Maryland Terrapins
Overall Rank: #1
Conference Rank: #1 Atlantic Coast Conference
Maryland Team Page
And so we have reached the top of the College Sports Madness men’s soccer top 25, and waiting at the top is another example of how tough the Atlantic Coast Conference is on a yearly basis. Maryland reached the College Cup for the 12th time last season and remained undefeated all the way to the semifinals, but in the end Georgetown got the Terrapins on penalty kicks. Georgetown isn’t on Maryland’s regular-season schedule, but imagine the bad blood when these teams finally meet once again. Will Maryland make it a lucky 13 when it comes to College Cup appearances?
2012 Record: 20-1-3, 6-1-1
2012 Postseason: NCAA tournament (lost in College Cup semifinals, 4-4, to Georgetown in shootout)
Coach: Sasho Cirovski
Strengths:
Where to begin? This Maryland team is loaded with strengths. For starters, it possessed the No. 1 scoring offense in the country at 2.67 goals per game and 64 total goals. Its .896 winning percentage was tops in the nation. Maryland’s 56 assists were third and its 184 points were second. The offense came together around Patrick Mullins, who was a top-10 individual player. Mullins is back, along with his 17 goals and 10 assists. Second-leading scorer Schillo Tshuma returns along with his 22 points. Four of the top five scorers return from last year’s squad. Oh, did we mention leading goalkeeper Keith Cardona is back? All Cardona did was go 16-1-3 last season.
Weaknesses:
Forget it. Try finding a weakness on this team. There are none.
Final Projection:
Unless Maryland gets caught off guard once again, this may very well be the team that wins it all. Its scoring offense is back and loaded for bear. Its goalkeepers return. If it can overcome an early-season battle with North Carolina it has a chance to cruise through the schedule undefeated. College Park may very well want to get ready for a celebration in December. The ACC will be tough, but Maryland can overcome these battles and enter the NCAA tournament one more time.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Patrick Mullins, Senior, F, 17
Assists: Patrick Mullins, Senior, F, 10
Shots: Patrick Mullins, Senior, F, 95
Saves: Keith Cardona, Junior, GK, 20
Madness 2014 MLS Draft Rankings:
#2 Patrick Mullins
#6 Schillo Tshuma
Madness 2013 Men’s Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#11 Zackary Steffen
#41 Suliaman Dainkeh
#62 Nigel Robinson
#71 Daniel Johnson
#81 Alex Crognale
See All Men's Soccer Top 44 Team Previews
