U. of Maryland Men's Soccer 2008

We went to two of the University of Maryland's matches in the 2008 NCAA men's soccer tournament (the College Cup). The first was a round-of-16 match against Cal on Nov. 29th (left photo of warm-ups). Ludwig Field with its capacity of 6000 was almost full. My wife and I and two friends sat  near the center line (just above the player kicking the ball in the photo) while our son joined the rowdy students behind the opposition's keeper. The students do their best to rattle the keeper during the match and switch ends with the keeper at half time. The level of play was very good -- significantly better than the UMD's women's match we saw earlier in the year and several levels about the high schools games we normally attend. The Terps controlled play during most of the game and hung on for a 2 to 1 victory.

We returned a week later for the quarterfinal game against Creighton University. It was cold -- windy with the high in the 30s and snow flurries toward the end of the game. The Terps completely dominated the game, but managed only one goal for a 1 to 0 victory.

The Terps were seeded second in the tournament, and the first three rounds are played on the home field of the favored team. The final two rounds were played in Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The stadium has a capacity of about 20,000, but it appeared to be only ~1/3rd full for the matches. UMD beat St. John's in their semi-final match 1 to 0 on a beautiful free kick by senior Graham Zusi. As in the ACC Tournament, the Terps were fortunate that they did not have to play the number one ranked team and defending champion Wake Forest. North Carolina shocked them in the semis 1 to 0. Maryland played well in the final and beat UNC 1 to 0 on another goal by Graham Zusi.

Three of Maryland's players were chosen in the first round of Major League Soccer's 2009 draft (Omar Gonzalez (3rd), Rodney Wallace (6th), and Jeremy Hall (11th)), and Graham Zusi was taken in the second round. No other school had so many players drafted in the first round.

Click on the thumbnail to see larger image.