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Brian Pensky is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Maryland women's soccer program and has the Terps poised to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Pensky was hired as Maryland's head coach on May 18, 2005 after serving as an assistant coach with the Maryland men's soccer team for three years, helping them to College Cup appearances every season.
This season, Pensky landed his second-straight Top 20 recruiting class, according to Soccer Buzz. The class, which checked in at No. 14 nationally, the second-highest ranking ever for a Terps' recruiting class, and second in the Mid-Atlantic region is anchored by four top 150 players. Sade Ayinde is ranked 34th, while Becky Kaplan, Skyy Anderson and Lydia Hastings are also among the top 150. Ayinde and Hasting have both been invited to several U.S. U18 camps and have excelled. Hastings was the U.S.'s leading scorer with three goals at the U18 Women's National Team Foreign Training Camp in Europe.
The 2007 season was one of improvement for Pensky's Terps as Maryland battled one of the nation's toughest schedules. Three times in 2007 the Terps dropped a decision in overtime to a nationally-ranked opponent, showing that Maryland is capable of competing with the nation's elite. The Terrapins were defined by a tenacious defense that allowed just 20 goals on the year despite losing ACC All-Freshman team goalkeeper Yewande Balogun to injury with three games remaining in the campaign.
During his first two seasons with the women's soccer team, Pensky's squads have been ravaged by injuries, but his teams have consistently been one of the toughest defensive teams in the country. The Terps were second in the ACC, the nation's toughest women's soccer conference, in goals against in 2006.
In the last two seasons, Pensky's squad continued one of the legacies of the program - knocking off top-10 teams. In seven of the last eight seasons the Terps have defeated a team ranked in the top 10. In 2005, Maryland defeated No. 8 Boston College, 2-1, in the regular-season finale to secure a trip to the ACC Tournament. Last season saw Maryland defeat 10th-ranked Tennessee, 1-0, in the season opener. The Terps also defeated No. 11 Virginia 2-0 in their final home contest of 2006.
In addition, Pensky helped mentor two-time first team All-ACC goalkeeper Nikki Resnick and 2005 All-ACC midfielder Kimmy Francis. Resnick finished her career second on Maryland's career lists in saves (353) and shutouts (19.0), while Francis is third in career points (67), sixth in career goals (22) and fourth in career assists (23).
Pensky, who has served as a men's and women's assistant coach at the collegiate level, helped guide the Terrapin men's soccer team to 57 wins during his three seasons on the staff, including the ACC Tournament title in 2002 and regular season crown in 2003. In 2004, CollegeSoccerNews.com named Pensky one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.
Prior to working under Sasho Cirovski for three seasons, where he was involved in all facets of the program, Pensky was an assistant at Loyola College, where he helped the Greyhound women's team win the 2001 MAAC Conference Tournament and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in his one season with the program. He came to Loyola after spending three years as an assistant coach in George Washington's women's soccer program.
Pensky has also been involved with the Maryland girls' Olympic Development Program team since 1997. He served as an assistant coach for the Under-15 team from 1999-2000, helping that squad to the 1999 Region I championship and a national runner-up finish in 2000.
In the spring of 2000, he took over as head coach of the U16 team and led it to a regional championship. In 2001, he worked with the U16 ODP team and finished as the regional runner-up. Pensky spent the summer of 2001 coaching the W-League's Maryland Pride, which reached the Final Four and won the Eastern Conference championship.
He began his coaching career at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., where he later went on to teach and eventually piloted the boys' soccer team from 1996-98. While at the Bullis School, he was named 1997 High School Coach of the Year by the Maryland Ledger and paced the 18-1-1 IAC champions to a No. 13 ranking in the nation.
In addition to his college and high school coaching experience, Pensky coached the Bethesda Soccer Club from 1991-99.
Pensky holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Emory University, as well as an "A" license from the United States Soccer Federation, an NSCAA Premier and NSCAA goalkeeping diploma.
Pensky and his wife, Abby, have three children, boy-girl twins Will and Alex, who are six, and Ben, who turned four in March. The Pensky family resides in Kensington, Md.
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