Aug. 23, 1999

COLLEG PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey team (0-0, 0-0 ACC) plays host to Virginia Commonwealth in its season opener on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. Head coach Missy Meharg begins her 12th season as Maryland's winningest all-time coach with a 164-67-9 (.702) record. The Terps' opener against Virginia Commonwealth is the earliest opener in school history and, coupled with the Terps' home game against American (Aug. 31), marks the first time in program history that the team will play two games before the month of September begins.

Terps Tri-Captains Named Senior Zoe Ehrlich (Montclair, N.J.) and juniors Molly Kaufman (West Lawn, Pa.) and Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.) were named team tri-captains for the 1999 season. The trio was selected by their teammates during the second week of preseason practice. It marks the second consecutive year that Smith will serve the team as a tri-captain. Ehrlich, Kauffman and Smith have won a combined seven varsity letters and all played on Maryland's 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference championship team.

Terps in Season Openers Maryland has won two straight and seven of its last eight season openers since 1991. Meharg won her first career season opener as Maryland's head coach when the Terps defeated Loyola (Md.) on Sept. 6, 1988. Meharg has an 8-3 record in season openers. Maryland has an all-time 20-3-2 (.840) record in season openers and is 1-0 in season openers during the month of August. The Terps defeated Bucknell, 7-0, on Aug. 31, 1997. Maryland's Aug. 29 opener against Virginia Commonwealth is the first time in school history that the Terps will play a regular-season game at home before the beginning of the month of September.

Current Terps in Season Openers Senior goalie Zoe Ehrlich recorded a career-high eight saves in the Terps' 1998 season-opening victory against Richmond ... junior midfielder Carla Tagliente (Cortland, N.Y.) has recorded three goals in two regular season openers ... Tagliente scored two goals against Bucknell in her first career game on Aug. 31, 1997, and scored once against Richmond in the season opener on Sept. 2, 1998 ... junior Keli Smith (two goals vs. Richmond in 1998), junior Molly Kaufman (one goal against Richmond in 1998) and sophomore Megan Kelly (Gaithersburg, Md.) (one goal against Richmond in 1998) have all scored goals on opening day during their careers ... sophomore Caroline Walter (Reilingen, Germany), junior Rachel Hiskins (Victoria, Australia), Kaufman and Tagliente have all recorded at least one opening-day assist during their careers.

Notes on Maryland's Roster Maryland will field one of the youngest teams in school history. There are only two seniors on the roster which consists of 23 players. The two seniors -- tri-captain Zoe Ehrlich and Emily Ward (Ellicott City, Md.) -- have earned a combined total of six varsity letters. The remainder of the Terps' roster includes six juniors, eight sophomores, three redshirt freshman and four true freshmen.

Tagliente's Greatest Sports Moment... ...Senior Carla Tagliente's greatest sports moment was scoring a goal during the championship game of the 1998 Pan American Tournament against Argentina.

1999 Notes Maryland has a 1-0 all-time record against Virginia Commonwealth ... the Terps defeated the Rams, 1-0, on Oct. 21, 1983 ... Maryland is undefeated, 22-0-0, against American in a series that dates to 1974 ... the Terps defeated the Eagles, 3-0, in the third varsity field hockey game played in school history ... the game was played on Oct. 3, 1974 ... Maryland has not allowed a goal in a regular season opener since 1996, as it recorded shutouts against Bucknell (7-0) in 1997 and Richmond (8-0) in 1998 ... the Terps have earned shutout victories in their season opener in seven of the last eight years and have allowed only six opening-day goals during the decade of the 1990s.