Maryland Recruiting Class Ranked No. 8 In The Nation By Soccer Buzz
May 26, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's soccer recruiting class for this fall was tabbed the eighth best in the nation according to Soccer Buzz, which released its rankings on Wednesday. The mark is the highest ranking for a Maryland recruiting class since Soccer Buzz began its polls in 1998 and highest for head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, who came to College Park in 1999.
The Terps are in the company of some of the nation's top programs, following No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Clemson and No. 7 Portland.
The ranking is also second in the Mid-Atlantic region, to only Penn State.
"Obviously, we knew we had one of the best recruiting class in the nation," said Higgins-Cirovski, who enters her sixth season with the Terps this fall. "I'm excited about the level of players we were able to bring in to help the program reach that next level and to help replace the players that have exited."
The class includes: midfielder Nataly Arias (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell High School), midfielder/forward Kelly Dormandy (Wallingford, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), defender/midfielder Stephanie "Stevie" Dunning (Carmel, Ind./Carmel High School), defender Lauren Gamble (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel High School), forward/midfielder Carissa Gilbert (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool High School), midfielder Shelley McDuff (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill High School), forward Kelly Rozumalski (Middleburgh, N.Y./Middleburgh Central High School) and midfielder/defender Jacquie Shields (Woodbury, N.J./West Deptford High School) , along with goalkeeper Nikki Resnick, who transferred in from Colorado.
Here's a look at the top 10
Rank School
1 Texas A&M
2 Notre Dame
3 North Carolina
4 Penn State
5 Texas
6 Clemson
7 Portland
8 Maryland
9 Ohio State
10 California
