Nov. 1, 2010

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COLLEGE PARK, MD. - The No. 3 (Soccer America)/5 (NSCAA) Maryland Terrapin women's soccer team (15-2-1/7-2-1 ACC) heads to Cary, N.C., as the No. 2 seed in the 2010 ACC Tournament. The Terps will battle the seventh-seeded Duke Blue Devils on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 5:00 p.m. at Koka Booth Stadium at the WakeMed Soccer Park.

• The winner of Wednesday's match will advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals and face the winner of the No. 3 seed Virginia/No. 6 seed Boston College match, which will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

ACC Championship Central
• For complete information on the 2010 ACC Women's Soccer Championship, including the complete schedule, ticket information, Gametracker links and multimedia information, click here.

As the No. 2 Seed
• This season marks just the second time Maryland will be the No. 2 seed at the ACC Tournament. The only other time the Terps were the No. 2 seed was 1999. Maryland topped Duke, 2-1, in the first round before falling to Wake Forest in the semis by a 1-0 final.

Maryland In The ACC Tournament
• Maryland has an all-time record of 8-19-3 (Maryland won all three ties on penalty kicks) in ACC Tournament games dating back to the first year of the event in 1988.

• The Terps entered the 2009 tournament as the No. 6 seed, but once again drew the North Carolina Tar Heels in the opening round. UNC won the match 3-0.

• Maryland made the 2005 tournament as the No. 8 seed. Maryland matched-up with No. 1 seed North Carolina and was dealt a 3-1 defeat by the Tar Heels. UNC scored three goals in the first 10 minutes. Ashly Kennedy scored Maryland's goal in the 69th minute.

• In 2004, the Terps played NC State in the first round game at Ludwig Field (Boston College had not yet joined the conference). Maryland was the No. 8 seed, while the Wolfpack was seeded ninth. The game was played to a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes so a shootout determined which team would advance. All-ACC goalkeeper Nikki Resnick made two huge saves in the shootout and Maryland advanced 4-2. The Terps played No. 1 seed North Carolina in the quarterfinals and that game went into overtime with a 0-0 score, but UNC got a goal from Heather O'Reilly in the 103rd minute to advance with a 1-0 win.

• 2003 was the last time the Terrapins won an ACC tournament game, topping Clemson 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Maryland, the No. 6 seed, got two goals from Kimmy Francis to defeat the No. 3 seed Tigers. No. 2 seed Florida State knocked off the Terps in the semifinals, 1-0.

• In 2002,  Maryland advanced the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time in three years, as they knocked off host Florida State, 4-2 on Nov. 7, before a television audience on Sunshine Network. All four goals in the win came from freshmen: Ali Andrzejewski, Simone Dekker, Kimmy Francis and Mallory Mahar. Maryland lost North Carolina, the eventual league champion, North Carolina in the semifinals, 4-0.

• In 1999, as its highest seed ever, No. 2 seed Maryland advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 7 seed Duke on Nov. 4, 1999 before falling to No. 3 seed Wake Forest, 1-0, in the semis on Nov. 5.

• Maryland had its only runs to the ACC finals in 1995 and 1997, the only other time the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament was held at Wake Forest. In 1995, as the No. 3 seed, the Terps defeated Clemson 2-0 in the first round and NC State 1-0 in the second round before falling to eventual champion North Carolina 3-0.

• In 1997, Maryland escaped NC State in the first round, 4-3, in penalty kicks after tying 1-1 in regulation. The Terps advanced to the finals with a 2-1 win over Duke. In that win, Jackie Mynarski scored Maryland's first goal, while Keri Sarver added the winner. Ali Wolff made five saves for the win. The Terps dropped the final to North Carolina, 4-0.

Scouting The Terps
• Maryland is 15-2-1 after another 2-1 victory, this time over Miami, on Sunday at Ludwig Field. The Terps wrapped up the regular season with a program-best 7-2-1 mark in conference play.

• Maryland opened the 2010 season with a comfortable 6-0 shutout over Iona (recap | final stats) on Aug. 20. Junior Ashley Grove paced the Terps with two goals and an assist in the win over the Gaels. Junior Lydia Hastings snapped a 22-game goal-scoring drought with a goal, while also adding two assists. Senior co-captain Caitlin McDowell moved to left back after playing in the midfield for three seasons, but that didn't effect her production as she tallied a pair of assists.

• The Terps then had a short turnaround for a showdown with two-time defending Big 12 regular season champs Missouri (recap | final stats) on Aug. 22. The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of play, but the Terps rallied to knot the match at 1-1 before halftime on junior Sade Ayinde's first goal of the season in the 37th minute. Maryland came out of the break firing and took a 2-1 lead on junior Amy O'Sullivan's first collegiate goal in the 49th minute. Junior Ashley Grove's third goal of the season was an insurance goal in the 71st minute, but that proved to be the game-winner when Mizzou scored again in the 78th minute to make it a 3-2 game, which is how it would finish.

• Junior forward recap first goal of the season in the 74th minute.

• The Terps then clinched the Lady Vol Classic title with a 4-0 win over 2009 Atlantic Sun champ Kennesaw State (recap | final stats). Jasmyne Spencer, who was named the MVP of the tournament, and Caitlin McDowell each scored twice in the win to become the first Maryland teammates to score two goals apiece in a game since Oct. 1, 2003 when Jen Biscoe and Katie Ludwig both had two goals in a 6-0 win over James Madison. Joining Spencer on the all-tournament team were Ashley Grove and Domenica Hodak.

• Maryland wasn't sharp vs. Stony Brook (recap, who earned her first collegiate point on the goal.

• recap off of an early throw-in led to the penalty kick that Ayinde burried.

• The Terps fell behind thanks to an early, unconventional goal vs. Delaware (recap netted her team-leading sixth goal to close out the scoring.

• Maryland finished its non-conference schedule with a perfect 8-0-0 record thanks to two late goals by Jasmyne Spencer that gave the Terps a 2-1 come-from-behind victory in overtime over George Mason (recap | final stats). The Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, scoring on a free kick. Spencer netted the tying goal in the 80th minute on a terrific individual effort, going through three defenders to get off the initial shot and then working past two more Patriot defenders to fight for the ball before putting away the rebound. In the fouth minute of the first overtime, Colleen Deegan sent a long ball over the top of the Patriot defense. With a step on her defender, Spencer got on the end of the pass with only the goalkeeper to beat. Instead of rushing the shot Spencer showed a great deal of patience, skill and technical skill by waiting for Bodenschatz to commit before taking a shot that bounced just inside the right post.

• The Terps fell behind to #14 Duke midway through the second half, but Ashley Grove scored in the 76th minute to earn an important point in the ACC with a 1-1 tie (recap | final stats). Redshirt junior Yewande Balogun made a season-high five saves in the match, while defender Megan Gibbons made two team saves to preserve the tie. Jasmyne Spencer led the offensive attack with five shots.

• Sophomore Danielle Hubka scored the game-winning goal at rain-soaked Ludwig Field to give Maryland a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Virginia (recap | final stats). Lydia Hastings gave the Terps a 1-0 lead in the third minute, finishing a cross from Jasmyne Spencer with a blistering one-timer from 18 yards out. The Cavaliers tied the match early in the second half on a rebound goal off of a blocked shot. The two teams traded penalty kicks midway through the second half, setting up Hubka's header off of a great corner kick from Olivia Wagner in the 74th minute. Redshirt junior Yewande Balogun made five saves in the win, but several of those were spectacular diving efforts that preserved the victory in the waning minutes.

• The Terps suffered their first loss of the season, 1-0, at Virginia Tech (recap | final stats). Maryland goalkeeper Yewande Balogun finished with three saves. Junior Sade Ayinde led the Maryland offensive attack with three shots. Senior Caitlin McDowell, juniors Skyy Anderson and Ashley Grove, and sophomore Olivia Wagner each had a pair of shots.

• Maryland earned arguably the biggest win in the program's history when it topped No. 2 Boston College (recap was solid in net for the Terps, especially in the first half when she made five of her seven saves. The victory over the No. 2 Eagles marks the highest-ranked opponent ever to go down in defeat at the hands of the Terps. Maryland's win over No. 3 UCLA in 2004 was the previous highest-ranked victory.

• Junior Jasmyne Spencer scored the game's lone goal in the 68th minute to lead the Terps to a 1-0 road win at NC State (recap | final stats). The goal started with a great ball from senior Colleen Deegan, who played it back against the grain to sophomore Megan Gibbons down the sideline. Gibbons then slipped the ball into the box with a short cross that Spencer ran onto and one-timed into the back of the Wolfpack net.

• Junior Jasmyne Spencer totaled a career-high five points on two goals and an assist to lead Maryland to a 4-0 rout of Clemson (recap | final stats). Senior Caitlin McDowell tied her career-high with four points on a goal and two assists. Senior Molly Dreska also scored in the victory, while juniors Skyy Anderson and Domenica Hodak each added assists. Redshirt junior Yewande Balogun made two saves to pick up her second full shutout of the season.

• Maryland fell behind Wake Forest and ended up losing a 2-1 decision at the Demon Deacons (recap | final stats) on Oct. 21. Junior Ashley Grove finished a corner kick off assists from junior Sade Ayinde and sophomore Olivia Wager for the Terps' lone goal.

• History was made in the 32nd meeting between the Terps and North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 24. Junior Sade Ayinde scored twice in the final 12 minutes to lead Maryland to its first-ever victory over the No. 2-ranked Tar Heels (recap | final stats). Carolina took an early lead and held that all the way through the 78th minute when a long goal kick by redshirt junior Yewande Balogun went over the UNC backline and Ayinde ran onto it and finished with a one-timer off the outside of her right boot. Ayinde then game Maryland the lead in the 86th minute off of a free kick, which was set up by junior Jasmyne Spencer, who was fouled just outside of UNC 18. Ayinde then took the free kick and sent it under the wall and into the right side of the net.

• Jasmyne Spencer's goal in the 62nd minute capped off another amazing come-from-behind victory for the Terps as they knocked off No. 8/9 Florida State, 2-1 (recap | final stats). FSU took a 1-0 lead early in the second half, but senior Colleen Deegan buried a free kick from 25 yards out inside the left post to tie the match in the 59th minute. Spencer then scored her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season to give the Terps their sixth conference win of the year.

• The Terps wrapped up its regular season with its third straight 2-1 victory, this one coming against the Miami Hurricanes (recap | final stats) in dramatic fashion. Maryland took an early lead on a Danielle Hubka goal in the fourth minute of play with assists coming from seniors Erika Theisen and Caitlin McDowell. The Hurricanes tied the match early in the second half, but Maryland's resilience showed again as it rallied for the game-winning goal in the 76th minute. Junior Skyy Anderson sent a long ball into the Miami box. A scramble bumped the ball into the air near the top of the box where McDowell flicked it to the right post where Hastings elevated and headed it into the goal. Miami's Brittney MacDonald tried to clear the ball, but it had already landed over the line for the score. Redshirt junior Yewande Balogun perserved the victory with five stops in the match, including a one-handed leaping save on a 1v1 situation with Miami's all-time leading scorer Brittney Steinbruch.

Scouting The Blue Devils
• Duke finished the regular season with a 10-6-3 overall record and 4-5-1 in the ACC.

• The Blue Devils opened their 2010 season going 6-1-2 in their non-conference schedule. After going 2-0 in its first two matches, Duke dropped a tough 2-1 decision to No. 2 Stanford on Aug. 29. A pair of wins overFrancis Marion and High Point were followed up by a 0-0 tie vs. FIU. Duke got back on track with a 1-0 win over Yale on Sept. 12. The Blue Devils then hosted the Duke Soccer Classic and battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie with No. 5 Florida on Sept. 17 before topping Middle Tennessee State 1-0 on Sept. 19.

• Duke opened its ACC slate at home vs. unranked Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons stunned the Blue Devils, 2-1, to earn their first-ever road victory over Duke. After tying the Terps, 1-1, on Sept. 26, the Blue Devils dropped conescutive road games at Florida State and Miami. Duke got back on the winning side of the ledger with a 4-1 win over Clemson, but followed that with a 2-0 loss at Virginia on Oct. 14. The Blue Devils then got hot, winning three straight over Virginia Tech, Boston College and NC State. That streak came to an end in the regular season finale, a 5-3 home loss to rival North Carolina.

• This will be the 30th time Maryland and Duke will meet on the pitch. Maryland trails in the all-time series 11-13-5.

• The last time these two met in the ACC tournament was 1999, which was the last time Maryland entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Sara Gustafson gave the Terps a 1-0 lead in the first half, but the Blue Devils knotted the score at one goal apiece on a Sherrill Kester goal in the 53rd minute. Jackie Mynarski won the game for the Terps with her ninth goal of the season in the 77th minute. Maryland keepers Ali Wolff and Riki-Ann Serrins split time in net and combined for seven saves.

Looking Ahead
• The Terps are a good candidate to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and could host first- and second-round games on Nov. 12 and 14, respectively. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled to be broadcast live on Monday, Nov. 8 on ESPNU at 4:30 p.m.

Pensky Named ACC Coach of the Year
• Head coach Brian Pensky became just the third head coach in the history of Maryland women's soccer to earn the ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Terps to arguably the finest season in program history. The Terps finished the regular season with a 15-2-1 overall record for a .861 winning percentage, which is the highest in school history. Pensky also led his team to a 7-2-1 conference mark with the seven ACC wins nearly doubling the previous school record of four, which was reached in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2009. Pensky's Terps have also reached No. 3 in the Soccer America Top 25, marking the highest all-time ranking for the program in any major poll.

Spencer Repeats As First Team All-ACC Selection
• Junior forward Jasmyne Spencer has had another spectacular season and leads the Terps with 23 points on nine goals and five assists, which are the exact same numbers she has last season while earning first team All-ACC honors. She is the first Terp to be named to the All-ACC first team in back-to-back seasons since goalkeeper Nikki Resnick was selected in 2005 and 2006. The last field player to earn consecutive first team honors was Erin Taylor in 1995 and 1996. She currently ranks among the Top 25 in career points (10th, 48), goals (9th, 19), assists (23rd, 10), shots (9th, 144) and game-winning goals (4th, 8).

Spencer Earns Honors
• Junior Jasmyne Spencer earned two major preseason honors heading into the 2010 season. Spencer became the first Terp in the program's history to be named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List and then was named to Soccer America's Preseason All-America team.

• Spencer enjoyed a breakthough season in her second year in the Terrapin program. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native started the year with the game-winning goal in the 3-0 win over Army and didn't slowed up from there. Spencer led the team with 25 points on 10 goals, including four game-winners, and was tied for second on the squad with five assists. Her 25 points were the most for a Terrapin in a season since 1998 when Keri Sarver set the school record with 49 points. Her 10 goals are also the most since 1999 when Jackie Mynarski had 11.

• The preseason honors may have been based upon last season's production, but the 5-foot-1 dynamo has been just as productive early on in 2010 and has earned the honors to show it. Spencer earned three weekly honors following her MVP performance at the Lady Vol Classic (Aug. 27-29). She scored her first goal of the season in the 3-1 victory over host Tennessee and then scored the team's first two goals in the 4-0 shutout of Kennesaw State. In addition to being named the tournament MVP, Spencer was named the co-ACC Player of the Week, selected to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week and was one of collegesoccer360.com's Primetime Performers of the Week. Spencer's ACC honor marks the first time since 2004 that a Terrapin has earned ACC POW honors.

• Spencer continued to gain recognition following her career-best five-point output vs. Clemson as she was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.

• Spencer followed up her 25-point 2009 season with 23 points so far this season, which makes her the first Terp since the 1997-98 seasons to have back-to-back 20+-point seasons. Keri Sarver (36-49), Emmy Harbo (24-36) and Robin McCullough (22-21) each had back-to-back 20+-point seasons in 1997-98.

• Fighting To The Finish

Super Grover
• Junior forward Ashley Grove is having the best season of her career, leading the team with 17 points and seven goals. She is working her way up the career points and goals charts as well. She is currently tied for 11th on the all-time points list with 46 career points and is tied for 13th on the all-time goals list with 17. She has also worked her way into the top 20 in career assists and is currently in a four-way tie for 13th with 12 career assists.

Ayinde Honored For Tar Heel Heroics
• Junior Sade Ayinde led the Terps to its historic 2-1 win at No. 2 North Carolina (the first Maryland win over the Tar Heels in 32 matches) by scoring both goals in the final 12 minutes. For her efforts she is the third Terp this season to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. Ayinde was also selected as the NSCAA National Player of the Week, the ECAC Offensive Player of the Week, was chosen as a member of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week for the second time this season and was named one of collegesoccer360.com's Primetime Performers of the Week.

• Ayinde was previously selected to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Week following her performances vs. Seton Hall and Delaware. Ayinde scored the game-winning goals vs. both the Pirates and the Blue Hens with both game-winners coming on penalty kicks. It is the first recorded instance of a Maryland player tallying PK goals in back-to-back games in the 24-year history of the program.

• Ayinde is working her way up several career charts as well. She is currently tied for 17th on the all-time points list with 37 career points and is tied for 9th on the all-time assists list with 15.

McDowell Moving Up By Giving
• Senior co-captain Caitlin McDowell may have moved to the back line this season, but that has not stopped her from continuing to lead the team in assists. The Plano, Texas, native is tops on the team with 11 assists, which gives her 23 for her career and tying her for fourth on the all-time lists.

• McDowell's 11 assists this season is a remarkable achievement and is just the fourth time in the history of the Terrapin program a player has reached double-digit assists in a single-season.

• She enterted the Top 25 in career points at Maryland with her two assist performance vs. Miami in the regular season finale. McDowell is tied for 21st with 35 career points.

• Defining A Turnaround

Dynamite Deegs
• Senior defender Colleen Deegan received three major honors following her efforts in the Terps' wins over No. 2 Boston College (2-1, 10/7) and NC State (1-0, 10/10). Deegan became the first Terp in history to be named the NSCAA National Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal vs. the Eagles with just eight seconds left in the game. She then went on assist on Jasmyne Spencer's game-winning goal vs. the Wolfpack. Deegan was also named a CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Player of the Week and was the second Terp this season to earn ACC Player of the Week honors.

Deegan and McDowell Earn Academic Honor
• Seniors Colleen Deegan and Caitlin McDowell were named first team CoSIDA Academic All-Region and will now be up for consideration for Academic All-America honors. Deegan is set to graduate in May with a dual degree in accounting and business management with a 3.68 GPA. McDowell will graduate in May with a degree in marketing with a 3.93 GPA..

Ranked Terps (rankings from week of Oct. 24)
• Fresh off of their historic win at North Carolina, the Terps earned the highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 3 in this week's Soccer America Top 25. The previous high ranking for Maryland was No. 4, which it achieved earlier this season and during the 1996 season.

• Maryland also moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest NSCAA Top 25 are also No. 5 in TopDrawerSoccer.com's 2010 Tournament 64 Rankings, which, according to TDS.com's website, "are a running attempt to project the postseason college soccer tournament qualifiers, including every automatic conference berth."

Terps Toppling Top 10 Teams
• Maryland has defeated a Top 10 ranked team 17 times in its history. The Terps' most memorable Top 10 victory, 2-1 at No. 2 North Carolina on Oct. 24, tied for he highest ranked opponent ever defeated by Maryland. The Terrapins defeated No. 2 Boston College on Oct. 7 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Those two victories mark the first time in program history that Maryland has defeated two Top 10 teams in a single month. The Terps then added to that with another 2-1 win over No. 8 Florida State on Oct. 28. Here's a list of all of the Terps' Top 10 wins:

• The 19 straight wins over non-ACC foes breaks the school record which was set in 1996 when that squad of Terps won 17 consecutive non-conference games before losing at Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

100 And Counting At Ludwig Field
• The Terps won their 100th match at Ludwig Field with a 6-0 victory over Iona on Aug. 20, 2010. 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 108-46-17 (.681) at Ludwig Field.

• Through the seasons, the Terps have had a knack for shutting teams out at Ludwig Field. Maryland has won 71 of its 108 victories (65.7%) at Ludwig Field via shutout. Add in the nine 0-0 ties the Terps have had at Ludwig Field and it totals 80 times that Maryland has shutout its opponent in 171 games (46.8%).

The Last Time ...

Head Coach Brian Pensky
• Brian Pensky is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Maryland women's soccer program. After helping lead the Terrapin men's program to three-straight appearances in the College Cup, Pensky took over the women's soccer program prior to the 2005 season. He has steadily built the program back to prominence and took it to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2004 last season. Pensky owns an overall head coaching record of 52-47-14 (.522).

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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 2010 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.