Since my last entry, we played our final six games in the ACC regular season. Against Va. Tech, our three goals were scored by Hubka, Grover and Becky. Jazzy had assists on the first two goals, and Becky finished a breakaway set up by Sade for her first career goal. Our next game was against Boston College on a cold Thursday night. Becky scored her second goal in consecutive games, but BC was able to tie the game up in the final 10 minutes. Our next game was against NC State, where our team really showed its character and ability to keep fighting. Even though we were losing 2-0 with ten minutes left in the game, we never gave up and were able to tie the game up in regulation. Grover scored our first goal, and then Molly headed in a corner kick taken by Olivia Wagner. Olivia also set up the game winning goal in overtime, as she sent a free kick into the box that was headed in by a NC State defender.

Our last away game of the regular season was against Clemson. Our defense earned a shutout, and we won 3-0 with two goals from Jazzy and one from Grover. Unfortunately we lost our last two games against Wake Forest and UNC, but we made the ACC tournament with a sixth seed. Our first match-up was against North Carolina, the No. 3 seed in the tournament. It was tough playing UNC twice in five days, and they were able to beat us on their way to winning the tournament.

When we got home from the tournament, our sole focus was on the NCAA tournament. We believed we had performed well enough to earn a bid, but we wouldn't find out until Monday night during the selection show. We gathered as a team to watch the show, and were thrilled to find out we had been awarded a No. 4 seed and the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the tournament. No current member of our team has had the opportunity to play in the tournament, so we're all eager and excited to take advantage of this opportunity. Our first game is Friday night against Monmouth. Monmouth won their league and made the NCAA tournament two years ago, so they will have experience and should provide a good challenge for us. I know none of us are ready for this season to end, so if we come out playing hard and follow the game plan, we should be able to get a good result.

Until next time!

(Oct. 9): Welcome back! Our ACC schedule is now officially underway as we have played four road games. Not only have we entered the busiest stretch of our schedule, but school is also getting crazy now, as we all have exams to study for and papers to write.

Our last non-conference game against Brown gave us an opportunity to go 8-0 heading into ACC play. We were able to achieve this with a 3-1 victory. Molly had an amazing shot from about 30 yards out to get us on the scoreboard in the first half. She then scored her second goal of the night after following Jazzy on a breakaway. Jazzy was able to pass it back to Molly from on the ground for her to finish. Jazzy then scored the third goal of the night after Hubka beat her defender and crossed the ball. With this victory, we went beyond our expectations and goals for non-conference play.

We left for Florida last Wednesday to open our ACC schedule against Florida State and Miami. We knew these would be two hard games, which were made even more difficult with all the traveling we would have to do. The weekend didn't go as well as we liked, as we lost to Florida State 2-1 and Miami 2-0. However, we still played well and had opportunities to score goals. Jazzy scored a goal against Florida State off a great through ball from Lydia, so we just need to build off our positive moments as we move forward into ACCs.

After getting back from Florida, we had a full week before the game against Duke. We knew how important it was for us to get a good result, and we showed that immediately from the starting whistle. Our entire team was connected and playing together and we were able to get numerous chances early in the game. Hubka scored our first goal after receiving a throw in and taking a great shot from about 25 yards out. Molly got the second goal of the game after Caitlin won a header in the center of the field and Lydia was able to play Molly behind the Duke back line. The third goal created by a great through pass from Min that Jazzy finished. The score was 3-0 at halftime, but we didn't ease up in the second half and got our fourth goal when Sade beat the keeper to a long ball served by Kristen. Our defense also played great and gave Duke very few chances. This was a very exciting result for us and we were excited to get back on the field for our next ACC opponent.

On Thursday we traveled to Virginia to play UVa. Last year we had lost to UVa. in overtime, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. On the morning of the game, we played a giant game of soccer tennis where the older half of the team easily beat the younger girls. When the game started that night, we were ready to play and outshot UVa. in the first half, even though the score remained 0-0. We also came out strong in the second half, when Mal scored her first career goal when the ball rebounded to her off a free kick. Although UVa. responded pretty quickly with a goal of their own, we didn't get discouraged and Caitlin scored her firs t goal of the season later in the half off a through ball from Lydia. With seconds left, it seemed as if we would get the win, but UVa. was able to score with only 1 second left on the clock. At that point, it would have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves, but we continued to fight in the overtimes. Although we created chances, the score remained 2-2.

Our first home ACC game is this Sunday versus Virginia Tech. Va. Tech is coming off two big wins against UVa. and UNC, and are currently ranked sixth. This is a great opportunity for us to improve our ACC record and to continue to keep improving. Until next time!

(Sept. 11): Hello again! We've had another great week as we won two more games. We also were ranked for the first time in a few years, as we were number 18 in the Soccer America poll. We have two more games until our ACC season begins, so we're looking to continue to improve and achieve our process goals each game.

Let's start this entry with a recap of our second horseshoes tournament, which took place on the morning of the Santa Clara game. We had to partner with someone that had different colored hair so all the partners were mixed up. Molly and I dominated the day, staying at the top spot for nearly every game. In the finals, we defeated Hubka and Mooney for the fourth time to take the championship, therefore making me a repeat champion. We also played horseshoes the morning of the American game, but I don't really think we need to talk about it too much. I'll just say Megan Watson scored three points off a thigh trap (she's getting very good at the power thigh) for her and Erica Page to win.

On Friday night, everyone was eager to play against our first ranked opponent of the season. When the game started, it seemed like we were a little nervous and let Santa Clara get a few shots off. However, once we calmed down, we started moving the ball around much better. With about 15 minutes left in the first half, Caitlin played a great through ball to Sade, who touched the ball past the keeper. Instead of forcing the shot, Sade passed it to Grover who finished it. Although Santa Clara put pressure on us, we were able to keep playing our game and secure the win.

After the Santa Clara win, our challenge was to focus on American. We tied American last year, so we wanted to beat them this year. To make it even more difficult, many girls on our team got sick over the weekend. Practice was cancelled on Tuesday to try to prevent us from giving it to each other, so we hadn't seen each other in two days when we met on Wednesday morning for our walk through. Our game on Wednesday definitely wasn't our best game, but we were still able to leave American with a 1-0 win. Jazzy scored her fourth goal of the season after Olivia took a corner and Caitlin was able to direct it towards goal with her head. Once again, we found a way to win even though we weren't playing our best, which is something we hadn't been able to do in the past.

We now have a couple of days for everyone to recuperate, as we play James Madison on Sunday, then Brown next Friday. These will be two good games, and should help us prepare for our upcoming ACC games. Until next time!

(Sept. 4): Welcome back! This has been a busy week since we finally started classes, but it's kind of nice finally settling into the normal routine. After returning home from New York, we had two successful games, and now we are preparing for a big game against Santa Clara Friday night. This week has been hard, and we have had some fitness sessions to help us prepare for the rest of the season. We have had great focus and energy this week though, even with fitness and classes, and this will really help us.

Our home opener was last Friday against Seton Hall. This was an important game since Seton Hall is in the Big East, and they are used to playing top-quality opponents. Although we didn't start the game as well as we would have liked, we settled down and scored two goals in the second half to get the win. Olivia Wagner scored the game winner on a great shot from distance, and Mooney put the game away off a cross from Becky.

After our first day of classes on Monday, we had a student-athlete ice cream social, which all the athletes at Maryland attended. This was a great way to meet or reunite with fellow athletes after the summer, and see how other teams were doing. After eating, each team's captains informed us of their team's athletic and academic goals. We also heard our athletic director Debbie Yow speak, as well as our university's president C.D. Mote, Jr. Our guest speaker was a former football star at Maryland, Boomer Esiason. His speech was very entertaining and inspired us to get out and compete. The athletic department had a very successful year last year, as we won five ACC championships and two national championships, so we are eager to get this year started to see what we can accomplish.

On Tuesday, we played Loyola. A lot of girls from Loyola are from Maryland, so we knew that we were going to play against a very determined team. Once again, we started slow and were down 1-0 at the half. However, our mood at halftime was upbeat, and we had confidence in ourselves that we could step it up and put the game away in the second half. Sade started off the second half with the first goal of her career off a rebound off a shot by Lydia. Danielle scored less than a minute later off an incredible shot into the upper 90 after beating her defender. After we took the lead, we were unable to calm down and allowed Loyola to tie the game. However, we did not give up, and Sade scored her second goal of the night off a breakaway to put us up for good. Mooney and Grover later scored to secure the victory. This game had a very exciting start to the second half, as four goals were scored in six minutes. Coming away from the game, it was great to see that our team could score goals in response to goals given up. This is the second time this season we've immediately responded to a goal against with a goal of our own.

Our game Friday night will be a great chance for us to play against a ranked team and an opportunity to prove how hard we have been working. There should be a lot of fans and a really good atmosphere, so we're all looking forward to getting on the field to play.

Until next time!

Aug. 25: Welcome back! Our season is underway and we are now all living in our permanent housing. I'm sure no one was too sad to move out of Dorchester, but there were some fun times. Nightly Catch Phrase games got pretty competitive, and I would say Grover, Kristen and Caitlin were among the MVPs. However, the best moments had to include Sade's acting out of "jugular", Min spelling out words using her fingers (no, that is not allowed) and Becky's facial expressions every time it was her turn.

We left Thursday morning to drive up to West Point, and were supposed to arrive in time for a practice. Some slight directional issues caused us to arrive late, and so we just had a jog/stretch before dinner. The next morning we paired up for a horseshoes tournament. Although Caitlin and Grover had the top seed going into the playoffs, they choked in the first round, and the final match-up featured Maureen and Erika versus Kristen and myself. Clearly the best team won, as Kristen and I defeated the other two in a close game.

Everyone was really excited to get the season started with our first game against Army. We had heard that a lot of students in uniform would be at the game, which only added to the excitement. It took a while to settle down once the game started, but we calmed down and accomplished most of our process goals. Grover scored the first goal after beating a few Army defenders. The second goal was scored right after the first, with Caitlin flicking on a punt from Mary for Jazzy to run onto and finish. Mooney scored the final goal of the night, in her first career game.

On Saturday, we drove to Fordham for a practice, and then a cookout at Maureen's house that night. On the way from practice to the hotel, we had an interesting trip, which involved our bus driving on the sidewalk. However, we finally made it to Maureen's and since we have so many people from Long Island, a lot of families were able to come to the cookout. There was so much good food; we ate chicken, steak, pasta, salads and fruit. We also played Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase, and overall had a great time.

The atmosphere on Sunday was a lot different than on Friday night, as we played on a turf field with not nearly as many fans. However, we knew we still had to be prepared to play. Although we did not play as well as we did on Friday night, we still left Fordham with a 2-1 victory after two goals from Jazzy. This was an important victory for us, since we found a way to respond after Fordham tied the game in the second half.

Although we left New York with two victories, the highlight of the trip might have been the performances on the bus. Yewande and Watson sang two original songs based off the tune of Lady Gaga songs, which were amazingly creative and hilarious (video on display!). Other girls also sang songs using the microphone and ipods, which provided lots of entertainment.

Our next game is on Friday against Seton Hall. It is our first home game, so we are eager to show our fans how hard we have been working and achieve our process goals. Until next time!

Aug. 18: Welcome back! Well we have survived another preseason! We made it through with a few injuries and a lot of tired legs, but with lots of optimism and eagerness for the upcoming season. With two successful scrimmages and lots of opportunities for team bonding behind us, we are ready to get the season started and excited to see what this fall will bring.

Our first scrimmage showed our fans and coaches our determination and fight. Playing in extremely hot weather, we came from two goals down in the last 25 minutes to tie the game. The first goal resulted from great teamwork and individual efforts of Danielle and Mooney and a great finish from Jasmyne. Jazzy was involved in the second goal as well, as her speed allowed to get her behind the defense and draw a penalty kick, which Lydia finished. After the game, we were proud of our efforts, but still knew we had a lot to work on.

After the scrimmage, our emphasis was playing the simple pass. For the next few practice sessions, we played a lot of possession and worked on finding the open player. We also continued to work on our shape and communicating with each other.

On Sunday, we woke up early to travel to West Virginia. Our hard work paid off as we earned a 2-0 victory over a Mountaineer team that's ranked 16th in the nation in the Soccer America preseason poll. Mallory started the first goal, as she served a long ball behind West Virginia's defense. Grover ran on to it and crossed it to Lydia, who fought off her defender to one touch the ball into the goal. Our next goal also started with a center back, when Skyy served another long ball over the top. Lydia touched the ball over the keeper, but it seemed like a West Virginia defender was going to clear it off the line. Right before she cleared the ball, Jazzy ran through it and headed it past her. Although we didn't score another goal, we earned multiple chances throughout the game. Our goal of a shutout was also accomplished, as Mary had a big time save.

On Monday, we had a well-deserved day off. After everyone went in for our mandatory ice baths in the Varsity Team House, our team organized a cookout with the men's soccer team. Everyone pitched in to buy hamburgers, hotdogs, watermelon and s'mores. After grilling, we attempted to defeat a group of students playing volleyball in order to win the court. It took about five games, but eventually a group of us was victorious. The cookout was a great opportunity for everyone to hang out and get to know everyone, as the men's and women's team support each other during the season.

Our next few days will be spent preparing for our first games of the season. On Thursday morning, we will leave for New York and return Sunday after facing Army and Fordham. This is a great chance to get our season started and we are excited to travel together as a team for the first time.

Until next time!

(Aug. 12) Hello out there Maryland Women's Soccer Fans! Welcome to the 1st installment of Deeg's Diary! I'm junior Colleen Deegan and I'm going to give you an inside look into the Terrapin women's soccer program.

Well, we're all living in Dorchester Hall, heat advisories are in effect, and the air conditioning doesn't work - gotta love being back in College Park for preseason! But seriously, it feels like it's been forever since the team has been together, and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say how excited I am to get the season started. We have so much returning talent and with the addition of our freshmen, a successful season looks promising.

Our first few days were spent getting the fitness testing out of the way. Everyone pushed through it, with new records being set and times being improved. These first few days we also got a chance to play pickup with the whole team and get to know each other on and off the field. After fitness testing, we started practicing with the coaches several times a day, emphasizing both offensive and defensive positioning.

On Monday, we took a break from practicing and went to the Potomac River for a kayaking race. The course started with weaving in and out of Key Bridge and memorizing the letters written on it. We then paddled to Roosevelt Island. After retrieving a stick, a leaf, some sand and a Maryland women's soccer schedule card, we crossed the Potomac to find our numbers on a wall. We then had to finish through the bridge where we started. The competition got pretty fierce, and Maureen and Becky held off Kristen and Erica to finish first. But they weren't able to unscramble the hidden letters on Key Bridge, so Lydia and Brit were able to claim victory.

After two days off, we were ready to get after it on Tuesday morning. After working on our dribbling and 1-v-1 moves to warm up, we started taking each other on going to goal. We started with one v ones and moved on to 2-v-2. The intensity was high, which is necessary to make every player better. After competitive practices like this, we all fight over flavors of Muscle Milk. We drink the Muscle Milk after each practice in order to let our bodies recover as fast as possible for the next session.

So far our team has done really well at practices, but the real test comes in our first scrimmage against St. Johns. If we bring the intensity and attitude that come out at practice, then we should get the result we're looking for.

Bye for now!