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The No. 2 men's soccer team begins its five-match homestand tomorrow night when ACC opponent Boston College visits Ludwig Field for the first time ever. Maryland downed the Eagles last season in Beantown, 4-0, in the first match between the two programs. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. following the women's match. Both matches will be televised live on CN8 and can be heard on WMUC Sports. In addition, Domenic Mediate and other members of the DC United squad will be signing autographs at Ludwig beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Terps Begin Five-Game Homestand With BC
Maryland will end its regular season slate with a five-game homestand beginning with Boston College on Saturday night. The Eagles have never made the trip to College Park and the two sides have met just once before, a 1-0 Maryland win in Beantown last season.
This will be the third team making its first-ever trip to College Park this season. Binghamton and Louisville also visited Ludwig Field earlier in the season for the first time. Both games turned out to be Terps' victories by scores of 3-0 and 2-1, respectively.
Scouting the Eagles
BC stands at 6-5-1 and 2-2-1 in the ACC and most recently forced Wake Forest to a 2-2 draw at Spry Stadium.
Charlie Davies entered the week with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. Mor Avi Hanan has three goals and assists and Rueben Ayarna leads the squad with seven assists.
BC has used three keepers this season with all of them seeing action in at least four matches. Chris Brown played the entire match at Wake and has allowed six goals in 390 minutes of action, an average of 1.38 per game. His save percentage is .647.
The Eagles have yet to notch a win on the road this season and have not won on the road since September 4, 2005. That game was in Boston, however, a 1-0 win against Boston University.
BC has greatly improved in the ACC this season as it finished 2005 winless at 0-7-2. The Eagles can put up big numbers as two of their wins came by a score of 5-1, including one against NC State.
Come One, Come All
The returning national champion Terps have drawn quite a crowd at Ludwig Field and on the road this season.
The Maryland soccer community came out in full force on Friday, September 29 as a record crowd of 6,489 fans watched their Terps take down No. 14 Duke, 1-0, at Ludwig Field. The fans sparked an electric atmosphere for the match shown on Fox Soccer Channel. Maryland entered the field under a cloud of smoke and fireworks lit the sky during the national anthem and prior to player introductions.
Against NC State, 4,565 fans came out to watch the Terps win 3-0, which currently stands as the fourth-largest crowd at Maryland.
On September 2, 4,020 fans came to Ludwig Field to watch the Terps defeat No. 10 UCLA, 4-1. Despite poor weather and the postponement of the match from the night before, it was then the fifth-largest crowd in Ludwig history.
In three of its four away matches this year, attendance records have been set at the opponents' respective fields.
At No. 23 Old Dominion on August 27, 3,331 spectators came out to watch the Monarchs battle the Terps. Maryland came out on top, 2-0. That was the largest crowd to ever see a collegiate soccer match at the ODU Soccer Stadium.
At No. 4 Clemson on Friday night, 6,821 people flocked to Historic Riggs Field for the ACC showdown that the Tigers won, 2-1. That was the largest crowd to ever see a regular season match at Riggs.
At No. 7 Wake Forest, 4,413 people showed up as the Terps knocked off the Deacons, 2-1, in come-from-behind fashion. That set the all-time Spry Stadium record.
Where It's At...
Maryland will play 13 home matches this regular season, the most in program history. The Terps played 12 matches at home in 1982.
Home is where the Terps like to play. Over the past four seasons, Maryland is 55-3-3 at Ludwig Field, including an unbeaten mark of 11-0-2 in 2005. In 2002, the Terps went a perfect 13-0.
Included in that impressive record is the Terps' 10-0-2 mark in the postseason at Ludwig which has helped UM reach four consecutive College Cups. The Terps are the eighth team in NCAA history to participate in four straight College Cups.
For the second-straight season, Maryland averaged over 2,000 fans per match in 2005. An average of 2,548 fans rocked Ludwig Field when the Terps took the pitch. 2004 was the first season since 1995 which Maryland averaged over 2,000 fans.
So far this season, Maryland is a perfect 8-0 at home and is averaging 3,254 fans a game.
No Offense, But...
The Terps defense has been strong throughout the season. In their seven-game unbeaten streak, Maryland has earned five shutouts and allowed just two goals.
In their first 12 matches, the Terps notched seven shutouts.
In the most recent outing against North Carolina, the Terps allowed an early goal but held off the Tar Heel attack the rest of the way to force a 1-1 draw. Sophomore keeper Chris Seitz came up huge as well, stopping a penalty kick with 21 minutes to go to keep the tie intact.
In their current unbeaten streak, the back line has allowed just 50 shots, an average of 7.1 per match, and only 19 have been on target.
Entering last week, the Terps were first in the ACC in goals allowed (5), goals against average (.45), and shutout percentage (.64).
Royal Company
Head coach Sasho Cirovski will soon enter some outstanding company when it comes to Maryland soccer.
WIth 197 wins, Cirovski is three wins from earning his 200th victory while with the Terps. The only other head coach to accomplish that feat was the program's first coach, Doyle Royal.
Royal had a 217-58-18 record with Maryland in 28 years at the helm.
Cirovski already matched Royal in one department, and that is the national championship. Royal coached the Terps to a perfect 1968 season at 14-0-1, earning a share of the national title.
Non-Conference Dominance
The Terps have been impressive against non-league foes since the 2001 season, compiling a 73-17-4 record. Five of those losses came in a 10-5 2001 campaign.
Maryland is off to a 7-0 start this season. Its best non-conference record during the span came in 2003 when the Terps went 15-2-1.
Edu It To Me One More Time
Junior Maurice Edu had a huge week two weeks ago as he tallied both goals in a pair of 1-0 Terp victories against Loyola and Duke.
Both of the goals were his first of the season and both came in very similar fashion. Against Loyola on Tuesday night, sophomore Graham Zusi took the ball down the right side of the pitch. He fired a cross to the far side of the box to an awaiting Drew Yates. Yates took the cross on his head and redirected the pass to the middle of the box. Edu, who was making a run down the center of the box, knocked home a header to the right side of the net to give the Terps a 1-0 edge in the 61st minute.
Against the Blue Devils on Friday night, Edu notched the game-winner in the 14th minute. Zusi delivered a beautiful corner to the middle of the box and Edu was able to get a head on the ball and put a shot past the Duke keeper for the win.
Edu was named Soccer America Player of the Week for his efforts.
Zusi As 1-2-3
Sophomore Graham Zusi, who scored five goals and added two assists in 2005, is having a break out season for the Terps.
Zusi leads the team with six goals and 16 points. He has recorded a point in six-straight contests.
Last Friday at North Carolina, Zusi added another assist as his cross found Stephen King in the box who drove a shot into the back of the net on the volley. The goal forced a 1-1 tie with the Heels.
Two weeks ago in wins against Loyola and Duke, Zusi provided the game-winning assists in similar fashion. Against the Greyhounds, he delivered a cross to freshman Drew Yates who found junior Maurice Edu for the score. Against Duke, Zusi delivered a corner in the box to Edu who headed in the lone goal of the match in the 14th minute.
Hall's Way
Freshman Jeremy Hall continues to play a key role in the Terps' attack.
In the win against Duke, Hall used some nifty footwork around the box to force the corner kick that led to the game-winning goal.
Hall has racked up four goals and two assists for 10 points, which is fourth on the squad.
Hall notched the equalizer in the 79th minute at No. 7 Wake Forest to begin Maryland's comeback win. Stephen King found Maurice Edu in the middle of the field who then sent a long pass to Hall who had plenty of open space in front of him. Hall took the ball and went one-on-one with Edwards and calmly sent a low shot to the right side that beat the keeper.
Hall was also involved in the game-winning goal as he forced the foul in the box that led to Graham Zusi's winning penalty kick. David Glaudemans found Hall in the offensive third. Hall tried to take the ball the rest of the way with a defender on him. The two reached the box, and Hall was taken down trying to get by the defender.
Hall was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on September 25.
King Of College Park
Junior Stephen King notched the game-tying goal at North Carolina on Friday night in a 1-1 tie. His six assists and 16 points lead the team.
King has been a part of six game-winning or go-ahead goals this season. His two game-winning goals were scored against UCLA and Louisville. He has also assisted the go-ahead goals against Binghamton, UCLA, Louisville, and NC State.
He was also crucial in the Terps win against No. 7 Wake Forest as he assisted on the Jeremy Hall goal that tied the game in the 79th minute.
King has been named ACC Player of the Week, College Soccer News National Player of the Week, and has been placed on the Soccer America Team of the Week twice this season.
Herr-o-ick
With some doubts about where scoring would come from prior to the season, freshman Jason Herrick has provided an answer. His five goals is second on the team and his 12 points is third.
Herrick has been a part of two game winning goals, assisting the one against UCLA and scoring it against Mount St. Mary's. He also scored the first goal of the match against UCLA.
Against NC State, Herrick scored his fourth goal in amazing fashion when he launched a shot into the top left corner from about 30 yards out. The keeper had no chance at stopping the perfectly placed shot.
A Little Help From Godbolt
Senior A.J. Godbolt has played a key role not only this season, but for his entire career. Regarded as the best crosser on the team, Godbolt has three assists and a game winning goal that he notched against NC State.
His 22 career assists ranks sixth all-time, tied with Jason Sardis and A.J. Herrera. Scott Buete stands in fifth with 24 career helpers.
Last season, Godbolt was one assist away from tying the single-season record of 14 held by Gino Ferrin (1985).
Godbolt recorded his first-ever game-winning goal when he put back a Stephen King penalty kick that had been saved against NC State.
Near Perfect Seitz
Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Seitz has compiled an impressive 23-3-3 record for the Terps since last season.
Before losing at Clemson, Seitz had not lost since November 11 of last season against Duke in the ACC Tournament, 4-2. Since that match, Seitz holds an impressive record of 14-2-2.
Seitz and the Terps defense have been strong so far this season. Seitz has allowed just six shots to reach the back of the net for a 0.49 goals against average.
Newcomers Making An Impact
With a relatively young squad, Terps newcomers are making a major impact as two of the top five scorers are new to College Park.
Freshman Jason Herrick has been stellar for Maryland with five goals and two assists.
Sophomore Rich Costanzo, a transfer from Penn State, has an assist to go with his game winning goal against Binghamton.
Freshman Jeremy Hall has recorded four goals and two assists.
Freshmen Omar Gonzalez has one assist and Drew Yates has racked up four.
Newcomers have accounted for 30 of the Terps' 75 points, which comes out to 40 percent.
Their 30 points is more than all of the opposition has racked up this season (20).