It's a great time to be a Maryland men's soccer fan!  This week's blog checks in on former Terps Rodney Wallace and Jeremy Hall, gives props to Taylor Kemp's sizzling strike and asks for a little voting love for Zac MacMath.

The Maryland men's soccer blog wants to take a brief moment inbetween top-ten battles to recap the last week of action and look forward to what lies ahead for the Terps.

- The Terps have returned from summer break in tremendous shape. While most programs are worried about conditioning during the first week of camp, Sasho Cirovski's crew came back to College Park fit, providing the luxury of working on team chemistry and ball-handling beginning day one.

- Great article in today's Washington Post junior defender Alex Lee.  Alex is healthy and very excited to be back. It's a bit ironic that he will be returning for his first competitive action against Georgetown this weekend as that was the first official match (Oct. 13) he missed after the accident.  The team rallied for an inspirational 2-1 win that day, sporting arm bands with A.L. emblazoned on them. Here is the link to the Lee story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082403229.html

- In its 3-0 rout of St. John's last Saturday, Maryland revealed its freshman class and its new uniforms. The red kit is Maryland's third uniform and will be worn throughout preseason competition.  Cirovski noted to press in his post-game interview that the first two uniforms put the third one - which has a World Cup, form-fitting flair - to shame. Be on the lookout for that unveiling when the Terps play host to Michigan State Friday, Sept. 3.

- Freshman Patrick Mullins got the nod at midfield in Saturday's friendly against the Red Storm.  Mullins enrolled early during the spring semester and was Maryland's top scorer this spring.  Sunny Jane also saw significant time as one of the Terps' first players off the bench. The flashy, crafty midfielder is poised to be a fan favorite this fall.

- TopDrawerSoccer.com recently posted their first set of rankings, where the Terps landed at third.  Here is the link to the site's preseason top 48.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-soccer-tournament-ranking/men

- Maryland garnered a number two ranking in the ACC's preseason poll. North Carolina earned the top spot.  Reigning national champion Virginia slid into the third spot.  Below is the complete preseason rankings, per a vote of the league's nine head coaches.

 http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/082510aaa.html

- The Terps dropped a hard-fought battle to UMBC, 1-0, on the road in a friendly Tuesday.  The Retrievers notched the lone goal of the game on an own goal which richocheted off the Terp defense with 19 minutes remaining in the match. Cirovski noted the game was good-spirited and that both teams were able to utlitize its bench.

"UMBC is a very good team and though our performance was subpar, we will take some valuable lessons from this match  and apply them to the development of our team for the upcoming season."

Head coach Sasho Cirovski's 2010 signing class was released Tuesday the group is already catching some national attention from the media.

The class, which features five student-athletes with a vast array of experience, is Cirovski's 19th at Maryland. 

Gordon Murie, the New Zealand U-17 captain, and Patrick Mullins, the 2008 Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, are already on campus after enrolling a semester early this spring. 

For the Soccer America article detailing Maryland's latest signing additions, please click on the link below.

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37053/cirovski-high-on-terrapin-recruits.html

Fans can catch a glimpse of Maryland's new pair and the rest of the Terrapin men's soccer team when the squad begins spring action with a match against Crystal Palace USA this Saturday. The match is slated to start at 11 a.m. at Ludwig Field and is free of charge.

For a look at the complete spring schedule, please click on the link below.

http://www.umterps.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/md/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/springskedmsoc10

Maryland men's soccer is proud to show its support for the Sporting Chance Foundation. 

Headed up by former Terp and current New York Red Bulls defender Seth Stammler, the foundation was formed in 2007 after Stammler took a philanthropic trip to Haiti in November of 2006.

The Sporting Chance Foundation built a water well that provides portable water for more than 10,000 Haitians and established 49 academic scholarships for children ranging in age from 5-15 years-old in Port-au-Prince.

Prior to the terrible devastation in Haiti, Stammler and former Maryland standout Jeremy Hall paired up last month to present each student a tuition scholarship to an advanced school in the Haitian capital.

As many of you likely already know, the Maryland soccer family was directly affected by last week's earthquake as freshman midfielder Widner Saint Cyr hails from Haiti's capital city.  We are ecstatic to report that his sister, brother and grandmother survived the disaster. 

Please donate however you can.  Here's the link : http://www.sportingchancefoundation.org/