Aug. 22, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland Terrapin women's soccer team begins the 2008 season with a Mid-Atlantic region showdown with the George Mason Patriots at Ludwig Field. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. kick on Saturday, Aug. 23.
This season's opener is the earliest in the 22-year history of the Terrapin women's soccer program. Before this season, the earliest opener for the Terps was in 2006 when the Terps topped No. 10 Tennessee 1-0 at the Penn State Classic on Aug. 25.
Did you know ... Maryland has had three-straight double-OT 0-0 ties in its last three home openers?
Tickets and Game Promotions
• Click here for ticket information for all 2008 Maryland women's soccer home games.
• Click here for a complete list of game promotions for this season.
Event Multimedia
• Fans will be able to listen to the game by logging on to www.wmucsports.com or they can follow the games on Gametracker.
Scouting The Patriots
• George Mason enters the 2008 season off of an 8-10-1 campaign in 2007. Head coach Diane Drake returns 14 letterwinners from her '07 squad, but only five of 11 starters are among those Patriot players returning.
• Junior forward Kelly Keelan, an All-CAA selection, led the Patriots in scoring as a sophomore in 2007 with six goals and four assists for 16 points. Annie Lebherz, also a junior forward, scored four goals with one assist for 10 points last season. George Mason will feature a new keeper this season as Kassy Davenport, who graduated following last season, played all 1730:49 minutes in net. Freshmen Alex Bodenschatz and Melissa Mailley are the candidates to replace Davenport.
Did you know ... The Terps have defeated the Patriots by a 1-0 score on four occasions, including each of the past two years?
Looking Back At The Preseason
• The Terps finished their 2008 preseason schedule with a 0-1-1 mark, but more importantly is that they showed the depth that they lacked in recent years.
• Maryland tied Georgetown, a 2007 NCAA Tournament team, 3-3, in its first preseason friendly. Freshman forward Lydia Hastings scored the team's first two goals, while fellow freshman Jasmyne Spencer scored the game-tying goal.
• The Terps then played preseason No. 12 West Virginia and the Mountaineers, the defending Big East champions, took a 3-0 decision.
At Ludwig Field
• Since its opening in 1995, Ludwig Field has proved to be a tremendous home-field advantage for the Terps women's soccer team. All-time Maryland is 85-39-14 (.667) at Ludwig Field.
• Through the seasons, the Terps have had a knack for shutting teams out at Ludwig Field. Maryland has won 58 of its 85 victories (68%) at Ludwig Field via shutout. Add in the nine 0-0 ties the Terps have had at Ludwig Field and it totals 67 times that Maryland has shutout its opponent in 138 games (48.6%).
Playing Overtime
• The 0-0 tie with Eastern Kentucky last season marked the third-straight home opener that has ended in a scoreless tie. In 2005 and 2006 the Terps played to a 0-0 draw against Towson.
• During the past four seasons, Maryland has played 27 overtime games (nearly 40% of its total games) with a record of 4-9-14 in those games.
• The Terps played eight overtime matches last season tying the program record for overtime games in a season. Maryland was 1-4-3 in OT a year ago. The 2004 team also played in eight overtime contests, going 2-2-4.
Recruiting Class Honored
• The Maryland women's soccer recruiting class for this fall was tabbed the 14th best in the nation according to Soccer Buzz. The mark is the second highest ranking for a Maryland recruiting class since Soccer Buzz began its polls in 1998 and highest for head coach Brian Pensky, who took over the program in 2005. It is also the Terps' second consecutive Top 20 ranking.
The Terps' ranking is also second in the Mid-Atlantic region, behind only Virginia. Last season, Maryland's class was third in the region, giving the Terps two top three regional classes.
Individually, this year's Terrapin class features nine players ranked among Soccer Buzz's top 500 players in the nation. That ties Maryland with Texas A&M for the second most top 500 players (Florida has 10).
Sade Ayinde is the highest-rated player to commit to Maryland, checking in at No. 34. Also among the top 150 players are Becky Kaplan, Skyy Anderson and Lydia Hastings.
Media Information
• 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 with "Women's Soccer E-Mail" as the subject and you will receive every update.
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2008 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
