terps men’s soccer concludes solid regular season; faces uva in acc tournament

The defending National Champion Terps men’s soccer team wrapped up another successful year with a win against College of Charleston this weekend.  With the win the Terps finished regular season play with a 12-4-2 record.  Considering their tough schedule this was pretty impressive.

Maryland enters the ACC Tournament ranked #6 in the nation.  Their first postseason game will be against #7 UVA in Cary, NC, on Wednesday afternoon.  It’s a tough draw, but at least UVA is an out-of-towner, too, so Maryland will be on a truly neutral field.  UNC is #2 in the country and Wake is #4, so the ACC Tournament will be a dress rehearsal for the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Tournament starts on 11/20.  It’s been another great season for the defending champs.  The Terps have a legitimate shot at repeating, so stay tuned.

#1 maryland field hockey continues to roll, wins acc again

The Terps field hockey squad added another trophy to the case this weekend with a 3-2 win over UVA to capture the ACC Championship.  Katie O’Donnell, the best player in the nation, captured the tournament MVP award.  The Terps had to beat #6 Wake Forest and #3 UVA on their way to the title.  With the two wins the Terps are now 20-0 on the season and they are likely to capture the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament.

“Dominant” is the only word I can think of to describe this team.  Dominant.  The team has six shutouts this season and they have outscored their opponents 96-24.  That means they are scoring four times as many goals as their opponents for those of you fellow English majors.

I love this team.  If I had one free minute of time in my life I’d go to their games.  Maybe I’ll go to a game one day soon.  In the meantime I’ll follow them from afar and use the power of the blogosphere to broadcast my cheers.  Go Terps Field Hockey!

terps lose game, turner, virginity to nc state

It’s one of those times when I hate being right, but in Maryland’s 38-31 loss to NC State this afternoon the game covered the over and State covered the spread.   I had a feeling this was coming given that both teams employ the Wet Paper Dag defense.  It’s an innovative variation on the 3-4 where the linemen use only their thumbs to tackle and the secondary covers the cheerleaders.

Even as turnovers mounted for the Wolf Pack, the Terps yielded 482 total yards to NC State.  Adding injury to insult, Chris Turner left the game in the first half with an injury to his MCL.  Backup Jamarr Robinson was ineffective in relief, going 5-11 passing with 27 yards in the second half.

Chris Turner could be lost for the rest of the year.  The Terps finish the season with three tough opponents, starting with Virginia Tech this weekend and continuing with games against Florida State and Boston College.  If you think the team looks ugly now, look for it to get uglier in the next three weeks.  There may be some competition for the starting QB job between Robinson and Danny O’Brien to keep you tuned in.  Either way, the Terps have a long November ahead of them.

maryland versus nc state in football: the failure will be palpable

The Lakers versus the Celtics in the 1984 NBA Finals at the Old Boston Garden

The Yankees versus the Dodgers in the 1963 World Series at Ebbitts Field

The Terps versus the Wolf Pack in 2009 at Carter-Finley Stadium

One of these games is not like the others.

The 2-6 Maryland Football Terps roll into Raleigh tomorrow to take on the 3-5 NC State Wolf Pack in a battle of ACC bottom feeders.  Eric Prisbell reports in the Post that this is one of two DI-A games that is not televised this weekend, the other being Baylor vs. Missouri.  While that nugget was the result of some cutting edge investigative reporting, the rest of Prisbell’s article leaves the impression that there is some reason to watch this game.  Even if this game was on terrestrial television rather than E-f’ing-SPN 360, there is zero chance I’d watch it, and even less of a chance that my co-blogger MASH would watch it given his newfound multimedia fame.

Both teams have suffered a number of injuries, including some to key underclassmen, which means that this game will do little to show progress and growth in either team.  Despite the fact that the winner of this game remains “bowl eligible”, neither team will win out, so eligibility is a moot (checking the spelling this time so I won’t be muted) point.  Neither team plays defense period.  Maryland ranks 104th in the country giving up about 32pts per game, while NC State ranks 89th at 29pts per game.  The saddest fact about this game is that both teams have lost to Duke this season.  Maybe this is how ESPN 360 should promote the game, “Both teams are looking for blood following embarrassing losses to Duke, the worst football program in the long history of the conference.”  Wait, nope, that still doesn’t make me care.

Vegas has NC State at a 6.5pt favorite and the over/under is 56.5.  I belive the Wolf Pack will cover.  One thing they can do is score, and Maryland’s depleted defense will not be able to keep them off the field.  Conversely, the Terps have not been able to get the ball in the end zone very much this year, scoring only 22pts per game against a schedule that has included some pretty weak opponents to this point.

Final Score: NC State 33 Maryland 26.  The Wolf Pack will cover and take the over.  If there is any defense played in this game it will be by the losing coach in the postgame press conference.

I have to go and take a shower now.  I feel dirty just writing about this terrible game.  Go Terps… blech.

maryland football goes from bad to ugly

U-G-L-Y you ain’t got no alibi, YOU UGLY (what what) YOU UGLY! I loved me some Wildcats back in the day.  I even used to think Goldie Hawn was hot.  80’s hot.

On a wet day at Byrd Stadium yesterday, the Terrapins fell to a UVA team that managed only 201 yards of total offense.  While the defense held its own, Maryland’s offense kept coughing up the ball and handed the Wahoos a win.  Four turnovers did the Terps in, including a third quarter Chris Turner Pick-6 that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.  Maryland’s -1.8 per game turnover margin puts them at 117 out of 120 DI-A teams.

This game was not indicative of the Terps season long struggles with breakdowns in protection.  While Chris Turner seemed to have more time to throw the ball this Saturday, he never got into a rhythm and coughed it up with the game on the line.  The running game was plagued by fumbles.  Offensively, the Terps moved the ball reasonably well, but they failed to get the ball in the end zone.

The defense seemed to turn things around yesterday.  The Terps totaled 5 sacks against UVA and the D was getting constant penetration.  Alex Wucjiak was everywhere, adding 14 tackles to his season total of 77.  Wucjiak is now ranked 4th in DI-A in total tackles.  Demetrius Hartsfield gutted it out with a broken hand to get seven tackles, and Adrian Moten ended up with two sacks.  That was about it for Terps highlights.

Turnovers turnovers turnovers.  Why all the turnovers?  UVA has a good defense ranking 19th overall in total yards, but that’s no excuse for fumbles and interceptions.  I think Maryland’s offense has been too predictable all year.  Check that, they’ve been too predictable since 2006.  They’ve fallen in love with the quick outs and the runs off tackle.  The offensive rhythm is rarely staggered, allowing the defense to time their blitz better and zero in on the football.  I’ve said it before, but I’d still like to see Maryland use more no huddle, especially in the second half.  Chris Turner seems more in control when he’s thinking less, and mixing in the no huddle would keep the defense on its toes.

Otherwise, we all know it’s going to be a long season so let’s just hope for some incremental improvements.  U-G-L-Y the Terps ain’t got no alibi, they ugly.

i spent $250,000 and all i got was this crappy slogan

Next year UMD will be launching a new brand called University of Maryland Classic.

Do you remember “New Coke”?  In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company decided to reformulate it’s classic soda and rebrand it.  As part of a rebranding campaign, the company released New Coke with the slogan, “The new taste of Coca-Cola.”  The new formula, and the branding campaign that went along with it, were a colossal failure.  People hated New Coke.  They just wanted the old formula.  Shortly thereafter the company was forced to release a second brand, Coca-Cola Classic, which was actually just the old formula under a new label.  I studied this case in business school and the lesson I learned was “don’t mess with a good thing”, especially if you don’t have a better alternative.

According to a report in the Diamondback, the University of Maryland got their New Coke today.  They’re replacing “Fear the Turtle”, one of the most recognizable and endearing college slogans in history with (brace for it):

UNSTOPPABLE STARTS HERE

The article states that this is a “second slogan”, but this sounds like a hedging tactic so they can ease the school into accepting this new slogan.  I guess the school needed to rebrand itself to escape the reputation it’s gained from a decade of improving academics, outstanding athletics, and rapid campus expansion and readjust expectations for a new, blander era.  Student responses to the article have been overwhelmingly negative.  Here’s my take on this new slogan…

THIS SLOGAN BLOWS

I’ll justify that comment if you disagree with me, but for now I’m just going to let it stand on its own.  FEAR THE TURTLE!

maryland field hockey continues to roll; thomas acc player of the week

Emma Thomas puts her body into it. That's why she's a winner.

For those of you that tune to Shell Games for all your Maryland field hockey news, here’s a quick update.  I successfully used bullets in my last post, so I’m going back to the well on that format:

• The Terps are 12-0 overall, 3-0 in the ACC, and still ranked #1 in the country.
• Since defeating #3 Wake Forest a couple Saturdays ago, the Terps have beaten#20 American U 3-0 and #3 UVA 3-1.
• Emma Thomas was named ACC Co-Player of the Week for notching 3 goals and an assist in the two big wins against AU and UVA.  Maryland’s press release stated that her goals came in big moments, and that she’s a P-T-Per.

You’re all caught up on field hockey.  Go Terps!

maryland football survives heart attack, beats clemson 24-21

University of Maryland Parking Lot 11B was a beautiful place to be Saturday morning at 11AM.  The crisp fall morning had given way to an Indian summer day.  The smell of smoke from the jalapeno brats that were smoking on our grill filled my nostrils.  My chest was wet from the beer I had just shotgunned, providing a cooling reprieve from the heat that was rising from the pavement.

I looked around and listened.  Despite the seemingly idyllic conditions for an early Fall football game, I didn’t like what I was seeing and hearing.  Bodies cloaked in Clemson orange seemed to surround our tailgate.  Southern accents and songs about how sexy pick-up trucks are filled my ears.  My senses were stung, and my mind was clouded with dark thoughts.

Where are the Maryland faithful?  How could people stay home on a day like this?  Why have so many given up on the Terps so early in the season?

Confused, disoriented, bewildered, I continued to drink cans of Bud to try and numb these bad thoughts.  Maryland was a 13-point homedog coming into this Saturday’s game against Clemson, but I couldn’t figure out why.  Clemson is not particularly good.  Neither is Maryland, but the Terps were at home, darn it!  The whole scene seemed a little insulting.

My friends and I hiked up to our bench in the fifth-to-last row in Byrd Stadium.  By the time we took our seats, Clemson had kicked a field goal had taken a 3-0 lead.  Within minutes the Tigers added a touchdown and were up 10-0.  Maryland struggled to get through the first quarter, repeatedly going three and out.  This was not a good start.

The offense seemed to get it going in the beginning of the second quarter.  Nick Ferrara’s 43 yd FG early in the quarter kept the game from getting out of hand.  The Tigers countered with a field goal minutes later to make it 13-3.

Then, as he’s done so many times over the last few years, Chris Turner emerged from his fog and turned it on.  Turner led the Terps on a 9-play, 76 yd drive culminating in a 29 yd Torrey Smith TD in the mid-second quarter to make it 13-10.  That got the team and the crowd going.  Turner then led a 9-play, 81 yd TD drive by repeatedly getting out of the pocket and running for first downs.  It seemed that Turner was single-handedly willing his team to victory at that point.  Jamari McCullough had a huge interception at the goal line to keep Clemson from scoring again at the end of the half.  The Terps took a 17-13 lead into halftime in what had seemed like an improbably comeback just minutes earlier.

Then, things got weird.

The second half was a game of football hot potato.  Both offenses completely stalled and were forced to punt repeatedly.  The Terps seemed to break open the game when Tony Logan returned a punt 43 yards to the Clemson 1, and Davin Meggett punched it in a few plays later.  Then, CJ Spiller took the ensuing kick-off 92 yards for a TD and a Clemson counter punch.  Waves of orange and red were rocking accross the stadium.  Everyone was looking around like, “Oh, it’s on.”  But it wasn’t.

The fourth quarter was an exercise in offensive futility for both teams.  Maryland had lost big offensive lineman Bruce Campbell to injury, and Clemson was getting penetration on every down.  It was as if they had one guy line-up in the Maryland backfield on each play.  Clemson started three drives in a row in Maryland territory late in the fourth quarter, including one that resulted from a bonehead call by Friedgen to go for it on a 4th-and-inches on his own thirty-one yard line.  The Tigers failed to move the ball time and time again, and ended up missing two long field goals that would have tied the game.  Maryland fans watched with raised blood pressure and shortness of breath as the Terps froze the Tigers on each fourth quarter drive.  In the end, Maryland freshman linebacker Demitrius Hartsfield put the kibosh on Clemson’s comeback attempt by forcing and recovering a fumble on their final drive to put an end to things.  To add to the drama, the officials reviewed the play as Maryland fans looked on, hoping the madness would end.  It did, and the Terps got the win.

Big ups to:

• Chris Turner for leading the comeback
• Torrey Smith for looking like a track athlete while racking-up YAC on his TD catch and adding 174 all-purpose yards to his big year
• Demitrius Hartsfield for 10 tackles, 8 of which were solo, and a huge game ending sack-forced fumble and recovery
• Cameron Chism for mutliple open field touchdown saving tackles against CJ Spiller
• Nick “The Kick II” Ferrara for converting a 43 yd field goal, filling in on punting dutuies and averaging an outstanding 43 yds per punt, and handling the kick-offs

Maryland is now 1-0 in ACC play.   This is just the beginning of a four game stretch that presents some winnable games for the Terps.

After the game we savored victory in the parking lot, staying an hour late to let the Clemson fans get out while we toasted the win with some cold brews.  It was a fun game to watch and a great time for Maryland fans.  I hope more of you show up to the next one.

Don’t forget to vote for Shell Games in the Baltimore Sun Mobbies contest!

big wins for maryland soccer and field hockey

Feeling down? Kevin Tangney has one word for you: GOOOOOOAL!

Are you feeling a little down because Maryland football sucks this year?

Do you miss the thrill of basketball season?

Does the Fall remind you of all the promises you made but never kept?

Well I say, fret no more, friend!  There is more to life than football, basketball, and lamenting.   There is soccer and field hockey!  Maryland had a weekend of victory in these venerable Fall sports.

On Friday, in front of the biggest crowd ever to fill Ludwig Field, the #4 ranked and defending NCAA Champion Maryland Terrapins men’s soccer team upset #2 UNC.  Terrapin captain Kevin Tangney booted in a desperation shot in the 88th minute to propel the Terps to the win.  With the win, Maryland will likely secure the #1 spot in tomorrow’s rankings.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, the #1 ranked defending NCAA Champion Maryland Terrapins field hockey team dismantled #3 ranked Wake Forest this Saturday.  Four different Terps scored in the 4-1 victory.  I tuned into the Game Tracker and saw the score was 1-1 at halftime.  The Terps poured on three goals in a nine minute span during the second half to beat their ACC rivals.

There are many reasons to be proud to be a Terp these days.  These two first class athletic programs are near the top of the list.

terrapins look to stay on top of the field hockey world

Muracco has been a scoring machine so far this year. And she's purdy.

Right now, as I’m writing this blog post, the #1 ranked Maryland Terrapins are hosting the #3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a clash between two field hockey titans.  The last time these two teams faced each other was for the 2008 ACC Championship as part of Maryland’s Award Tour.  The Terps are so dominant that they’ve been awarded every ACC player of the week awardso far in the first three weeks of 2009.  Maryland is 9-0 coming into this game, with three shutouts.  Their play has been dominating thus far, and the team is averaging a five goal margin of victory and outshooting their opponents 172-63 through nine games.

Emma Thomas (25pts) and Katie O’Donnell (37pts) continue their dominant play from last year.  The Terps have benefitted from great play by Nicole Muracco, who leads the team with 14 goals so far this season, and Janessa Pope, who stepped up big with a goal and an assist in the victory over #9 Boston College.  That performance earned Pope ACC Player of the Week honors for last week.

As I write this post, the Terps and Deacons are tied 1-1 at the half, and Muracco has the Terps lone goal.  Reports from College Park are that she scored by charming her way past the defense.  We’ll be recapping this game and more as the season goes on.  Go Terps, beat Wake!