Even at 1-1, women's soccer likes spot in ACC

As the Terrapins women's soccer team stared down a familiar halftime deficit in its ACC home opener Sunday against Virginia Tech, the squad found itself edging toward another familiar and equally devastating path.

In six of the past eight years, the No. 6 Terps (7-1-2, 1-1 ACC) had started at least 0-2 in conference play, a statistic pre-dating coach Brian Pensky's tenure in College Park.

Pensky calls the ACC the nation's most difficult league, so 0-2 holes in the league — something the Terps avoided with a 2-1 win over the Hokies — can make life quite difficult.

"We don't find a way to come back in that second half [Sunday], we're down 0-2 hosting [Boston College], who knocked off Virginia," Pensky said. "To get back even at 1-1 is huge."

Last season, the Terps started off ACC play with a tie at Duke and a win over Virginia en route to a 7-2-1 record in the conference and their first No. 1 NCAA tournament seed.

Only one other time — Pensky's inaugural season in 2005 — had the Terps started off without two losses in ACC play in the past eight years. But after knocking off Wake Forest and tying Clemson, the team finished 3-5-2 in the ACC.

Pensky said he talks with his team about the importance of each win in a conference that offers no opportunity to let up. A slow start means more ground to make up later, something that is no guarantee when three of the Terps' future opponents are ranked in the top 10. Even Virginia Tech, an unranked team, was no easy task.

"Three points in this league is huge," Pensky said. "Every game, it doesn't matter who you're playing, they're hard wins. Virginia Tech is a very good team … this game was the first time they trailed all season."

WINNING EFFICIENTLY

A statistic that Pensky pointed to after Sunday night's win was the number of shots the Terps took against Virginia Tech compared to James Madison the week before, a game in which they took a high volume of shots.

Against the Dukes, the Terps took 15 total shots in the second half and two overtimes. They didn't score once.

Against the Hokies, the Terps took only two shots in the second half and scored on both, providing the margin of victory in the 2-1 final.

Pensky also emphasized how the Terps have won some of their bigger ACC contests over the past year. Last season, the Terps' wins against No. 2 Boston College, No. 2 North Carolina (the program's first-ever defeat of the Tar Heels) and No. 8 Florida State all came after the Terps fell behind 1-0 and had to rally with late goals in the second half to pull out 2-1 victories.

The Virginia Tech game followed the same template, with the Terps netting two goals within four minutes in the second half to get the win.

"This is a new year, this is a new team, so to have some of that same character and fight is awesome to see," Pensky said.

ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY

Sunday night's win was Pensky's 62nd during his Terps coaching career, moving him into a tie for first place with his predecessor, Shannon Higgins-Cirovski.

In six years with the team from 1999 to 2004, Higgins-Cirovski amassed a record of 62-51-10 with a 16-24-4 mark in the ACC. In Pensky's time with the Terps since 2005, he has set the school's ACC wins mark with a 19-33-9 mark and has an overall record of 62-48-18. He will go for his 63rd victory and the school record tomorrow night at Ludwig Field against No. 18 Boston College.

dgallen@umdbk.com