Oct. 28, 2000

COLLEGE Park Md.- - The Maryland men's soccer team (10-6, 1-3) transitions back into its ACC schedule today after a five-game conference hiatus. The Terps are fresh off an upset of No. 23 Loyola Wednesday ona penalty kick from freshman Abe Thompson (Fairfax Station, Va.). The Greyhounds were also fourth in the South Atlantic region rankings entering the week, just one spot ahead of Maryland. The Terps enter the 7 p.m.-tilt on a five-game win streak and have shut out their last five nonconference opponentss. The Clemson tilt starts off a two-game conference stretch to end the Terps' regular season at Charlottesville against the Cavaliers on Nov. 3. The ACC Tournament looms on the horizon just two games and less than two weeks away, but until the Terps take care of regular season conference business, the tournament might as well be months.

Senior Day
The Maryland men's soccer team would like honor its five seniors today in their final home game with the Terps. Midfielder Rob Birch (West Islip, N.Y.), goalkeeper Christian Lewis (Ellicott City, Md.), striker Nick Purdom (Orange, Calif.), midfielder Jason Sardis (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), and defender Mike Shebuski (Bloomington, Minn.) will all be honored in a pregame ceremony today. The senior class has combined for a 56-26-1 overall record (.680), and an 11-10-1 ACC record (.522) thus far and finished the 1998 season as an NCAA semifinalist. To our seniors, thank you and good luck - you will be missed!

The Series Against Clemson
The Terps enter Saturday's game 11-24-1 against ACC-nemesis Clemson in the series. Last year, Maryland toppled the Tigers 2-1 at Clemson for the first time in two years, and the team's first victory at Riggs Field since 1988. Jason Cropley (1996-99) scored the game winner at 81:14 to lift the Terps to the one-goal victory. The game marked the return of goalkeeper Christian Lewis in goal after he had been sidelined for two weeks with a bulging disc in his back. He ended the game with one save. Sasho Cirovski is 2-8 against Clemson since his arrival in 1993.

Thompson Scoring Streak To Seven
Freshman striker Abe Thompson extended his scoring streak to seven games on Wednesday when he scored the game-winner on a penalty kick against No. 21 Loyola. The streak started on Oct. 4 when Thompson netted his first career hat trick in the Terps' 5-1 victory over Monmouth. He added two more goals against George Mason on Oct. 11, and netted the game-winner on Oct. 14 against Virginia Commonwealth. The talented freshman also assisted the Terps' lone goal against North Carolina on Oct. 7 and added two more assists on Oct. 18 against Duquesne to help string together six-straight games with at least one point each. Thompson now leads Maryland in scoring with 11 goals and five assists, and has scored 19 points (eight goals, three assists) in the last seven games- an average of almost three points per game.

Cirovski Reaches Three Milestones in 2000 Season
In his eighth year at Maryland, head coach Sasho Cirovski won his 100th game with the red, black, white and gold on Wednesday against Loyola. He has compiled a 100-56-14 (.629) record at Maryland. A 1985 graduate of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Cirovski owns a 126-68-14 (.639) through his first nine years of head coaching. The Terps' 3-0 win against American on Sept. 27 marked the 200th game Cirovski has coached in his career, and Maryland's 1-0 victory against William & Mary on Oct. 22 stood as his 125th career victory. The win against Loyola made him the second coach in Maryland history to reach the 100-win milestone. Doyle Royal (1946-73), who coached at Maryland for the first 28 years of the program, is the only other head coach with 100 or more victories with the Terps.