Men's Soccer Announces 2008 Schedule
5/24/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
May 24, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's soccer team has released the 2008 schedule which features 11 matches at Ludwig Field where the Terrapins went 8-2-4 a season ago. The schedule will also pit the Terps against eight teams that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Maryland's 2008 opponents held a combined record of 190-132-42 in 2007 and feature two teams that advanced to the College Cup last season. Eight of the teams recorded 12 or more wins and participated in the NCAA Tournament. In addition, Maryland will meet five teams for the first time ever.
"Once again, I am proud to announce another challenging schedule," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "In addition to the traditionally difficult ACC grind, we are taking on teams from seven other conferences. It has both great variety and great quality. We are looking forward to measuring ourselves and hoping to give our fans some exciting and memorable moments."
Maryland's supporters have produced some of the best attendance numbers in the nation at Ludwig Field. Last season, a total of 29,631 fans came out to watch the Terps in College Park. Included in that figure are the 5,022 spectators that came out to watch the Terps battle West Virginia on September 7. It was the fifth-largest crowd in Ludwig Field history.
The 2008 home schedule features 2008 ACC Champion Boston College and perennial conference and national powers Duke and Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons will enter the fall as the defending national champion.
The Terps open the season on the west coast for a pair of big-time contests. Maryland begins 2008 with UCLA on August 29 in a match that will be played at Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy. The season-opener will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Two days later, Maryland faces California in Los Angeles on August 31. The Golden Bears are the two-time defending Pac 10 champions and both UCLA and Cal advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
Maryland's 2008 home debut will come on September 5 against Hartford, where Cirovski spent his first two seasons as a head coach. The Hawks kick off a seven-game home stand for the Terrapins.
The red and black will then host Davidson on September 7 before opening its ACC slate with 2008 conference champion Boston College on September 12. The last time the Eagles came to College Park in 2006, 6,214 fans came out to watch the match up which was the second-largest crowd ever at Ludwig.
A week later on September 29, Maryland will host Duke in another contest between ACC heavyweights. The Terp faithful packed Ludwig back on September 29, 2006 to watch the Blue Devils and Maryland square off. The 6,489 in attendance that night is still a Ludwig Field record.
Maryland will host American in a midweek tilt on September 23 before hosting the 2007 NCAA Champion Wake Forest on September 26 in front of a national television audience on Fox Soccer Channel. The Demon Deacons finished last season with a 22-2-2 record.
The Terps will close out their home stand with a non-conference match up against Binghamton on September 30.
Maryland will then spend two of its next three games on the road as it makes the long trip to South Carolina to take on Clemson October 3. The Terps host Charlotte on October 7 before heading to Blackbsburg to face Virginia Tech on October 10.
The Hokies went 14-4-5 last year advanced to the College Cup.
Following the trip to Virginia, the Terps host two more non-conference games at Ludwig when Lehigh and Evansville make the trip to College Park on October 14 and 17, respectively.
Maryland will then go on the road for three-straight matches, its longest away stretch of the season. The Terps will head to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on October 21. The Mountaineers finished 14-6-2 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
The Terps will spend consecutive weekends on the road to face ACC teams as they have to travel to NC State on October 25 and then to Virginia on Halloween night. The Cavaliers made it to the second round of the NCAA Championship in 2007.
Maryland will wrap up its regular season at home when North Carolina visits College Park on November 7.
The 2008 ACC Championship will be held in Cary, N.C. at the WakeMed Soccer Park (formerly SAS Soccer Complex) from November 11-16.
The 2008 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship will begin with first round games on November 21. The College Cup will be held on December 14-16 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas which is home to FC Dallas of the MLS.
