Oct. 14, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A comeback seemed almost inevitable. After a poor first half left them down, 3-0, the Virginia field hockey team scored two straight goals to pull within one in a game against the Terrapins two weeks ago. With no time left, a shot by the Cavaliers' Jessica Coleman off a penalty corner threatened to tie the game.

But a streaking Keli Smith dashed any hopes of a comeback. The Terp junior midfielder rushed to Coleman and deflected her shot over the goal, preserving the win and displaying the kind of play that has defined Smith's three-year career with the Terps (14-1).

No flashy statistics, just executing the plays that save games.

"That is an elite athletic performance, to take control of the game," coach Missy Meharg said after the game. "No seconds on the clock, and to concentrate so hard, that's a very, very low-percentage skill, blocking that shot. If you look at the number of times [corners] happen, she might block three out of 10. To have that happen on that last play I think is just a credit to her mentality. She is so mentally strong."

Smith, who also assisted on two goals, blocked two other shots earlier in the game. Her defensive play has been instrumental in the Terps' 12 game winning streak - second longest in team history - and in their No. 2 national ranking in the STX/National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.

Bucknell coach Heather Lewis, who played for the Terps in the mid-1980s, noticed Smith's leadership skills when she coached her on the Pennsylvania under-19 futures team from 1994 to 1997.

"She's a quiet person, but she displays leadership on the field," Lewis said. "You know that cliche, 'leads by example' - well, you can put Keli's picture next to it. It's hard not to follow her example, it's contagious.

"Keli makes the people around her better, which is the ultimate compliment."

Her true love

Smith's athleticism runs in the family. Her father Neil Smith was an All-America cornerback at Penn State in 1970. And Keli, the youngest of four children, has two older brothers who played high school football, while her sister Kara Rothermel played center halfback for the Ursinus College field hockey team from 1990 to 1993.

Growing up in Selinsgrove, Pa., Smith ran track and played basketball and field hockey. Rothermel, then age 12, introduced Smith to field hockey at age 5. Smith played on her first team in seventh grade.

"She followed me to all my games and played along with me, so she was always around," Rothermel said. "We always had fun together growing up. She was always a good athlete, even with the age difference."

Smith calls field hockey her "true love."

"It's so team-oriented, and at the same time it's fun and it's challenging, mentally, physically and skill-wise," Smith said.

At Selinsgrove, Smith scored 27 goals as a junior and 41 as a senior, drawing first-team high school All-America honors. She was a teammate of current Penn State captain Traci Anselmo, and played against current teammate and fellow Pennsylvania native Carissa Messimer.

Coming to campus

Smith was recruited by James Madison and Massachusetts among others, but said her final decision came down to campus and Penn State.

She decided that Penn State was too close to home.

"On a personal level, I just wanted to get away and become my own individual," she said. "But I loved the people at Maryland and I think it was more just the team atmosphere and the coaching staff that drew me to make my final decision."

With the Terps, Smith has been a stalwart. She has started all of the Terps' games since her freshman year, a feat only teammate Carla Tagliente has accomplished.

"I was shocked, I didn't really think that I would start as a freshman," Smith said. "My athletic ability gave me the opportunity to step in and compete with such incredible athletes, but I think the team was just so supportive of Carla and I our freshman year. With the whole team atmosphere, everybody accepted it really well and [in turn] helped me mentally."

She attributes her durability and injury-free collegiate career to "luck."

"It's luck, knock on wood," she said. "I guess I've got good genes."

Becoming a captain

Smith was selected as a 1999 team captain along with senior goalie Zoe Ehrlich and junior back Molly Kauffman. It is the second consecutive year teammates elected Smith to be a captain.

"Her energy on the field is just phenomenal and she makes us all want to play so hard," Kauffman said. "Just watching her recover back to the ball ... she's one of the best recoverers we have and her [hustle] spreads throughout the whole field."

As captain, Smith acts as the go-between for the coaches and players. But she said her role carries no more importance than any other player's.

"We have a really special team because we're mostly juniors and sophomores, and I think everybody plays such an important role that it makes it challenging," said Smith, the first player announced at home games. "There are no hierarchies and everyone is on the same level, so it makes it tough to stand up and speak on behalf of everyone or speak to them. Everyone respects each individual so much that it makes it easier to say how you feel."

Smith, who co-captained the U.S. women's under-20 national team in the spring, describes her role on the team as "the energy of the unit." She plays most of her minutes in the midfield and is always around the ball in the center of the field. She won't put up flashy numbers, but she's among the best at doing the "dirty work" - primarily competing for loose balls and getting her team possession.

Smith, who played as an alternate on the 1998 U.S. women's national team, has recorded career-highs in assists (13) and points (29) this season. But individual statistics "are not something that I step on the field and hope to accomplish," she said. "When they come, it's always an honor and makes you feel good inside, but they're nothing like the team's success. That's such a bigger honor."

The hockey house

Smith lives off-campus in "the hockey house" with her best friends on the team - Kauffman, Dina Rizzo, Lindsay Gorewitz, Sarah Rappolt and Kristy Palchinsky.

"I think socially, outside of hockey, we're probably the tightest, but everyone on the team is tight in so many ways," she said.

A psychology major, Smith said she plans on obtaining a minor in business and attending graduate school following her playing days. She said she plans to either coach field hockey after college and maybe try out for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.

But for now, her focus remains with the Terps. About the only thing missing in Smith's career is postseason success - Selinsgrove lost in the state quarterfinals every year of her high school career, and the Terps fell in the NCAA quarterfinals in her first two collegiate seasons. For Smith, it's gotten old.

"We keep getting better every game," she said. "We're definitely going to be in the running come the end of November for the national title. We have the potential with this group to do it."

Smith said that even if the Terps don't win a title, her goal is to be remembered as a player who always "went out [and] gave it my all and left it all out on the field." She said she wants to be remembered for her "passion to compete."

If you ask Meharg, she has already reached that goal. "Keli is the epitome of all-heart," Meharg said.

By John Giese The Diamondback