U.S. women’s U-18 national team coach and former George Washington head coach Shannon Cirovski has been named the new coach of the Maryland women’s soccer program. She replaces Alan Kirkup, who resigned to take over the women’s program at Arkansas. Cirovski will join her husband, Sasho, on the Maryland athletic staff. Sasho Cirovski has been the Terps’ men’s soccer coach since 1993, and led his team to the final four this season. “This is an exciting appointment,” said Maryland athletic director Deborah A. Yow. “Shannon Cirovski is a proven winner at all levels of the game. She is widely respected at the collegiate and international levels, and is the person we believe will elevate Maryland into one of the country’s elite programs, eventually competing for a national championship.” Shannon Cirovski, 30, led North Carolina to four national titles during her career with the Tar Heels. She also was a key member of the 1991 U.S. women’s team that captured the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup. She coached at George Washington from 1991-97, compiling a 69-59-11 record and leading the Colonials to their first and only NCAA tournament appearance in 1996. “I want to build on Alan Kirkup’s success and bring it to a new level,” Cirovski said. “I’d like to see this program contend for a national title, and that means win it.”