Sept. 23, 2009
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The ninth-ranked Maryland Terrapin women's soccer team (8-0-0) opens its 2009 ACC schedule with a swing through the Sunshine State this week for two critical ACC matches. The Terps first travel to Tallahassee for a meeting with No. 5 Florida State on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Seminole Soccer Complex. Maryland finishes up its road trip on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Miami in a 1 p.m. game at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables.
Event Multimedia
• The Maryland-Florida State game will be televised live nationally on Sun Sports, which is available to DirecTV and Dish customers who subscribe to the "regional sports pack." Those fans will be able to watch the Terps and the Seminoles on DirecTV channel 656 and Dish Network channel 448
• Both games this weekend will also be available on Gametracker: Florida State | Miami.
Ranked Terps
• The Terps remain at No. 9 in the latest Soccer America Top 25. Prior to this season, the last time Maryland was ranked among the top 10 was early in the 2000 season.
• Maryland is also ranked in this week's NSCAA Top 25. The Terrapins moved up two spots to No. 18 with 205 points. Maryland also remained fifth in the ultra-competitive Southeast Region, trailing four other ACC schools.
• The Terps are one of just six programs in the nation that are undefeated and untied with at least eight victories. Louisiana Tech is the lone 10-0-0 team in the nation. Stanford stands at 9-0-0, while Boston College, South Carolina and Mississippi State are also 8-0-0.
Scouting The Terps
• For the first time since 1996 the Terps have rattled off eight straight wins. That season is also the last time a Terrapin team won at least eight games to begin a season. Maryland went 15-0-1 in its first 16 games in 1996.
• Maryland opened its 2009 season with a two-game road trip to New York for games at Army and Fordham. In the season opener at Army, the Terrapins dominated the Black Knights en route to a 3-0 shutout victory. After a scoreless first half, sophomore Ashley Grove got the Terps on the board with the team's first goal of the year off an assist by senior Megan Watson. Less than two minutes later, sophomore Jasmyne Spencer tallied her first collegiate goal. Senior goalkeeper Mary Casey started the play with a good punt, which was then flicked on by junior Caitlin McDowell. The third goal came was an unassisted blast by freshman Caitlin Mooney.
• After the Army win, Maryland moved to the Bronx to challenge the Fordham Rams. This time the Terps got on the board midway through the first half when freshman Olivia Wagner played the ball through to Spencer, who beat her defender and finished from 20 yards out with a low shot. Fordham tied the game at 1-1 in the 53rd minute, but it took Maryland less than 30 seconds to score the go-ahead goal. Once again it was Spencer scoring the goal, with the assist going to Grove, to give Maryland the 2-1 victory.
• The Terps continued their winning ways in their home opener on Friday, August 28 against Seton Hall. Freshmen Olivia Wagner and Caitlin Mooney scored goals for Maryland, leading the Terrapins to a 2-0 victory over the Pirates. Wagner scored the first goal on a 25-yard blast that was too much for the Seton Hall keeper to handle in the 51st minute. Mooney added the insurance goal on a quick turn-and-shoot effort in the 81st minute.
• The undefeated streak was in jeopardy for a half in the Terps' game against Loyola. The Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but that didn't stand up for long. Sophomore Sade Ayinde, who was inserted into the line-up at the beginning of the second half, scored in the 51st minute to knot the score at 1-1. Less than a minute later freshman Danielle Hubka gave Maryland the lead with a 30-yard shot into the upper right 90. After the Greyhounds tied the match in the next minute, the Terps regained the lead in the 53rd minute on another Ayinde goal. Ayinde was on the giving end of Terps' fourth goal,playing a give-and-go with freshman Caitlin Mooney, who finished from 15 yards into the lower left corner. SophomoreAshley Grove finished off the scoring with a 40-yard rip from the far left side of the field, giving the Terps a 5-2 victory.
• Maryland faced its toughest test so far on Sept. 4 in traditional powerhouse Santa Clara, but a goal by sophomore Ashley Grove propelled the Terps to a 1-0 victory. Senior keeper Mary Casey made five stops to earn her third shutout of the season.
• The Terps were not sharp when they played at American on Sept. 9, but Maryland still found a way to win the game - a 1-0 decision. Jasmyne Spencer scored the lone goal of the game in the 49th minute with the assist going to Caitlin McDowell.
• Maryland won its third-straight 1-0 decision on Sept. 11 when it defeated James Madison, an NCAA Sweet 16 team from 2008. For the fourth time this season the game was 0-0 at the half, but the Terps came out fast in the second half, putting pressure on the Dukes. Maryland had a goal taken off the board when the referee blew an early whistle in the 47th minute. The Terps were awarded a penalty shot on the play, but JMU goalkeeper Diane Wszalek came up with the stop to keep the game scoreless. That's how it would remain until the 60th minute when junior Molly Dreska put in her first career goal. Sophomore Ashley Grove made a hard run down the left side and crossed the ball back to the middle of the field to Dreska. Dreska then tried a fake to buy some space, but the JMU defender played her tightly. That didn't matter, because Dreska created a sliver of space and rifled a shot to the back post, past a diving Wszalek, to give the Terps the 1-0 lead.
• The 1-0 victory-streak came to an end, but the winning streak stayed alive with a 3-1 win over Brown in the Terps' non-conference finale. The victory gave the Terps (8-0-0) their first undefeated record in non-conference play since 1996. That season Maryland was 13-0 in regular season non-conference games. Molly Dreska continued her hot streak, scoring the first two goals for the Terps. Sophomore Jasmyne Spencer, who picked up an assist on Dreska's second goal, scored the insurance goal for Maryland.
• Sophomore Jasmyne Spencer continues to lead the team in points and goals with 12 and five, respectively. Junior Molly Dreska and Sophomore Ashley Grove are four points back with eight points on three goals and two assists. Junior Caitlin McDowell has picked up assists in two of the Terps last four games and is tied for the team lead with three with senior Megan Watson. Senior All-ACC goalkeeper Mary Casey has played every minute for Maryland so far in net and has a goals-against average of 0.50 with a save percentage of .826.
Scouting The Seminoles
• Florida State enters Thursday's game with a 7-1-0 record and a No. 5 ranking in the latest NSCAA Top 25 poll.
• The Seminoles opened the season with five-straight victories, including a 4-1 victory over Washington State, which is receiving Top 25 votes, before dropping a 1-0 decision at Central Florida. Since then, FSU has ripped off three straight shutout wins. Florida State has has a knack for shutting out opponents this season and has allowed just three goals all season.
• Sophomore forward Jessica Price is the Seminoles' leading scorer with 18 points on six goals and six assists. Fellow sophomore forward Tiffany McCarty is FSU's leading goal-scorer with seven tallies. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Erin McNulty has started all eight games for FSU and boasts a 0.41 goals-against average and a .824 save percentage.
Scouting The Hurricanes
• Miami enters the conference schedule with a 5-4-0 record. The 'Canes open ACC play against No. 3 Boston College on Thursday at home.
| 2009 Miami Hurricanes: 5-4-0, 0-0-0 ACC |
| Roster |
Schedule |
Statistics |
Media Guide |
• The Hurricanes have alternated wins and losses over their last six contests. Miami opened the seaon with a tough 1-0 loss to Florida. From there Miami defeated Florida Gulf Coast and Ball State before going on their current up-and-down stretch.
• Freshman forward Kate Howarth leads the 'Canes with six points on three goals. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo has started all nine games for Miami and has a 0.70 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage.
Deeg's Diary
• Every week Colleen Deegan is filing "Deeg's Diary" on umterps.com. Log on each week for her latest insights on Terps women's soccer.
Looking Ahead
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POWER in PINK: The October 18 game with NC State is the Terps' 2009 Power in Pink Game. The Under Armour® Power in Pink Games pay tribute to women everywhere who are fighting breast cancer. By raising awareness and contributing a percentage of Power in Pink jersey sales to breast cancer charities, Under Armour® and the teams they outfit hope to bring us all closer to an end to the disease.
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 2009 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
