Katie O'Donnell has come a long way for the Terps.

If you like Maryland, and you like championships, then you’ve got to be at least a passing fan of the Terp women’s teams, especially lacrosse, soccer, and field hockey. The latter two just got their seasons underway, and they’ve combined for a flawless 6-0 start.

First, field hockey. Behind Katie O’Donnell, a senior this year and the defending Honda Sports Award winner (field hockey’s Heisman), the no. 2 Terps easily won their first two contests this past weekend. I’m not Bobby Field Hockey, but I don’t believe it’s a stretch to call O’Donnell one of the best players in recent memory. Their only loss last year came in the final game, with ACC rival North Carolina squeaking out a 3-2 upset.  A real test comes this Friday against Old Dominion. With three titles this decade, O’Donnell’s swan song, and coming up just short in 2009, methinks they’re setting up for another hardware run.

Maryland women’s soccer isn’t quite as gaudy, but this group still has a solid history of making postseasons and after a five-year tourney drought now seem to be heading in the right direction under head coach Brian Pensky. They’re currently ranked 14th in the nation and are riding a 4-0 start, highlighted by a win over two-time defending Big 12 champs Missouri. Last year, the Lady Terps finished 14-6-2 and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 before losing 1-0, also to eventual champion North Carolina. This team returns virtually every contributor from last year, including preseaon Hermann Trophy Watch Lister Jasmyne Spencer. They lose goalie Mary Casey to the pros, but seem cautiously optimistic about her replacement, Yewande Balogun, who has surrendered only three goals in four games thus far. UMTerps has a good season preview if you want more.

Hats off to both teams for their hot starts. Here’s hoping they can keep it going.

(Photo credit: SI.com)

He's the one with the beard.

Did you happen to feel an extra jolt of electricity in the air this afternoon? But you didn’t know why? I’ll tell you why, jerk. It’s because the MLS draft — excuse me, SUPERdraft — is happening. Right now. As I type.

For those of you still inexplicably sitting there, I will tell you that outstanding Terp midfielder Drew Yates has a shot at being drafted. All joking aside, it’s a big deal. Defender Kevin Tangney was invited to the combine (what, you didn’t think soccer leagues had combines?), but didn’t seem to do quite enough to distinguish himself. He’ll just have to cry himself to sleep on that 2008 NCAA Championship trophy. Boom.

So this year, it’s Yates or nothing. Original word was that he might go 20th to the Kansas City Wizards, but that train has left the station (they went with Olukorede Aiyegbusi instead — damn you, Olukorede!). At this very second they are on pick 29. Good luck, Drew!

And if that doesn’t work out, we’ll just have to settle for following former Terp and defending MLS Rookie of the Year Omar Gonzalez. Of all the rotten luck.

You can follow the draft — excuse me, SUPERdraft — in real time right here.

(UPDATE: As soon as I clicked “Publish,” Drew got selected by the Chicago Fire with that very #29 pick. Congratulations to Drew Yates!!!)

(Photo credit: UMTerps.com)

The heartless Wahoos ended Maryland's soccer season, and made this baby cry.

DAMN IT!  UVA beat Maryland 3 to nil today to end the Terps chances of repeating as National Champions in soccer.

The entire Shell Games staff has nonrefundable tickets to see Phish to fly to Charlottesville tomorrow for live, on the spot postgame reactions of what was supposed to be a Maryland victory.  I guess we’ll have to go there and find something else to do.  Cavalier jerks.

Do the Zac MacMath and it adds up to a Terrapin win.

The defending National Champion Maryland Terrapins men’s soccer team returned to the Elite 8 with wins over Loyola, Penn State, and Harvard.  The Terps came into the tournament ranked #5 in the country, but they were unseeded after losing in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.  Due to their low seeding, the Terps have had to play every game past the first round on the road.

The Terps travel to Charlottesville to take on UVA this weekend.  The Wahoos secured the 2 seed in the national tournament by winning the ACC Championship this year.  Shell Games is sending its entire staff to Charlottesville on Saturday for the Phish concert live postgame reactions.  That is just the kind of service this blog provides to its readers.

I can’t locate a Vegas line on this game, but I’ll throw some high level criteria together that make it sound like a well thought pregame analysis:

• Maryland was ranked #5 in the country at the end of the regular season and UVA was #6, so the national pollsters view this game as an even match-up (Advantage = Push)
• UVA won the ACC Championship, UMD is the defending National Champion, so both teams are good in the big games (Advantage = Push)
• UVA is at home, which should give them a 1 goal advantage (Advantage = UVA)
• The teams tied 0-0 in 2OT in their regular season meeting on Halloween, but UVA beat the Terps 1-0 in the ACC tournament (Advantage = UVA)

Add it all up, and UVA enjoys a .5 goals/gm advantage in their two match-ups this season, and a 1 goal advantage for being at home.  I’m putting the line at UVA -1.5 over UMD, with the O/U at 3 goals.

Of course, I predict a MARYLAND UPSET!  WHAT’S UP NOW WAHOOS!  The Terps will get a late goal to STUN the ACC Champion Cavaliers.  They will go on to defeat Wake Forest and UNC on the way to a repeat National Championship.  YEAH BABY, GO TERPS!

I’m droppin’ science like Galileo dropped the orange.

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.

Terp leading scorer Jason Herrick. I knew a Jason Herrick when I was back in elementary school. Great.

The #5 Terp men’s soccer team has a big showdown this Saturday with #3 Wake Forest.

You may recall that the Terps lost a close one to Wake last year. You may also recall that the Terps are defending national champs. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Wake.

But yes, big game. ACC catbird seat up for grabs in Winston-Salem. Go Terps.

P.S., on another soccer note, big ups to ex-Terp defender Omar Gonzalez, who won MLS Rookie of the Year. Soccer America magazine, which gives out the award, is a little squirelly with their links, so you’ll just have to trust me. Congrats to Omar.

(Photo credit: UMTerps.com)

The Terp men’s soccer team is traveling to Georgetown this afternoon. But it’s more than #6 Maryland’s big game against a local rival and the #16 squad. On Saturday night, starting defender Alex Lee was struck by a car as he was crossing a street in D.C. (I’m surprised it wasn’t Route 1.) Luckily, he’s expected to recover, but for now he’s hospitalized in stable condition.

The team was already playing with heavy hearts after the Oct. 5 passing of longtime Terp athletics supporter Jack Heise, for whom a soccer scholarship is named.

Good luck to the team today against Georgetown and, more importantly, to Alex Lee in his recovery from the injury. Go Terps!

Update: The Terps beat Georgetown 2-1, and Alex Lee was released from the hospital. Kudos and respect to all.

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.

Do I smell musk

This Friday, it’s #4 Maryland vs. #2 North Carolina in a championship rematch. In case you forgot, the Terps are the defending champions, not the higher-ranked, blueblood, wine-and-cheese Tar Heels. Just clarifying for you.

With the exception of field hockey and maybe women’s lacrosse, the Terp men’s soccer team is currently the most dominant program in Maryland athletics. The Baltimore Sun has a really interesting article on the man behind the success, head coach Sasho Cirovski, who rose to prominence from nothing — and I’m talking like Eastern Bloc nothing, not America nothing. Seriously, he grew up in a barn. In a village called Vratnica. I would speculate that Vratnica may have an odor problem.

Occasionally I poke fun at Sasho for resembling one Joey Tribbiani. And I stand by that poking. But coach Cirovski built this program from jack squat, just like he done did his own self. You see? You see the symmetry there? The allemegoriness? It’s just too sweet. And I’d be crazy not to pick his group for the upset this Friday.

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but the Maryland men’s soccer team got a goal midway through the second half and held on to grind out a 1-0 victory over North Carolina to win the national championship. GO TERPS!

Graham Zusi scored the game’s only goal after Jeremy Hall’s shot bounced off the UNC goalkeeper and went right to him. He collected the carom and rolled it into the corner of the net. Sweet. Zusi has to be the tourney MVP — he scored the only goal against St. John’s, too.

Both teams were clearly gassed after having just played on Friday, and stiff winds hampered the ball movement. So it was definitely a, uh, defensive struggle. But that seemed to play into the Terps’ hands…they were on the Tar Heels like glue. UNC didn’t even get a shot off in the first half and never really threatened. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Terps, with the ”let’s go Maryland” chants raining down from the opening seconds. It was awesome to see our fans out in force like that.

No comment yet from Maryland head coach Joseph Tribbiani, but I imagine it will be something regarding Italian food and sexual conquests, in keeping with his unique brand of happy-go-lucky misogynism. In the meantime, HUGE congratulations to the entire team. Football may not have gone the way we wanted, and the basketball team is anybody’s guess, but between this and field hockey, the Terps have two titles so far this year. Not too shabby. GO TERPS!!!

(Photo credit: UMTerps.com)