Sept. 23, 1997

No. 10 Maryland Continues ACC Play--Travels to Duke

TERPS SUFFER FIRST LOSS: Maryland entered Sunday's game against N.C. State with its best record, 5-0-1, dating back to 1969. N.C. State, however, sought revenge after last year's 7-0 whipping handed to it by the Terps in last year's ACC Tournament.

Leo Cullen

TERPS TRAVEL TO DUKE: Maryland continues ACC action when it travels to Duke on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matchup. Duke is ranked No. 4 in the NSCAA poll, and most recently handed Clemson a 5-1 defeat.

TERPS DROP IN POLLS: Maryland fell eight spots in this week's NSCAA poll. The Terps, who were ranked No. 2 prior to their loss to N.C. State, are now 10th. The Terps are also ranked 10th by Soccer America. Maryland also fell two places in the South Atlantic Region. The Terps, now ranked third, are behind James Madison and Virginia, respectively.

TERPS IN THE POLLS: Soccer News-No. 9; Soccer America-No. 10; NSCAA-No. 10.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Duke was ranked No. 1 in the country when it visited Maryland last season. The Terps defeated Duke, 4-1, after Shane Dougherty scored two goals while Keith Beach and Judah Cooks each added one.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS: Duke plays Appalachian State on Wednesday prior to meeting Maryland on Sunday...ranked No. 4 in the nation...own a 6-1 record...only loss was a 2-1 defeat by No. 1-ranked Indiana...Ali Curtis is the Blue Devils' leading scorer with 17 points...Jay Heaps, who was named ACC Player of the Week this week, has 11 points, and scored a 'hat trick' in the Blue Devils' 5-1 win over Clemson...Atli Knutsson is in goal, and has allowed 3 goals in 540 minutes played (0.50 GAA)...he also has four shutouts.

CALLING CULLEN: Senior defender Leo Cullen, a 1997 National Player of the Year candidate, continues to lead the Maryland defense. Maryland's defense has allowed only seven goals in its seven games.

CIROVSKI AT MARYLAND: Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski owns a 49-33-8 record at the helm of the Terp program. Overall, Cirovski's record is 77-45-14 in seven years of coaching. He will be inducted into his alma mater's (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Hall of Fame when the Terps travel to Madison, Wis. for an October 3 meeting with the Wisconsin Badgers.

TERP LEADERS:
Goals: Judah Cooks..................................5
Assists: Randy Merkel...............................6
Points: Judah Cooks................................14

IN GOAL: Sophomore goalkeeper Andy Kirk, a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team and the World University Games squad, has played in six matches, missing the Adelphi match because of his committment to the World University Games squad. In six games, Kirk has allowed six goals (.947 goals allowed average) and has posted two shutouts. His .947 GAA ranks him third in the ACC.

MARYLAND IN THE ACC: Scoring: Judah Cooks is 2nd with 14 points; Goals Scored: Cooks tied for 2nd with 5; Assists: Randy Merkel is tied for 1st with 6, Cooks is tied for 3rd with 4; Save Percentage: Andy Kirk is 3rd (.760); Goals Allowed Average: Andy Kirk is 3rd (.947); Solo Shutouts: Andy Kirk is tied for 3rd (2).

MARYLAND IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION: The Terps are ranked No. 3 in the South Atlantic Region. Judah Cooks is ranked 7th in scoring (14) and 7th in goals (5); Randy Merkel tied for 3rd in assists (6); Andy Kirk is ranked 10th in goals allowed average (.947).

MERKEL AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Junior midfielder Randy Merkel is tied for 4th in the country in assists with six.

1997 ACC Men's Soccer Statistical Leaders
Scoring                    GP  Pts. 
Ali Curtis, Duke            3  10
Judah Cooks, Maryland       4   9
Steve Armas, Maryland       4   9
Matt Leonard, Virginia      3   7
Randy Merkel, Maryland      4   7
Carey Talley, UNC           4   7
Chris Albright, Virginia    3   6
Chris Welling, N.C. State   3   6
Three tied with 5               5
Goals Scored           GP  Gls.
Ali Curtis, Duke        3   4
Steve Armas, Maryland   4   3
Judah Cooks, Maryland   4   3
Matt Leonard, Virginia  3   3
Carey Talley, UNC       4   3
Several Tied with 2         2   
Assists                 GP  A
Pablo Mastroeni, NCS    2   5
Randy Merkel, Maryland  4   5
Judah Cooks, Maryland   4   3
Several Tied with 2         2
Save%                      Svs. GA  Pct.
Atli Knutsson, Duke         8    0  1.000
Sean Conner, WFU           15    2   .882
Andy Kirk, Maryland        10    4   .714
Matt Jordan, Clem          12    5   .706
Brock Yatso, UVa            8    5   .615
Eric Handley, NCS           3    2   .600
Daniel Popik, UNC           9    7   .563
Goals Allowed Avg.  GA  Min  GAA
Atli Knutsson, Duke  0  180  0.00
Sean Conner, WFU     2  360  0.50
Eric Handley, NCS    2  138  1.30
Andy Kirk, Maryland  4  270  1.33
Brock Yatso, UVa     5  300  1.50
Daniel Popik, UNC    7  270  2.33
Matt Jordan, Clem    5  180  2.50
Solo Shutouts              GP  SO
Sean Conner, WFU            4   3
Atli Knutsson, Duke         2   2
Dan Alexander, N.C. State   1   1
Josh Campbell, Clemson      1   1
Andy Kirk, Maryland         3   1
1997 ACC Men's Soccer Standings
Maryland        4   0   0
Duke            3   0   0
N.C. State      3   0   0
Wake Forest     3   1   0
Virginia        1   1   1
Clemson         1   2   0
North Carolina  1   3   0