There is a new atmosphere on the practice field this year as the Terrapin women’s soccer team prepares for the 2006 season.
Just ask junior captain Ashly Kennedy, who has seen her share of bad preseasons, including one where she tore her ACL and was forced to miss the entire 2004 season.
“This preseason has been the best one yet,” Kennedy said. “The intensity is there, and we know what we need to do to go out there and win. We’re all on the same page.”
A year ago, the Terps had to become accustomed to a new coach and high expectations to fulfill after having an impressive performance in the 2004 NCAA tournament.
Now the Terps are coming off a disappointing 5-11-3 season, and instead of trying to get acclimated with the players, coach Brian Pensky is doing all he can to make sure another losing season isn’t in his team’s future.
Pensky will be the first person to shoulder the blame for last year’s subpar season as he admits he was underprepared after being named head coach just three months before the team’s first game.
“My preparation last fall could have been a lot better,” said Pensky, who spent three seasons as an assistant for the Terps’ men’s soccer team. “It’s going to be a lot easier this year because I feel like I know our players in lots of ways that I didn’t know them last year.”
Pensky said it was tough initially to make the transition from coaching in the men’s game, but the Terps hope he’ll bring some of the success he had with the men over to the women’s squad.
The toughest schedule in the country, coupled with crippling injuries to key players, contributed to many of the Terps’ struggles last season. If they want to improve their record, they must improve their 0.65 goals per game average. Last season, the Terps were shut out 11 times.
Even with top scorer Kimmy Francis graduating, Pensky is confident that the offense will improve, due to key scoring threats returning to full health.
“Our health will give us a chance this year,” Pensky said. “We now have more options. We have eight to 10 people who can play in attacking roles and compete with one another in practice for spots on the field. Last year with the injuries we had, there wasn’t that competition.”
A newcomer vying for time on the field is two-time National JUCO player of the year Melissa Hornfeck, who will be a big addition to the offense if she puts up even a fraction of the numbers she did at Monroe Community College.
Though the team is just optimistic with the offensive unit, they have full confidence in their battle-tested defense. Pensky and the Terps take pride in their stout defense, as they named goalkeeper Nikki Resnick and center-backer Kennedy captains for the team.
Resnick and the defense are the “spears of the ship” as Pensky puts it, and they will have to be the anchor of the Terps once again until the offense finds its form.
Resnick, a senior, was named to the All-ACC first team last year, but she knows that it’s a team game and doesn’t get frustrated by the team’s offensive woes.
“My job is to keep balls out of the net,” Resnick said. “I have to trust that the offense is doing as much as they can. Maybe I’m not distributing the ball well to the defense, or the defense is not getting it to the forwards.”
The type of team play demonstrated by Resnick is something that was void at times throughout the whole Terps squad, as they never found enough chemistry with one another to have everything clicking.
In Friday’s season opener, the chemistry was there, and it resulted in a 1-0 victory over No. 10 Tennessee after freshman Emily Maynard scored in the 72nd minute. On Sunday, however, the Terps were kept off the board in a 3-0 loss to No. 1 UCLA.
“I think a realistic goal is to get back to the NCAA tournament,” Pensky said. “We’re good enough to win out of conference and certainly good enough to win in conference.”
If Resnick is as stubborn in the net as she was last year, and the Terps’ offense produces up to expectations, that goal is one that will be achieved.
Offense anyone?
Last season, the Terps ranked last in goals scored in the ACC. They only scored 13 goals in 19 games played.
Team Goals
1. North Carolina 90
2. Florida State 65
3. Virginia 57
4. Duke 34
5. Wake Forest 33
6. Clemson 26
7. Boston College 13
8. Miami 65
9. Virginia Tech 57
10. N.C. State 34
11. TERRAPINS 13
Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com.
