Origin Story

The Maryland women's soccer program has one of the most compelling origin stories of any sport on campus. 

Established as a varsity program in the ACC in 1987, the Terps finished with an 8-12 record. The feat isn’t so impressive on the surface, but with some added context, one may understand how remarkable that season was. The squad was composed of student-athletes from a club team and received no support. They didn’t recruit, allocate scholarships, or even have a means of transportation provided by the school. Many of those things weren't provided until years later. 

What transpired can best be characterized as the shortcomings of Title IX requirements, which weren’t yet fully implemented at universities around the United States despite being signed into law over a decade beforehand. Despite that, the 1987 Maryland women’s soccer team performed at the highest level. 

“It was painfully obvious that the other teams had more resources, or at least they put more of their resources into their women's soccer team,” Sherae (Hill) McNeal, a student-athlete on the team in 1987, said. “We were kind of an afterthought, If we were even a thought.” 

Several years before the birth of the Maryland women’s soccer program, Bernadette Johnston first stepped foot on Maryland’s campus as a student. She loved soccer. She grew up playing the sport and was coached by her stepfather, Hans Orthner. She observed that Maryland had a men’s soccer team, not a women’s one.  

Bernadette, known as “Bernie” by her former teammates, wanted to continue playing soccer, so she and a few friends quickly gathered others to form a club team. They even found a coach for the team, as Bernie convinced Orthner to step up. The team found success early, playing against other varsity teams and beating them. According to former players, the club was highly competitive.

In 1985, the soccer team was still a club part of the intramural sports office. Because of how good they were for a club team, many varsity programs began refusing to play Maryland. A year passed, and the school finally gave the club varsity status so other schools could continue playing them. In 1987, the Terps joined the ACC, one of soccer’s most competitive conferences. 

“Every year, we got a little bit more,” Orthner said. “Finally, they let us play on the men's field, which was a big thing. We weren't allowed as a varsity team at all, so we became a club team. It took about five, six years until we finally became a varsity team without any support. Not even showers, nothing.”

Orthner coached the club team alongside Adrian Glover. However, Glover was hired as a coach by George Washington University ahead of the 1986 season. But Orthner continued to coach the team once they joined the ACC. 

Orthner was a full-time architect and wasn’t paid during his two seasons at the helm from 1987-88. His only other prior coaching experience was at the high school level, where he once served as a volunteer assistant in Howard County. He also grew up in Austria and didn’t move to the U.S. until he was 21. 

“He's just very, very giving,” Kathy (Smith) Lacey, a student-athlete on the team from 1987-89, said. “He and Adrian, both of them paid for a lot of things for us, a lot of the transportation and hotel costs. I was all out of their pockets. Hans also never missed anything. He wasn't like, ‘I have this job, I can't come to this practice or this game.’ He was at every practice, every game, every tournament, every road trip, every single thing.”

Before and after becoming a varsity sport, the team raised money by selling Dove ice cream bars outside the intramural sports office, using one of Glover’s jobs to their advantage. The team also sold raffle tickets at tailgates before football games for $100 cash prizes. 

Almost the entire team traveled to games in Orthner’s car — a 1977 Chevrolet Suburban bought specifically as a tool for the team’s transportation method. Smith would lie on top of the luggage in the back of the vehicle as every seat was occupied, often squeezing a couple into each seat. She says she was the shortest on the team and maintained her spot on out-of-state road trips to Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. 

“I couldn’t tell you how legal it was, but we probably had 13 or 14 people in the Suburban that is maybe supposed to carry eight at most,” McNeal said. “We just all squeezed in there, and it was actually kind of crazy, now that I think about it.”

Smith also remembers the road trips well. “Everyone would throw their bags in the back, but there had to be enough room for me to lie down. The singing, the stories and the jokes. Then, when we would get to wherever we were going, you'd be like, ‘Oooh, the pain. I got to stretch.’ I would not give any of those years back.”

During games away from College Park, the school didn’t yet provide players with meals or a food allowance. Many players ate sugar packets from fast food restaurants before games for energy.  

Many of the girls on the team were from Maryland, specifically the Bowie and Columbia areas. They even played with and against each other in high school. Their familiarity and camaraderie proved sufficient. 

“They were pretty decent because the girls really wanted to play,” Orthner said. “Today, you get everything. They didn’t get anything, so they had to play well.” 

But their abilities were tested, especially in conference play. As one can imagine, the Terps struggled playing in the ACC. They went 0-3 and were outscored 19-1 against NC State, North Carolina and Virginia.  

“We were in the ACC, we dropped right into competitive soccer,” Polly McGoogan, the goalkeeper for the 1987 team, said. “Many of us had all played together from elementary school on, but we were thrown to the wolves pretty much.”

But the season featured many highlights. With everything working against them, the Terps held their own. They opened the season with an 8-0 win and were 5-2 through their first seven contests.

“We shocked a few people, and then they started taking us more seriously as we went on through the season,” Ann (Marciniak) Barkman, a student-athlete on the team from 1984-88, said. “I think the key for us was that we had a talented group from Maryland with WAGS. (Washington Area Girls Soccer League). A lot of the girls played together growing up, so they knew each other. When we all got together, it was almost like we were a seasoned team.”

Furthermore, a few Terps posted successful campaigns in 1987. 

McGoogan made 104 saves, which still ranks sixth in program history for a single season. Dianne Taylor netted 10 goals, the 12th most in school history. Nobody broke double-digit goals until five years later. Cheryl Smith, Kathy’s sister, recorded 24 points, which ranks 14th in program history. Her mark also wasn’t surpassed until 1992.

The 1987 Maryland women’s soccer team showed resilience. They're a group of trailblazers. The team regrouped at Ludwig Field in 2022 and was honored for building the program's foundation. They acknowledged that for a while, they felt disconnected from the program. But being invited back to College Park made them grateful others didn't forget their story.