Aug. 17, 2011

COLLEGE PARK, MD. - This is the final part of a seven-part series that will preview the 2011 Maryland women's soccer team and season. Fans will be introduced to many of the key offensive and defensive players, potential impact newcomers and a look at one of the Terps' most challenging schedules ever.

"We hope so," said Maryland head coach Brian Pensky. "Our team wants to compete for championships. Playing a competitive non-conference schedule, and having success in those games, can substantially help our RPI, and prepare us to play league games, which should put us in a good place come championship time."

The Terps schedule is always among the toughest in the NCAA, which is due in large part to playing in the ACC, which is widely considered the toughest and deepest women's soccer conference in the nation.

But this year Pensky, knowing he has a veteran team that can compete with the nation's best, has put together one of the most challenging schedules in school history, beginning on Friday, Aug. 19 with the season opener vs. preseason No. 22 Minnesota.

The non-conference schedule continues with the first road match at local rival Loyola on Aug. 22 and peaks with a showdown of 2010 No. 1 seeds when preseason No. 1 Stanford visits Ludwig Field on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.

From there the Terps have home games vs. Navy (Aug. 28) and St. Louis (Sept. 2) before heading to Cornell on Sept. 4. The non-conference slate finishes with a Sept. 7 home game vs. American and a Sept. 11 road match at James Madison.

"We've put together a schedule full of local rivalries, plus team's like Minnesota and Stanford, so there's no question that we'll be battle-tested come time for ACC play," said Pensky.

The ACC schedule is always difficult and begins with a road game at No. 10 Virginia on Sept. 15. The Terps then host Virginia Tech (Sept. 18), No. 4 Boston College (Sept. 22) and NC State (Sept. 25).

A road game at Clemson on Sept. 29 breaks up the home stand, but the Terps return home for an Oct. 8 match vs. No. 18 Wake Forest.

The grueling five-day Florida swing awaits the Terrapins next with No. 5 Florida State on Oct. 13 in Tallahassee and Miami in Coral Gables on Oct. 16.

Maryland finishes up its regular season at Duke on Oct. 23 and "Senior Night" vs. No. 3 North Carolina at Ludwig Field on Oct. 27.

The ACC tournament has changed its format this season with the first round taking place on the campuses of the top four seeds on Sunday, Oct. 30. The winners of those games will then advance to the semifinals in Cary, N.C., on Nov. 4. The ACC championship game is set for Nov. 6.

The NCAA tournament has also undergone a bit of a facelift with the first and second rounds being split up. The first round gets its own weekend and will take place from No. 11-13.

The second round will now be paired with the Sweet 16 and will take place on the weekend weekend of Nov. 18-20.

The quarterfinals will be held on the weekend of Nov. 25-27 with the winners advancing to the College Cup, which will be hosted by Kennesaw State from Dec. 2-4.