April 22, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland women's soccer team completed a wonderful weekend with four shutouts against some of the top teams in the country. Playing at the ACC Spring Tournament at Wake Forest, the Terps defeated the host Demon Deacons, 1-0, then blanked national runner-up North Carolina, 2-0 before tying Wake Forest in the title game, 0-0.
On Sunday the Terps came back to College Park and shutout Texas A&M, 1-0, in a 90-minute match at Ludwig Field. The Aggies finished the 2001 season ranked No. 7 in the country after advancing to the national quarterfinals (the final eight).
"This was a great weekend for our program," said Shannon Higgins-Cirovski. "More than anything, I really felt good about the the way we played against some of the top competition in the country. Our defense was organized. On offense, we possessed the ball brilliantly. Kimmy Francis along with Katie Ludwig, Jen Biscoe and Audra Poulin were great on offense. Dana Jarzyniecki was solid in the midfield and of course the defense played very well with the four shutouts."
Maryland opened the weekend with a 1-0 win over Wake Forest in the first of three 50-minute games at Spry Stadium. Francis nailed the game winner as Lynn Scharf record the first of her four shutouts on the weekend.
In the second game, the Terps shocked the defending national runner-up team North Carolina, 2-0. The Tar Heels played with played most of their regulars including keeper Jenni Branam, who was beaten twice by the Terps. Kim King got the Terps on the board as she knocked home a rebound that bounced off Branam from a shot by Melissa Anderson. Audra Poulin scored off a feed from Francis for the 2-0 final.
The Terps tied Wake in the final, 0-0 as Scharf was solid in goal again.
On Sunday, coming off the three 50-minute games at Wake, the Terps captured a 1-0 win over Texas A&M in a 90-minute match. Sarah McClellan collected the rebound off a shot from Ludwig and beat the Aggies' keeper from four yards out for the victory.
The Terps finish their spring season with the annual Alumni Game next Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m.
