Season Preview: Forwards
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The season preview finale features a full rundown of the 2011 campaign by head coach Sasho Cirovski. Cirovski says this year's unit will be in the likes of Manchester United with a little Barcelona flavor tossed in.
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Cirovski Notes:
- Head coach in his 19th season; boasts a 296-123-29 overall record with the Terps; Four wins away from career win No. 300 at Maryland
- 16 NCAA postseason appearances with Maryland
- Four Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships
- 17 straight winning seasons
- School-record 23 wins in 2008; School-record 15 shutouts in 2008, 2010
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On the recruiting class:
"It is a small but highly-talented class. Alex Shinksy and Kyle Roach were with us all spring and have benefited from having a full semester here. They are all going to compete for playing time right away. With two goalkeepers being freshman...they are very talented but they are young and it will take some time to get them into game speed. Most of these kids have had a lot of experience at pretty high levels, whether it is at academy or on U.S. national teams or with their club teams, they are all very highly-capable players. I'm excited for them."
On players `waiting in the wings':
"With us losing basically seven starters, there have been a lot of players chomping at the bit. We had some very good performances in the spring and we had some learning opportunities as well. This group of players really took to heart the challenge of doing a lot of work in the summer both individually and collectively to come in highly motivated for hopefully a return trip to the College Cup.
On what can be expected from each position this season:
"We return a very strong back line with three of our four starters back. We also return some very talented goal scorers. We have probably the most depth in the midfield, but only return one starter. We have nine or 10 players capable of starting and a big challenge for us will be to find the right mix of players. I suspect we will do quite bit of rotation in the beginning of the season until we can figure out what group fits the best. I'm also delighted that fifth-year senior Will Swaim will be challenged by two young talented goalkeepers. I think that will make everyone better."
On this year's challenging slate:
"Every year, we always open with extremely tough competition. After the first two weeks, I like to know exactly where we stand. This was by design. We are going to have a very good indication of what's right, what's wrong and what we need to fix before we get into conference play. In all of our successful years, we've opened the season with several top-25 teams and this season is no different."
On what makes this team special:
"It's a highly motivated group with a chip on their shoulder. They all still remember the bitter taste from their last game against Michigan and I don't think that's gotten any better. They just want to get the bitterness out with a sweet smell at the end of this season."
On what fans can expect from this year's squad:
"We want to be a team that is fun to watch...a high tempo, high pressing, and high possession kind of team. We've always been in the mold of Manchester United but this year we are going to mix in some Barcelona flavor."
