I meant UMCP's proximity to the highly concentrated and generally wealthier northeast corridor (RTP and up) where parents have the will to pay exorbitantly for ECNL, "elite" youth lacrosse, field hockey, on and on. That's the money I'm talking about and why UMCP does well in non-revs. The northeast is more stressed so parents are more apt to "compete". The Rust Belt can't hang financially nor in population density and they're more laid back so anything outwards of the OSU-Ann-Arbor ring gets tough to recruit. Northwestern should be ok (Stanford academic rep and all, cosmopolitan and all) but they've fallen off in lacrosse. They're only competing with the schools from Ann Arbor east. The SEC is going to be there because, although distant and relatively isolated, they have the football money talked about and climate (although as some pointed out, Gainesville gets oppressive). The upper/western B10 will never compete nationally in women's soccer. People might think South Bend of the ACC, but, meh, what have they really done?..and the brand has faded somewhat. UMCP could easily be top three with PSU/Rut.
uh-oh, browser upgrade, cookies gone, I read as Guest and saw the LBGTQ/HB2 obsessed guy baiting and being "tolerant" again. I haven't read him in months so I can only imagine what's he's been posting. He's back on Ignore (he claimed the same, but as we can see, he can't drop it, bullies and harasses cuz we know that's how these "tolerant" really are).
Well, so far so good. Off to a 2-0 start with wins vs. Drexel and Navy. Granted, the opponents were not UVA or UNC, its not even Penn St. or Indiana, but it is a good start. No surprise that newcomers are having a big impact early. In the 2-1 win over Drexel both goals came from freshmen, Mikayla Dayes and Hope Lewandoski. Other freshman who have had starting roles including Dayes' sister Malikae along with Brynn Drury. Freshmen who have also played include Jordan Schaefer and Mary Johnston. According to the UMD press release, the Terps 3-0 win over Navy was their first shutout win since October 2015. That and the fact that 15 players on the roster are freshmen means this really does seem like a different Maryland squad than the last couple of years. Hard to believe that with a 3-15-1 record last year, Maryland has now nearly equaled their win total from 2016 in the first week of 2017. Obviously, there are much greater challenges ahead but this looks very promising in the long term. You can't perform miracles with this many freshmen but the program is heading in the right direction. Games on the road this weekend vs. Gardner-Webb and Furman will help to clarify the picture.
And now the Terps are at the beginning of their conference schedule and we can see what we are really dealing with. The first B1G game vs. Rutgers was also their first loss of the season. None the less, they are a surprising 6-1-1 overall The wins against regional opponents Richmond, George Mason, and William & Mary were not chopped liver; all of them are traditionally good programs that Maryland has had problems with at times. Two of those three games went to OT and the Terps did well to come out unscathed. The 2-0 loss to Rutgers was a disappointment but it is still early and the game was on the road. So will be the next games against Illinois and Northwestern. Terps are currently led by Mikayla Dayes (3 g., 2 asst) and Chelsea Jackson (3 g., 1 asst) with six players total having gotten on the board. This is still not a high powered offense as the Terps have 12 goals from 8 games, outscoring their opponents 12-6 indicating dependence on an improved defense and solid goalkeeping from Rachel Egyed. One interesting stat is the Terps ability to stay out of trouble with the refs; they are being out-fouled 93-62 by the opposition with just 4 yellows and no reds on the season. Pretty good for a young inexperienced squad. I also have to say that the attendance figure of an average 2,346 fans per home game is very good considering it is the early season non-conference schedule, the students weren't even on campus for the first two home games, and frankly the low expectations around the program. You usually just don't get that many people for a program coming off a 3-15-1 season. A sign that hope is slowly returning to College Park.
They're going to beat PSU. I've been saying all along, in field sports, manufactured industry skills may win tens, hundreds, thousands of games, but speed will eventually overcome it.
I was wrrrrr, I think. anybody catch UMCP-Nebraska on B10 Network? UMCP seemed to control the first half pretty good in my opinion, but they stink. They don't have the athletes I thought they had. The girl from Pitt lights it up vs the early non-P5s, but seems to be a non-presence vs B10. I changed my mind on Leone, well, back to my original conclusion that the program is uninspired, disorganized, He won't last beyond contract. CP is a hard place to screw up as it's in the industrial heartland. Granted, CP itself sux, but still, I-95 for the parents. Nebraska, big props, impressive for the continental interior. Would get dismantled in ACC bermuda division but impressive. Would win ACC rubber division. That coach isn't rah-rah, but they came out ready in 2nd half.
I saw Nebraska play Rutgers and the huskers were interesting. Every time they got the ball off of lost possession in midfield, it was like a jailbreak going the other way. They don't waste too much time with passing--it's just go at a gallop at the opposing net. That was a pretty good game, though I have to say I can't imagine why any out of state talent in any sport would want to spend years in the bleak state of Nebraska. That may explain why their once-vaunted football program has cratered over the last 15+ years.