COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The third-ranked Maryland Terrapins begin the 2005 season on the road with a pair of games in California. The Terps will take on Cal State Fullerton on Friday, September 2, at 10:30 p.m. (Eastern time), before taking on the fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins on Sunday, September 4 at 5 p.m. (Eastern time).

The matchup with the Titans will be the first-ever between the two schools.

Maryland leads the series with UCLA, 2-1, with the Terps winning the most recent matchup in 2003 when the Bruins visited College Park. Abe Thompson converted a penalty kick early in the second half as the Terps went on to win 1-0 in front of 6,143 fans -- the seventh largest crowd to watch a non-NCAA Tournament game.

UCLA's win in the series came in the 2002 College Cup, as the Bruins defeated Maryland 2-1 en route to the national championship. The other game in the series came in 2001, when the two teams met at the Virginia/Coca-Cola Classic in Charlottesville. Maryland needed two overtimes before coming away with the 2-1 win in that game.

The Terps will return to College Park next week for the annual Maryland/adidas Classic sponsored by Chesapeake Electrical Systems. Maryland will take on Santa Clara and Virginia Commonwealth at the tournament, and will Georgetown complete the tournament field.

Three Californians are on the Terrapin roster in Maurice Edu, Robbie Rogers and Chris Seitz. Edu is just a sophomore while Rogers and Seitz are freshmen.

About The Terps
• The Terps return seven starters off of last year's College Cup team, including leading scorer Jason Garey (22g, 9a). Garey's 53 points were a school record for a season.
• The Terp back line returns all four starters from last year's team. However, Maryland will be starting a new goalkeeper this season in either Craig Salvati or Chris Seitz.
• Maryland's 57 victories over the past three seasons are the most in the country during that time. In fact, the team is just 11 victories shy of setting the school record for wins in a four year span.
• The team captains for this season are Jason Garey and Michael Dello-Russo.
• Midfielder Stephen King, an All-Freshman ACC selection last season, was the only freshman to start every game last season for the Terrapins.

Tough Slate
• According to the CollegeSoccerNews.com preseason poll, Maryland will face eight teams ranked in the top 25. In the NSCAA/adidas poll, nine Terp opponents are ranked.
• The Terps are also facing 10 teams that advanced to the 2004 NCAA Tournament, including fellow College Cup qualifiers Indiana and Duke.
• Maryland is ranked third in the CollegeSoccerNews.com preseason poll.

Preseason Honors For Garey
• After one of the strongest offensive seasons in Maryland history, forward Jason Garey has garnered national attention heading into his senior season.
• Garey has been named a preseason All-American by CollegeSoccerNews.com and Soccer America.
• Garey was also among the 25 players named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List that was released August 24. Garey was a semifinalist for the award in 2004.
• Garey set a school record for points in 2004 with 53. He netted 22 goals and had nine assists. Heading into this season, Garey ranks fifth in career goals (38) and points (89).

Home Sweet Home
• The Terps have had remarkable success at Ludwig Field posting a 37-3-1 (.921) record over the past three seasons, including a perfect 13-0 mark in 2002.
• That record also includes an 8-0-1 mark during the NCA A Tournament which has helped Maryland reach three straight College Cups. (The Terps advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4, after tying Creighton in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.)
• Maryland won 23 straight games at home between 2002-03, the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history.
• For the first time since the Terps started playing at Ludwig Field in 1995, Maryland averaged over 2,000 fans per game during the 2004 season.

Newcomers Tabbed 2nd In The Country
• The Maryland men's soccer incoming class is ranked second in the country, according to CollegeSoccerNews.com.
• The Terps landed two Parade All-Americans in Robbie Rogers and Chris Seitz, and four high school All-Americans in Matt Beckman, A.J. Delagarza, Michael Marchiano and Kevin Tangney. Also in the class are members of the national champion club team Casa Mia's Bays (Beckman, Kwame Darko, Delagarza, Marchiano), transfer Marc Burch, adidas/ESP players Doug Rodkey and Michael Vallie and high-scoring forward Graham Zusi.

Maryland Picked To Finish 3rd In ACC
• The Maryland Terrapins have been picked to finish third in the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season, as determined by a vote of the league's nine head coaches. The Duke Blue Devils, who advanced to the College Cup with Maryland in 2004, were picked to finish first and North Carolina was picked second.

Terps Finish 2nd At Preseason Tourney
• The Terps split a pair of preseason games at the Westfield Cup in Akron, Ohio. Maryland defeated UConn 1-0 before falling to tourney host Akron 2-0 in the finals.
• In the win over the Huskies, Robbie C'deBaca buried the rebound off a Matt Beckman free kick in the second half to lead the Terps. Craig Salvati notched the shutout in goal.
• Against the Zips, the Terps were handed a red card in the 28th minute and were forced to play a man down the rest of the way. A pair of second half goals from Akron sealed the Zip victory.
• Stephen King, Maurice Edu and Kenney Bertz were all named to the all-tournament team for their performances over the weekend.

Cirovski Six Shy of 200
• Terrapin head coach Sasho Cirovski is just six wins shy of his 200th career victory. His career mark is 194-96-18.
• Cirovski, who had a pair of 13-win seasons at Hartford before coming to College Park, has 168 wins at Maryland (which ranks second only to the legendary Doyle Royal at Maryland).
• Cirovski's .659 career winning percentage ranks 20th among active coaches.

Payne Returns To College Park
• Former Maryland goalkeeper Russell Payne returns to College Park this season as an assistant coach. Payne was a part of Maryland's first ACC Tournament championship team in 1996 and still holds the Ludwig Field record for saves in a game (10). He joins Rob Vartughian on the coaching staff. Former assistant Brian Pensky took over the helm of the Maryland women's soccer program in May.

Cal State Fullerton At A Glance
• The Titans are coming off a 6-10-2 record in 2004.
• Head coach Al Mistri is entering his final season at the helm of the men's soccer program after announcing his retirement earlier this summer. Mistri is 20th in wins among active coaches, he is also 37th in wins all-time.
• Cal State Fullerton is picked to finish third in the Big West Conference this season.
• The Titans bring back Eugene Brooks, Amir Shafii and Brett Gallinger, who missed all of last season. All are expected to have an impact on this year's team.
• "We have the best talent we've had in quite some time. Barring some of the unfortunate kinds of things that happened to us last year, I think we are going to go out with a bang. It's easy to be optimistic going into a season, but we are confident we will get back to the NCAA playoffs and make a run at the conference championship." -- Al Mistri on www.fullertontitans.com

UCLA At A Glance
• The Bruins posted their NCAA-record 38th consecutive winning season in 2004, posting a 14-4-2 record and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
• UCLA features two players who are on the Hermann Trophy Watchlist in Patrick Ianni and Marvell Wynne. Each competed at this year's U-20 Youth World Cup.
• The Bruins will need to replace their top-three scorers after losing Mike Enfield, Chad Barrett and Benny Feilhaber.
• Either Nate Pena, the 2005 PDL Goalkeeper of the Year and an All-Pac 10 honorable mention selection last season, or junior Eric Reed will start in goal for the Bruins. Pena was the starter last season before an injury forced him out of the lineup in September.
• The Bruins' incoming recruiting class was ranked fourth in the country.