COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Redshirt junior Alyssa Poarch, senior Malikae Dayes and senior Mikayla Dayes were all named players to watch by the Big Ten in a release made by the conference today.
The trio of seniors will be key pieces for head coach Ray Leone in his fifth season at the helm for Maryland, as the Terrapins look to build on their best-ever finish in the B1G. UMD finished 9-8-3 last season and earned a trip to the school's first-ever Big Ten Tournament. The Terps went 5-5-1 in league play to finish sixth in the conference, the highest for a Maryland team.
Poarch is back as Maryland's top goal scorer after an impressive 2019 campaign in which she was also named a Second Team All-Big Ten choice and Third Team United Soccer Coaches All-North Region selection.
Poarch put together a breakout 2019 season, where she led the Terps in points (19) and goals (8) while starting in all 19 games for Maryland. The Middletown, Del. native finished sixth in the conference in points (19) and sixth in goals (8).
Malikae Dayes returns to anchor Maryland's backline in 2021, after a strong 2019 campaign where she named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. Dayes was one of two Terps to start in every game in 2019, as her 1,861 minutes played led the team.
She notched an assist on Maryland's game-winning goal against Michigan State on October 24, 2019 when the Terps made history clinching their first berth in the conference tournament. Malikae and the Terps racked up six shutout wins on the year, while putting together the team's best home winning percentage (80%) since 2010.
Mikayla Dayes will again be a factor for Maryland's forward group, after tallying five goals and an assist during her junior campaign. Her highlight moment came on October 20, 2019, as she scored the game-winner for the Maryland to complete a 2-1 comeback win over Purdue. The win positioned Maryland for its first-ever appearance in the Big Ten Tournament.
Maryland was picked to finish 12th in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll.
2020-21 BIG TEN WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. Penn State
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Rutgers
5. Ohio State
6. Iowa
7. Northwestern
8. Indiana
9. Nebraska
10. Illinois
11. Purdue
12. Maryland
13. Minnesota
14. Michigan State
-Terps-
