continue its best start in 35 years with an ACC matchup at Duke. The Terps enter the contest a perfect 6-0 while the Blue Devils come into Sunday's match with a record of 2-3-1.

The Terps are back in action after Thursday's contest with Virginia Commonwealth was cancelled due to the impending weather caused by Hurrican Isabel. The Blue Devils opened eyes after winning their first four matches of the season, including a win over Connecticut, but have since been on the short end of tough games against William & Mary and Clemson. Duke played to a 1-1 draw against Campbell its last time out.

Maryland will attempt to pick up its first road win of the season, as the Terrapins other victories away from Ludwig Field have been at neutral sites. However, the Terps have not won in Durham since 1997.

The game cane be listened to by logging on to www.wmucsports.com. Livestats will be available on www.goduke.com.

GAME NOTES

About The Blue Devils
The top two Blue Devil scorers from a year ago, senior Jordan Cila and junior Owoicho Adogwa, return for Duke in 2003. An All-ACC selection as a freshman and sophomore, Cila has 27 career goals and 27 assists over the last three years. He led Duke with 22 points (six goals, 10 assists) last season. Adogwa led the Blue Devils with eight goals and was second with 19 points last year.

Junior goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge also returns after starting all 20 matches as a sophomore in 2002. Trowbridge registered a 1.50 goals against average and three shutouts in his first year as a starter. He will be behind a back line that lost five members from a year ago, but still has senior Matt Ahumada and junior Matt White.

Duke got off to a 2-0 start before hitting a tough stretch, dropping three straight and tying one in its last four contests. All three of the Blue Devils' losses came by just one goal.

Blue Devil head coach John Rennie enters his 25th year at the helm of the men's soccer program. He is fifth among active coaches with 391 career victories. He was at the helm for Duke's NCAA championship in 1986.

Last Time VS. Duke
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- - A balanced scoring attack, including the gamewinner from Sumed Ibrahim, gave the No. 6 Maryland (8-1, 2-0 ACC) men's soccer team a 3-0 win over No. 20 Duke (4-2-1, 1-1 ACC). The Terps' overall record, now 7-1, is Maryland's best start since 1968 when they captured a share of the NCAA championship in a 14-0-1 campaign.

In the 20th minute, Duke's Robert Antoniou fouled Erwin Diaz to cause a free kick. Redshirt-sophomore Abe Thompson lined-up for the strike, and found a soaring Sumed Ibrahim in the box for the header. Maryland's one-two punch connected for their fourth combination of the year and made it a 1-0 Terps' lead. Duke was held without a shot in the first half with the Terps taking three shots.

Maryland scored its second goal of the game early, another header, this one by Diaz in the 58th minute. The goal, his fourth of the year, made the score Maryland 2, Duke 0.

Terps' keeper Noah Palmer preserved the shutout in the 64th minute by denying a hard shot from the right side by Duke's Ryan Kerlew. The diving saved helped clinch Palmer's third shutout of the year.

The scoring continued for the Terps, who are averaging over three goals per game, when a Michael Dello-Russo corner kick was bounced around the box and settled at Clarence Goodson's feet. Goodson sent the high cross into the box and found freshman defender Chris Lancos for the Terps' third header of the day. The 3-0 score would stick, giving the Terps' their best start in 34 years.

Last Time Out vs. NC State
The No.1 Maryland men's soccer team got off to its best start in over 35 years with a 1-0 win over NC State (2-3, 0-1) afternoon at Ludwig Field. The Terps 6-0 start is the best since 1968 when Maryland shared the NCAA title. Maryland is also 1-0 in the ACC.

Soggy conditions and some great play from NC State's Jorge Gonzalez neutralized Maryland's attack somewhat. Maryland put pressure on Gonzalez and the Wolfpack defense right from the beginning of the match. The Terps had a flurry off opportunities in the 10th minute, but a save by Gonzalez and one other shot kicked away by a Wolfpack defender denied Maryland from getting on the board.

After 20 minutes without a shot, Maryland finally got on the board in the 34th minute when Jason Garey was pulled down by Chris Catlett in the box after a strong run for the ball and a penalty kick was awarded to the Terps. A.J. Herrera put the ball in the lower right part of the net that proved to be the difference in the contest.

As has been the case all season, the Maryland back line of Chris Lancos, Clarence Goodson, Seth Stammler and Kenney Bertz, in addition to Scott Buete out of the midfield, smothered the NC State attack and allowed just seven shots on the afternoon. The Wolfpack's Chris Wheaton forced Noah Palmer to make a save in the 86th minute for the team's lone shot on goal. The Terps have registered shutouts in five of their six victories this season.

The Terps possessed the ball and dominated control of the game outshooting the Wolfpack 22-7. NC State settled for mostly long-range shots and could not penetrate the Maryland defense for good looks at the goal.

"I think you have to win some ugly games like this," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "It can't be pretty all the time. We were a little out of our rhythm and their keeper made some great saves on some point-blank shots. It was not our best performance, but I didn't think we were really ever threatened, either."

Top-Ranked Terrapins
By virtue of its win over No.1 UCLA, Maryland is the consensus No.1 team in the nation. This marks the first time in the program's history that the team has been ranked No.1 by the NSCAA. In addition to the NSCAA poll, the Terps are ranked first by Soccer America, Soccer Times and College Soccer News.

Maryland returned all 11 starters from its College Cup team a year ago, making it one of the favorites for the title this season.

Awesome A.J.
Senior midfielder/forward A.J. Herrera is having an offensive resurgence so far in his 2003 campaign. Herrera scored just one goal and one assist in all of 2002, but has scored two goals and notched three assists to lead the Terps with seven points. Herrera was the second-leading scorer for the Terps in 2001 scoring eight goals and five assists.

The Last Time...
Maryland began a season 7-0: 1968
Maryland won seven in a row: 2002
Maryland lost: December 12, 2002 (vs. UCLA, 2-1)
Maryland lost a home game: November 25, 2001 (vs. Loyola, 1-0 2ot)
Maryland gave up two goals: December 12, 2002 (vs. UCLA, 2-1)
Maryland gave up three goals: November 15, 2002 (vs. Clemson, a 4-3 win)
Maryland lost to an unranked opponent: October 10, 2001 (1-0 to George Mason)
Maryland went to overtime: December 1, 2002, vs. Saint Louis
Maryland won in overtime: December 1, 2002, vs. Saint Louis (1-0)
Maryland lost in overtime: November 25, 2001, vs. Loyola
Maryland tied: September 30, 2001 (against Wake Forest, 2-2)

PK's Are OK
Maryland is a perfect 4-4 on penalty kick attempts this season. A.J. Herrera has converted two of those, while Abe Thompson and Nino Marcantonio have accounted for the other two.

In addition, two of those penalty kicks have turned out to be the game-winners. Thompson's PK against UCLA proved to be the difference in that matchup while Herrera's conversion against NC State was the deciding goal in that match.

Defensive Dominance
While Maryland certainly has some prolific scorers, the team can't lose if it doesn't give up a goal. The back line of team captain Seth Stammler, Clarence Goodson, Chris Lancos and Kenney Bertz have been nearly impenetrable all season. The group allows just an average of over eight shots in a game, but more impressively, just over two shots on goal per game. The Terps have shutout five of their first six opponents and will threaten the team record for shutouts in a season (12) that the unit set last season.

Ball control
Maryland has been tremendous at controlling possession of the ball and dictating play through its first six games. In addition to the stout back line, the Terps' forwards and midfielders rarely give up the ball and constantly put pressure on opposing teams. Through the first six games, Maryland is outshooting its opponents by a whopping 135-49 margin.

Honor Roll
Several Maryland players earned tournament, conference and national honors so far this season. Here is a run down of the accolades earned by Terrapin players this season. Scott Buete: Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team (8/31/03); Maryland/adidas Soccer Classic Defensive MVP (9/7/03); College Soccer News National Player of the Week (9/8/03); Soccer America Team of the Week (9/10/03)
Seth Stammler: Diadora Challenge Tournament MVP (8/31/03); College Soccer News Team of the Week (9/1/03); Soccer America Team of the Week (9/10/03)
Abe Thompson: ACC Player of the Week (9/7/03)
A.J. Herrera: Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team (8/31/03); Maryland/adidas Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team (9/7/03)
Ian Rodway: Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team (8/31/03); Maryland/adidas Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team (9/7/03)
Clarence Goodson: Soccer America Team of the Week (9/17/03)

Living Large At Ludwig
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. Maryland has now won 16 straight at Ludwig, with its last loss coming November 25, 2001, to Loyola. Overall, head coach Sasho Cirovski's teams are an impressive 69-25-4 at Ludwig since the facility opened in 1995. For this season, Ludwig has a dramatic new look with bleachers behind each goal and signs that extend around the perimeter of the field to give it a true soccer stadium feel. The Terrapins were fifth in the nation in total attendance (19,984) and seventh in the nation last season in average attendance (1,537), and have drawn an average of 2,380 so far this season.

Rocking The Ranked
Currently, seven Terrapin opponents are ranked in the nation's top 25 according to the NSCAA poll. So far, Maryland is 2-0 against ranked opponents in 2003, notching victories over No. 15 Furman and No.1 UCLA.

Thompson Climbs Career Charts
Just a junior, striker Abe Thompson is making his mark on some of Maryland's significant offensive career records. The Hermann Trophy candidate is ninth all-time in career goals (30) and seventh in points (74). Cliff Crug is Maryland's all-time leading goal scorer with 45 and Eberhard Klein is the Terps' leading point scorer (109). Thompson also has 14 assists in his career, which means he needs just two more to be in the top 10 in all three offensive categories.

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, seven Terp opponents are ranked among the nation's top 25 (and one other receiving votes), according to the 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."

Terp Lineups
Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski has used three different starting lineups in the Terps four games. Here is a game-by-game look at the Maryland starters: Furman: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Sumed, Herrera, Buete, Goodson, Thompson, Mediate
Butler: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Sumed, Herrera, Buete, Thompson, Garey, Mediate
UCLA: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Sumed, Herrera, Buete, Goodson, Thompson, Mediate
American: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Herrera, Buete, Goodson, Garey, Marcantonio, Mediate
Loyola: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Herrera, Buete, Goodson, Thompson, Garey, Mediate
NC State: Palmer, Stammler, Rodway, Bertz, Lancos, Sumed, Herrera, Buete, Goodson, Thompson, Mediate

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.

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).

Maryland ACC Preseason Favorte
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.

A Little Help From My Friends...
Scoring a goal is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports, and the Maryland soccer team is fortunate to have to have two players that make life a little easier for the forwards in Scott Buete and Sumed Ibrahim. Both players are among the best in Terrapin history in dishing out assists, ranking tied for third-best all-time in career with 22. Sumed and Buete each have an assist this season.

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.

Terps On The Tube
Two more 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 was televised, and the Oct. 12 meeting with UConn and the Oct. 31 battle against Virginia on Halloween will also be featured on TV.