Prior to the 2012 season, when discussing the contenders for the ACC, the usual women’s soccer powerhouses were bandied about.

Duke, Wake Forest and Florida State, all fresh off trips to the College Cup, were fancied, and the Blue Devils picked to win the conference by the coaches. Virginia, North Carolina and Boston College also entered with lofty ambitions and expectations.

But Maryland? The Terrapins were looking at a mid-table finish, a team with a lot of youngsters expected to carry the load.

Olivia Wagner (Photo by Greg Fiume)

However, under first-year head coach Jonathan Morgan, Maryland is currently defying those expectations placed upon them in the preseason, sitting alone in first place of the ACC with a 4-1-1 record, and chasing lofty goals behind the strength of outstanding play from its upperclassmen.

“I think our leadership, our seniors they conduct themselves the right way all the time,” Morgan told TopDrawerSoccer.com after his team’s 3-1 win over Virginia last week. “They’re pros in their approach to training, preparation, school, they lead with just a great example not only on the field but off the field. It’s been easy for the younger kids to follow them, and get an understanding of what this program is really about and the things that require you to be good.”

The senior quartet of Becky Kaplan (the team’s leading goal scorer with 9 on the year), Olivia Wagner, Domenica Hodak and Danielle Hubka have all been among those leading by example on the field, as the Terps have already notched huge ACC wins against Wake Forest on the road, and home victories against Virginia and North Carolina.

Maryland’s preseason status is something the team has also embraced – although it certainly can’t last much longer if the ACC wins continue to roll in.

“I like it that way because we go in as underdogs every single game and I think people kind of underestimate us,” Wagner said. “They look at our freshmen and sophomores on the field and they think they’re inexperienced. But we’ve come together so well as a team and we can only get better.”

Junior forward Hayley Brock has been significant in the first half success as well, notching 6 goals and 6 assists, as her pace, athleticism and dynamic play provides a dangerous weapon to stretch the opposition defense. And the freshmen class brought in is very impressive well – Ashley Spivey and Shannon Collins have stepped in and started all 13 of the team’s games, while Alexis Prior-Brown and Aubrey Baker usually come in off the bench to provide depth.   

The latest string of results not only provides the Terps with much-needed confidence, and has them at the top of the ACC standings, but it also provides an RPI boost when looking ahead to postseason play.

“They’re big in terms of the NCAA tournament,” Wagner said. “Obviously we want to get as good of a seeding as we can so we can play at home as long as possible. Every game counts, everything is going to help us in the tournament.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been bumps in the road along the way. The team lost earlier in the year at home 1-0 to Fordham, and only mustered a 0-0 road draw on the road against Villanova, and lost 1-0 to Ohio State. The Terps also lost for the first time in ACC play on Sunday, a 1-0 road defeat to Virginia Tech.

And huge challenges lie ahead, as the team travels to Boston College on October 11, before hosting a huge match against Florida State that could have ACC tournament seeding ramifications.

But Morgan, who is enjoying this success in his first season as the head coach of Maryland after six years as an associate head coach, isn’t letting the team get carried away.

“The old cliché, [we’re taking it] one game at a time,” he said. “Our team goal was to win the ACC. And we went over those goals in August, that doesn’t change. But in order for us to accomplish that, we’ve got to focus on each opponent. And I think our kids have done that. It’s easy to focus on one opponent because of this league. You start thinking ahead and there’s no way you’re going to get the results that you want.”

Next up for the Terps is a break from the brutal ACC slate, with a home date against Francis Marion. While the first place status may not last the whole year, there’s no doubt that this group of Maryland upperclassmen will have the team fighting to the final whistle of every game.

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