Oct. 14, 2011
Terps Smash Ludwig Attendance Record, Beat Duke
The No. 3 Maryland men's soccer team displayed its offensive prowess in front of a Ludwig Field record crowd Friday night as the Terrapins defeated No. 22 Duke, 4-2.
The Terps, who played in front of 7,957 fans and were welcomed with fireworks, scored three second half goals, including two from John Stertzer, to best one of its ACC rivals and advance to 13-1-1 and 4-1-0 in the conference on the season despite being a man down for the game's final 23 minutes.
Maryland men's soccer marketing guru Katie Thompson:
"I knew leading up to the Duke game that it was going to be a big one. It was my first season with men's soccer and by coincidence, Sasho's 49th birthday, so I was feeling that pressure to make sure it was a crowd and a game no one would forget. We did everything we could to advertise the game. We sent emails, postcards, sent voice-shots from Sasho encouraging our fans to attend, and advertised online with the Baltimore Sun. We chalked every sidewalk and fliered every building on campus. We were very happy with the pre-sale numbers so we knew there would be a chance for a good crowd, just didn't know if it would be record breaking.
"The weather forecast was checked every hour on the hour and I felt such a sense of relief when I realized that it was going to be a perfect night for soccer. I was most excited for the fireworks I had ordered for the game. We had ordered co2 blasts for when the team entered the field and fireworks during the introductions and national anthem. Seeing the players faces when the fireworks went off will be something I will always remember. It was also pretty cool to be the person to say "go" to make fireworks go off.
"As the crowd filed in, the anticipation was brewing. I knew things were looking good when students could not find a seat behind the goals and started filing in to general admission seating. I knew this could be the record breaking game, was when I looked down and there were rows of people in each corner of the field without seats. When I finally received the attendance and confirmation that it was a record-breaking crowd, it was one of my proudest moments. Then for Maryland to dominate Duke the way we did, was truly unforgettable.
"Following the game, I thought the players would not be thrilled to see hundreds of kids waiting for autographs, but not only were they happy to do it, they just kept talking about the crowd and the fireworks. It will be a game I never forget and one I hope they don't either."
To commemorate Sasho Cirovski's 20th season as head coach at Maryland, UMTerps.com is celebrating his decorated career with a series titled "20 Winning Moments". Have a moment you think deserves to be on the list? Tweet us at @MarylandMSoccer with the hashtag #20WinningMoments.
