Aug. 24, 2011

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

The No. 4 Maryland men's soccer team opens its season with a pair of matches against St. John's and West Virginia as part of the 2011 ACC/BIG EAST Challenge.

The Terps face St. John's on Friday at 8 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. The Terps welcome West Virginia Sunday in its home opener at Ludwig Field. Kickoff for Sunday's contest is 7 p.m.

Tickets and Game Promotions
· Click here for ticket information for all 2011 Maryland men's soccer home games.

· Click here for ticket information for the 2011 ACC/BIG EAST Challenge at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Note: Price of ticket includes both the West Virginia/Virginia and St. John's/Maryland matches on Friday.

· Click here for a complete list of game promotions for this season.

Parking Information
General Information: After 4 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends, there is no charge for parking in Lots Z1 or 1b or in Regents Drive Garage. Lots R2 and R3 are limited to vehicles displaying current valid permits for the respective lots at all times. The Stadium Drive Garage is closed on weekends.

Maryland SoccerPlex Information: Parking for Friday's games at the Maryland SoccerPlex is free.

Event Multimedia
· For a listing of games available on Terps TV and information on how to purchase, click here via TerpsTV All-Access.

· Fans will be able to follow all of the action on umterps.com via Gametracker.

· Maryland's student-run radio station, WMUC, will also be broadcasting the match at WMUCsports.com.

Follow Maryland Men's Soccer on Twitter

Scouting The Terps

· Maryland opens its 2010 season ranked No. 4 in the preseason NSCAA poll and No. 2 and No. 8 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America preseason polls, respectively. Though the squad lost seven starters from last season, the Terps return top scoring threats Casey Townsend and Patrick Mullins as well as a nearly competely intact back line

· The Terps will be led on offense by 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list selection Casey Townsend. The Traverse City, Mich., native is the top returning scorer for the Terps after scoring nine goals for 2010 ACC champion Maryland. Departed four-year starter Jason Herrick was selected by the Chicago Fire with the 45th pick in the MLS SuperDraft in January. The 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year, Patrick Mullins will move up top this season to assist Townsend at the striker position.

· Gone from the midfield are starters Doug Rodkey, Matt Kassel and Billy Cortes but the cupboard is far from bare, however. Three players on this season's squad earned starts in the midfield in 2010 including Kaoru Forbess, Helge Leikvang and John Stertzer. Forbess has 30 career starts to his name and is the most seasoned veteran in the unit. Leikvang is a highly-skilled player from Norway who boasts a powerful shot and a calm defensive demeanor. Stertzer has improved in each of his first two seasons in College Park and became a solid offensive weapon as a full-time starter by the end of the 2010 campaign.

· Taylor Kemp returns for his third season as a starter at outside back. Alex Lee will seal up the middle once again this season after helping the Terps tally a program-best 15 shutouts in 2010. A very athletic defender, Lee will have an increased role in communication both on and off the field while serving as a captain for this year's unit.

· Redshirt senior Will Swaim will enter the season on top of the depth chart at goalkeeper, replacing three-year starter and current Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath.

2011 Preseason Preview
· Part 1: Forwards featuring Casey Townsend
· Part 2: Midfield featuring senior Kaoru Forbess
· Part 3: Defense featuring senior Alex Lee
· Part 4: Overall Outlook featuring head coach Sasho Cirovski
· WATCH! Season Preview Video

Scouting The Red Storm
· St. John's was 10-6-2 overall and 4-3-2 in BIG EAST play in 2010. Known as a defensive-minded program, the Red Storm registered only 26 goals last season but also surrendered a mere 16.

· Senior Pablo Battuto Punyed (5g, 2a) and Walter Hines (3g, 2a) are the top returning scorers for the Red Storm. SJU lost its top scoring threat with the departure of Tadeu Terra (5g, 5a).

· Rafeal Diaz returns as the starting goalkeeper. Diaz boasted a .831 save percentage while giving up 15 goals in 18 starts in 2010.

· The Terps are 4-3 against SJU all-time. Maryland dropped the Red Storm in the 2008 national semifinals in double overtime on its way to the program's third national championship.

Scouting The Mountaineers
· West Virginia went 11-8-2 overall and 5-4 in BIG EAST play in 2010. The Mountaineers fell to eventual national champion Akron in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

· The Mountaineers are led by preseason All-American Raymon Gaddis. Gaddis recorded five points while playing every minute of every game in 2010.

· WVU's top returning scorer is Franck Tayou, who registered nine goals in 2010. The Mountaineers will have a new keeper with the departure of full-time starter Zach Johnson.

· The Terps are 1-2 against WVU all-time. Maryland defeated the Mountaineers, 1-0, on Oct. 21, 2008 in Morgantown in the squads' last meeting.

Poll Central
· Follow the Terps and their opponents in the 2011 season via these national polls:
NSCAA Poll
College Soccer News Poll
TopDrawerSoccer.com Poll

Head Coach Sasho Cirovski
· The winningest head coach in Maryland men's soccer annals, Sasho Cirovski returns for his 19th season at the helm of the prestigious Terp program. The long-time head coach is four wins away from career victory No. 300 at Maryland. Here are just a few of his highlights with the Terps.

· National Champions (2005, 2008)
· NSCAA National Coach of the Year (2005)
· ACC Coach of the Year (2003, 2005)
· 16 NCAA postseason appearances
· Four ACC Tournament titles
· Six appearances in the College Cup
· 17 straight winning seasons
· 37 MLS players
· 30 First Team All-ACC picks
· Eight MAC Hermann Trophy finalists

Townsend Earns Preseason Honors
· Casey Townsend recently earned two lofty national preseason honors. The senior was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and garnered College Soccer News Preseason All-America honors.

· Townsend was tabbed to the initial 42-player list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the top individual honor in college soccer. A senior from Traverse City, Mich., the 2010 First Team All-ACC pick is Maryland's top returning scorer after tallying nine goals as a junior.

· Townsend was also named a College Soccer News Second Team Preseason All-American. He is currently 15th in TopDrawerSoccer.com's listing of the top 100 prospects for professional soccer in the college senior class.

ACC Freshman of the Year Returns for Terps
· Sophomore Patrick Mullins was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year in 2010 after appearing in 21 games and registering 14 points.

· As a midfielder, Mullins was also a TopDrawerSoccer All-Rookie second team pick.

· The New Orleans, La., product will move up to a striker position in 2011, accompanying Casey Townsend and replacing four-year starter Jason Herrick.

From College Park to the MLS
· Maryland had another banner day at the 2011 MLS SuperDraft with three student-athletes being selected.

· Zac MacMath was selected by the Philadelphia Union with the fifth overall pick. Billy Cortes (38th - NYRB) and Jason Herrick (45th - Chicago) were also taken in the draft. Underclassmen Matt Kassel and Ethan White later signed homegrown deals with New York and D.C.

Terps Land Top Recruit
· Incoming freshman Alex Shinsky heads to Maryland as TopDrawerSoccer.com's No. 1-rated recruit in 2011. The midfielder is also the No. 2-ranked recruit in the nation by College Soccer News.

· Shinsky is a member of U-17 U.S. National Team...played at West York Area where he scored a goal for the U.S. U-17 National Team in the FIFA World Cup in Malawi.

Fan Friendly Ludwig Field
· The Maryland men's soccer team has increasingly attracted more and more fans to Ludwig Field season after season. Heading into this season, more than 325,000 fans have filled the stands to take in exciting Terrapin soccer action since the facility opened in 1995.

· A program-high crowd of 7,260 watched Maryland top No. 9 Duke in 2010. The Terps were second nationally in overall attendance in 2009. Maryland has averaged more than 2,000 fans per match in each of the last seven seasons.

The Terps When (2010)...

Follow Maryland Athletics on Twitter

Media Information
· 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 2011 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.