Field Hockey Season Ends With Loss to Virginia
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
November 16, 1998
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - One week after winning its second-ever ACC championship, Maryland (16-6) was defeated 5-1 by Virginia on Sunday in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Maryland received a first-round bye after upsetting the Cavaliers 1-0 in overtime last Sunday in the ACC title game. The Cavaliers, however, avenged their defeat by coming into College Park and scoring five unanswered goals to advance to their second straight Final Four.
GROWING UP FAST
What makes the Terps 1998 accomplishments all the more impressive is that they had only two upperclassmen in their starting lineup this season and only three returning starters from the 1997 squad. Senior back Jen Pratt (Greene, N.Y.) and senior forward Kasey Heiser (Schaefferstown, Pa.) were the only upperclassmen in Marylands starting lineup. Pratt, sophomore midfielder Carla Tagliente (Cortland, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.) were the only returning starters from the 1997 squad. Maryland had only four upperclassmen on the team this season, including Pratt, Heiser, senior midfielder Ellen Wolf (Wyomissing, Pa.) and junior forward Emily Ward (Ellicott City, Md.).
TAGLIENTE FINISHES SEASON AS TERPS LEADING SCORER
By scoring the Terps lone goal against Virginia on Sunday, sophomore midfielder Carla Tagliente ended the 1998 season as the team leader in goals, with 17, and points, with 41. Last season, she scored 19 goals and recorded 43 points. Taglientes point total this season is all the more impressive considering that last season she played at the center-forward position and this season she was moved back to the midfield line. With 36 career goals, she is already in seventh place among Marylands all-time leading goal scorers. Her 85 career points rank as the 11th-best total in school history. Tagliente was the 1997 ACC Rookie of the Year and a third-team All-America selection last year. She was also named to the 1997-98 ACC Honor Roll.
PRATT CONCLUDES STELLAR CAREER AT MARYLAND
Sundays game against Virginia turned out to be the last for senior back Jen Pratt, who will go down in the record books as one of the Terps best players ever. She became the ACCs all-time assist leader (with 71) and set the Maryland team records for assists in a season (33, set in 1997) and career (71). Pratt was named a third-team All-American in 1996 and a second-team All-American last season (this seasons All-America selections will be announced next week). She was also named to the All-ACC team in 1997 as well as this season. The crowning moment of Pratts career came last week as she led the Terps to the ACC championship and was named the ACC Tournament MVP.
HEISER, WOLF ALSO END COLLEGIATE CAREERS
Marylands game against Virginia also turned out to be the final collegiate game for seniors Kasey Heiser and Ellen Wolf. After playing in a reserve role her first three years, Heiser became a full-time starter this season and scored eight goals. She turned in a pair of two-goal performances, the more important of which came in the Terps 3-2 win over ninth-ranked James Madison in the Terps regular season finale on Oct. 25. Wolf has been one of the Terps key reserves the past four seasons. Both Heiser and Wolf have excelled in the classroom during their careers at Maryland. Heiser has been named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Academic Squad and the ACC Honor Roll in each of her first three three years at Maryland. Wolf was named to the NFHCA Academic Squad last season and has made the ACC Honor Roll three consecutive years.
