DC Metro NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer season preview: Maryland Terrapins

By Tom Myrick

One of the great things about being a soccer fan: there is very little down time. No sooner has the excitement of the World Cup worn off, than it’s time for the MLS playoff push, the beginning of European league play and, a bit closer to home, the kick-off of the NCAA college season. Here we break down the top Division I teams in the Metro DC area, who to watch for and what games not to miss, as the college season gets underway.

[ Editor\'s Note: We are also including the University of Virginia in our DC Metro preview - who can leave out the defending national champions when they\'re so close to DC? ]

[ + Georgetown University Hoyas ]
[ + University of Virginia Cavaliers ]
[ + George Washington Colonials ]
[ + American University Eagles ]
[ + George Mason Patriots ]

Maryland Terrapins
Head Coach – Sasho Cirovski (236-102-20, 18th season)
Starters Returning/Lost – 9/2
Letterwinners Returning/Lost – 20/7
2009 Record – 15-6-2
2009 Conference Finish – 4-2-2 (Fourth)
2009 Postseason – NCAA Quarterfinals (L, 3-0 to Virginia)
Season Opener – 9/3 vs. Michigan State
Don’t Miss: when the Terps travel to Charlottesville to take on UVA on Oct. 29

After seeing their season ended just short of the College Cup in a 3-0 loss to eventual winners Virginia, the 2008 NCAA champions will certainly be hungry to reclaim their place atop the Division I standings.

The Terps have been tabbed third by College Soccer News and sixth by the NSCAA in their respective preseason polls, and for good reason. Maryland has qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine seasons, and advanced to at least the round of 16 for eight consecutive years.

First, the good news: With Casey Townsend fully recovered from a leg injury suffered last season, the Terps boast a dangerous and prolific strike force. Townsend stormed onto the scene with an 11-goal, four-assist freshman season in 2008, and found the net six times in just 15 games last season.

Fellow forward Jason Herrick, meanwhile, returns for his senior season after leading the team with nine goals a year ago. Herrick, who scored the game-winner against Penn State to get the Terps to the Sweet 16, landed first team All-ACC honors for his efforts last season.

Goalkeeper Zac MacMath will also likely retain his spot between the pipes for the Terrapins. The junior boasts an impressive 0.66 goals-against average, 19 shutouts and 117 saves in his career. MacMath was called up to the U-20 Men\'s National Team this past summer, where he posted two shutouts and led the team to the Milk Cup championship title in Northern Ireland.

All told, Maryland returns nine starters from last year’s quarterfinal team: coherency that can only help the Terps reclimb the ACC and NCAA ladders.

The bad news, however, is that the team will have to find a way to fill the holes left by the graduated Kevin Tangney and Drew Yates. Tangney was a rock in the back for the Terrapins throughout his junior and senior seasons, helping the team to nine shutouts and a meager 0.83 goals-against average last season.

Yates, meanwhile, played in every game for the Terps since coming to College Park in 2006, and started all 23 games for the team last season. A creative force in midfield, Yates contributed five goals and three assists for 13 points: tied for second-best on the team.