Women's Soccer Travels To Face Clemson In Key ACC Match
10/1/2004 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2004
College Park, Md. -
The Game
• The University of Maryland women's soccer team hits the road for the fourth straight weekend for an ACC game at Clemson on Saturday, October 2. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
A Look Back At Last Week
• Maryland match with Loyola (Md.), scheduled for Tuesday, September 28, was cancelled due to inclement weather. This was the second home match the Terps have been forced to cancel due to weather conditions. Lightning and tornado warnings forced the cancellation of Maryland's match with No. 3 Washington on Friday, September 17.
• The cancellation of the Loyola (Md.) match means that the Terps will have played five straight road matches over the past four weeks. Maryland's next home match, October 5 vs. No. 4 Virginia, will come more than one month after Maryland's last home match, a 2-0 loss to Virginia Tech on September 2.
• The Terrapins fought and clawed to a 1-0 lead for 78 minutes at No. 2 North Carolina on Friday, September 24, but the Tar Heels battled back to tie the match in regulation to force overtime. The match remained deadlocked 1-1 through the first 10 minute period and seven minutes into the second overtime session. Then a controversial foul inside the penalty area gave UNC a penalty kick that All-American Kacey White placed into the bottom left corner of the goal to give the Tar Heels a 2-1 victory.
• Junior midfielder Mallory Mahar gave the Terps the 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when a shot was blocked and the ball ended up in front of her right foot which Mahar blasted past All-American goalkeeper Aly Winget. The goal was Mahar's team leading fifth on the season.
Scouting The Clemson Tigers
• Clemson, unranked but receiving votes in the latest NSCAA Coaches' Poll, comes into the game after beating Miami, 4-2, in Clemson, S.C., on Wednesday in a key ACC contest. The Tigers outshot the Hurricanes 20-11 for the match, and 9-0 in the first half. Clemson lead 3-0 at the half with Courtney Brown providing the spark for the Tiger offense by assisting on Clemson's first goal and scoring the insurance tally. On the season the Tigers are 7-3-0, 1-2 in the ACC. The Tigers have not lost a game on their home field, going 4-0 at Riggs Field.
Could It Be Another One Goal Game?
• Maryland and Clemson have a history of playing tight games including last season's game at Ludwig Field, as the Terps beat the Tigers, 2-1 on Oct. 10, 2002. Overall, Maryland leads the series 8-6, and holds a slim 21-19 lead in goals scored during in the 13 games. Eight of the last 10 games in the series have been one-goal affairs. Maryland is 2-6 all-time vs. Clemson on the road, 1-5 all-time at Riggs Field.
• In the last game between the two schools, in the 2003 ACC Quarterfinals, Kimmy Francis scored both goals to give the Terps a 2-1 win and a trip to the ACC Semi's for the second consecutive season.
• The regular-season match between the two schools was more of the same as the Terrapins jumped out to a 2-0 lead with Mallory Mahar trickling a header past the Tiger goalkeeper for the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute. All-time at home the Terps are a perfect 6-0 vs. Clemson.
Playing The Best
• Once again, Higgins-Cirovski has scheduled one of the nation's most competitive schedules. The Terps take on five teams in this week's NSCAA poll including three of the top five. The Terps are at No. 2 North Carolina (1-2 loss, Sept. 24), host No. 4 Virginia (Oct. 5), at No. 5 Penn State (Oct. 27), vs. No. 7 UCLA (2-1 win, Sept. 12), host No. 14 Florida State (Oct. 13), host No. 22 Duke (Oct. 23). ACC opponent Clemson is also receiving votes in this week's poll.
• During five of Higgins-Cirovski's six seasons at Maryland, she has led the Terps to at least one upset win or tie of a top-10 ranked team, leading Maryland to a 4-3 win at No. 9 Duke on Sept. 19, 1999 and a 2-1 victory over Clemson on Oct. 17, 1999; a 3-1 win over No. 4 Penn State on Aug. 29, 2000; a 1-0 overtime over No. 8 Clemson on Oct. 13, 2001 and a 1-1 tie at No. 2 North Carolina last season, on Nov. 1, 2002. Most recently, the Terps stunned No. 3 UCLA 2-1 at the Virginia Soccer Classic on Sept. 12, 2004.
Francis & Mahar Moving Up The Charts
• With her six point effort at the Virginia Soccer Classic, junior Kimmy Francis is now ninth on Maryland's all-time points chart with 48. Her two goals on the season have Francis on the verge of entering the top 10 in career goals as well. She currently ranks 11th all-time with 15 goals.
• Not just a goal scorer, Francis is also among the all-time leaders in assists. Her four assists on the season leads the team and has tied her for fifth on the career charts with 18. The next closest current Terp is junior Simone Dekker with seven career assists.
• Also charging up the all-time charts is junior Mallory Mahar. With five goals on the season, Mahar is 12th on the all-time list, needing just two more to break into the top 10. Mahar is also moving up the career points list. She leads the team with 11 points on the season and has 33 for her career, 11 points away from 10th place.
Media Information
• WMUC Radio: Maryland's student radio station WMUC (88.1 FM) will broadcast at least 10 Maryland women's soccer games in 2004. A pregame show will air approximately 30 minutes prior to kickoff. WMUC's broadcasts can be heard live on the Internet at wmucsports.com.
• Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland women's soccer news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email women's soccer contact Patrick Fischer at pfischer@umd.edu with the message "Women's Soccer Email" as the subject and you will receive every update distributed about the team.
• Scores on your cell phone: Fans can now get score updates sent directly to their cell phones! Just go to any schedule page at www.umterps.com to sign up for the service.
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please locate www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2004 on your computer with GameTracker. For stats, play-by-play, and more as it happens, log on to www.umterps.com and scroll down to the sports and events calendar and click on GameTracker.
