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Text Box: Maryland - Pre-season #1 Coach - Sasho Cirovski - Begins his 11th season at Maryland. Has taken the Terps to the NCAA Tourney 8 out of the 10 years he has been at Maryland. Conference - Atlantic Coast 2002 overall record - 20-5-0; 2002 conference record - 4-2-0 2002 goals scored - 60; 2002 goals allowed - 19 2002 NCAA Tourney results - Defeated American 1-0, St. Louis 1-0 and Connecticut 3-0 to advance to College Cup where they were defeated by UCLA 2-1. Key player losses from 2002 season: None Overall strength in 2003 - Experience, balance, and motivated as a team to build on the success achieved in 2002 season. Terps return all 11 starters and virtually their entire roster from last season's team that advanced to the College Cup. 2003 Up Top - Creative and multi-dimensional attack, quick, athletic and deep. Abe Thompson (14g, 8a), Domenic Mediate (13g, 5a) and Nino Marcantonio (6g, 9a) all return. If they remain healthy they will be tough to contain. 2003 Midfield - Sumed Ibrahim is among the best in the nation. Scott Buete is also a prime timer. Ian Rodway, and Chris Lancos are talented, experienced and athletic. 2003 Backline - Junior Clarence Goodson and senior Seth Stammler anchor the backline. Kenny Bertz had solid freshman season last year. Terp backline will be challenged due to the strength of their schedule but they will be able to hold their own against anyone. 2003 Goalkeeper - A definite strength. Noah Palmer returns in goal. Last year he had a .80 goals against average which was the lowest of any Maryland keeper since 1986. Unanswered intangible question - The Maryland schedule is brutal as it includes 14 teams that earned NCAA Tourney berths last year. The Terps are very anxious to build on their success in 2002. Will the strength of schedule cause them to peak to soon or to become leg weary down the home stretch. Coach Cirovski's Comment - "It was a very unusual spring in that we had everyone back and could really focus on some tactical improvements as well as the usual physical and technical improvement. Regarding the Terps 2003 schedule Cirovski stated "It's an incredible schedule and I can't wait to get started. We return a veteran squad who felt very unfulfilled at the end of last season." Recruiting Class - Not a factor as in the past due to the fact that basically everyone returns. Miscellaneous - Maryland has been to the College Cup 2 out of the last 5 years. Their 20 win season last year set a new school record for wins in a season. Player who makes it happen - Scott Buete. According to Cirovski, "Scottie is the engine and the heartbeat of our team." Cirovski adds "He typified our commitment to all aspects of the game and his warrior mentality combined with his skillful play translates positively to the rest of our team." Key Games - Furman (8/29), Creighton (8/31), UCLA (9/05), Wake Forest (9/27), Connecticut (10/12), Penn State (10/16), Penn (10/21), Clemson (10/26), UVA (10/31) Maryland's Web Site

Text Box: UCLA - Pre-season #2 Coach - Tom Fitzgerald - Begins 2nd season at UCLA. Fitzgerald guided the Bruins to a National Championship in his inaugural season at the helm of the program. Conference - Pac. 10 2002 overall record - 18-3-3; 2002 conference record- 2002 goals scored - 53; 2002 goals allowed - 19 2002 NCAA Tourney results - Defeated LMU 4-2, California 3-2, Penn State 7-1 to advance to the College Cup where they defeated Maryland 2-1 and Stanford 1-0 to win the 2002 National Championship. Key player losses from 2002 season: Forward Tim Pierce (12g, 7a), midfielders Ryan Futagaki (3g, 4a), Chadd Davis (0g, 5a) and Jimmy Frazelle (5g, 6a) and All- American defender Scot Thompson and defender Chad Davis. Overall strength in 2003 - Despite the loss of five talented seniors the Bruins return a very solid core of quick, athletic, composed, and very competitive players. The attack will be balanced and the backline will be steady as a rock. 2003 Up Top - Matt Taylor (12g, 8a) and Cliff McKinley (6g, 7a) are the likely starters. Taylor lead the Bruins in scoring last year. Junior Ahmed Khalil, sophomore Evan Corey, and freshman Chad Barrett will all challenge for playing time. Look for Barrett to make an impact. 2003 Midfield - Some rebuilding required due to senior departures. However, the cupboard is far from bare and the midfield will be deep in talent. Adolfo Gregorio (9g, 6a) is among the best linkmen in the country. Mike Enfield (0g, 3a), Dru Hoshimiya, Ty Maurin and John Carson are among others who return. All are very capable and quick. 2003 Backline - Should be among the best in the nation even with the departure of All-American Scot Thompson. Leonard Griffin Tony Lawson and defensive midfielder Aaron Lopez are all outstanding players. Freshmen Brandon Owens and Patrick Ianni and sophomore Jordan Harvey among others will be in the mix for a starting role. 2003 Goalkeeper - A definite strength. Senior netminder Zach Wells who has been the starter for the past two years is back. Eric Reed and Nate Pena also return. Unanswered intangible question - Will Fitzgerald be able to successfully blend together his many highly touted players and keep them focused on common goals and objectives. Coach Fitzgerald's comment - With the departure of five crucial seniors and the addition of seven freshmen, this is going to be a different team, and our focus has to be similar to last year in that we can't look to far into the future. It will be important for us to focus on each game individually." Recruiting class - Ranked by College Soccer News as the best recruiting class in the nation. Miscellaneous - UCLA defeated Pac. 10 fore Stanford three times last year with the score 1-0 in each match. Player who makes it happen - Defensive center midfielder Aaron Lopez will be at the center of all the action. Defenders Leonard Griffin and Tony Lawson should play a key role in keeping the Bruins on track. Key Games - Penn State (8/29), Maryland (9/05), Virginia (9/07), Portland (9/21), LMU (9/27), California (10/17 and 10/26), Stanford (10/19 and 10/24), San Diego (11/13) UCLA's Web Site