Oct. 2, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 1 ranked Maryland field hockey team (9-1, 1-1 ACC) returns home after three consecutive road matches to take on visiting Stanford and 17-th ranked ACC-opponent Duke this weekend at the Artificial Turf Facility. The Terps and Cardinal will meet on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. Maryland faces the Blue Devils in a conference match-up on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. as part of the Terrapin Doubleheader. The 3 p.m. game of the twinbill features a meeting between Washington, D.C.'s American University and Stanford.

The Terps are riding a two-game win streak, defeating a pair of NFHCA Top Ten opponents since tasting defeat for the first time in over a year at the hands of Wake Forest. Continuing a three-game road stretch, the Terps overcame No. 8 Princeton, 2-0, on chilly turf at the Tigers' Class of 1952 Stadium. The reigning national champions went on to blank the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers, 5-0, putting together a stellar team effort for the Terps' first conference victory of the 2000 season.

Match Facts and Coverage

No. 1 Maryland vs. Stanford
Date, Time: Friday, Oct. 6, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Artificial Turf Facility, College Park, Md.

TERRAPIN DOUBLEHEADER
No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 17 Duke
Date, Time: Sunday, Oct. 8, 1:00 p.m.
Location: Artificial Turf Facility, College Park, Md.

Stanford vs. No. 17 Duke
Date, Time: Sunday, Oct. 8, 3:00 p.m.
Location: Artificial Turf Facility, College Park, Md.

Meharg Overtakes Former Mentor
Maryland's 9-1 slate in 2000 has taken Terp head coach Missy Meharg's career record to 197-69-9. With Maryland's shut out victory over Virginia, Meharg moved into seventeenth place all-time in coaching victories, overtaking her former mentor Mary Ann Hitchens. Hitchens accumulated a 196-76-33 record at Meharg's alma mater, the University of Delaware.

Meharg now finds herself only three wins away from the 200 victory plateau. She began the 2000 season with a 188-68-9 record. The Terps have won more than 15 games each season since 1990.

Terps At A Glance
The No. 1 Terrapins witnessed their nationally top-ranked scoring offense, their tenacious defense and spectacular goaltending come together to shut down ACC rival Virginia. The Terp firing squad, led by All-Americans Carla Tagliente (Cortland, N.Y.), Rachel Hiskins (Victoria, Australia), Caroline Walter (Reilingen, Germany) and Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.) has buried opponents with 61 scores (5.96 gpg) on 291 shot attempts (29.1 spg), while Maryland's defense anchored by seniors Molly Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.), Lindsay Gorewitz (Rockville, Md.) and juniors Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.) and Kristy Palchinsky (Leonardtown, Md.) has limited the opposition to 14 goals (1.37 gpg) on 63 tries (6.3 spg).

Meanwhile, Maryland's junior goaltender Ashley Hohnstine (Oak Hill, Va.) has been brilliant, recording four shut outs on the season. The Terp savior owns a 1.23 goals against average and a .711 save percentage.

Scouting Stanford: Cardinal Chatter
Maryland faces Stanford for the first time since 1991 on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. The Cardinal, a member of the Northern Pacific conference, squares off with the No. 1 Terps as a part of their Baltimore-Washington field hockey tour. Stanford also takes on Georgetown on Wednesday, Oct. 4, American on Sunday, Oct. 8 as a part of the Terrapin doubleheader and Towson on Monday, Oct. 9.

The Cardinal own a 4-6 record (3-2 NorPac) coming into their "east coast tour" which begins at Georgetown. Stanford is currently riding a four-game skid, falling most recently to California, 1-0, in penalty strokes despite outshooting the Golden Bears 23-11.

Two members of the Cardinal hockey squad hail from the state of Maryland. Junior back Sara Herman is a resident of nearby Columbia, while starting keeper, junior Rebecca Shapiro, calls Baltimore home.

Thirteen-year head mentor Sheryl Johnson owns a 197-63-11 career record on the Stanford sideline. The five-time NorPac coach of the year has guided the Cardinal to six conference championships and six NCAA tournament berths.

The Terps enjoy a 2-0 series lead over Stanford. The only shared opponent between the two schools in 2000 is Towson. Three NFHCA ranked opponents dot the 2000 Cardinal schedule, in No. 16 Ohio State (L, 1-0), No. 14 Boston College (L, 3-2 OT) and No. 11 Northeastern (L, 1-0).

Stanford plays American University at the Artificial Turf Facility on Maryland's campus on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 3 p.m. to close out the Terrapin Doubleheader.

Scouting No. 17 Duke: Blue Devil Banter
Maryland takes on its third conference rival in the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. to open the Terrapin Doubleheader. Duke has a record of 5-7 and 0-1 in the conference after an 2-1 ACC loss to No. 5 North Carolina. Duke takes on No. 3 Wake Forest on Thursday, Oct. 5 in Winston-Salem before visiting College Park. The Blue Devils fell to Wake, 4-0, earlier this season in a non-conference match in Durham.

Senior back Courtney Sommer paces the Devils statistically with seven goals and a team-high tying five assists for 19 points. Junior Angie North and sophomore Chrissy Ashley have netted four goals apiece. In goal, sophomore Erica Perrier owns a 1.99 goals against average, a .677 save percentage and 2.5 shut outs.

Fifth year head coach Liz Tchou has led the Blue Devils to three NFHCA Top 20 finishes in her first four years as Duke's bench boss. The 1988 Iowa grad was named ACC coach of the year in her first season with the Devils. She spent time as an assistant coach at North Carolina and Virginia before taking over the head job at Duke in 1996.

The Terrapins enjoy a 15-3-3 all-time series record with the Blue Devils, defeating them 3-1 in Durham in their last meeting on Sept. 29, 1999. Duke was dispatched 7-3 the last time it visited the Artificial Turf Facility on Oct. 17, 1998. The Terps have taken four out of the last five meetings, falling 3-1 at Duke on Sept. 13, 1996.

Carla Tagliente: Honda Hopeful
Maryland senior tri-captain and three-time All-American Carla Tagliente had the opportunity to prove why the fall sports preview issue of Sports Illustrated For Women tabbed her national preseason player of the year, referring to her as "the dominant player for the dominant team in the country," as the Terrapins defeated No. 8 Princeton and No. 10 Virginia on the road. Tagliente, who is a legitimate hopeful for the field hockey Honda Award, given to the most outstanding player in each of 15 women's collegiate sports, scored the game-winning goal vs. the No. 8 Tigers and netted another against the No. 10 Cavaliers. In all, the midfielder has tallied seven goals and one assist in six matches against NFHCA Top 20 opponents this season.

Tagliente has already moved into the top spot in all-time scoring at Maryland with 171 career points and counting. The senior is also two goals away from tying Lisa Buente's (1987-90) career goals mark of 70 and three away from becoming the all-time leader in that category.

Tagliente is currently first on the Terp squad with three game-winning goals and tied for first with 14 goals scored, and is second with 32 points and fourth with four assists.

Hiskins Among The Leaders
Senior All-American Rachel Hiskins, who set a school-record in 1999 with 67 points in 25 games, once again finds herself atop the season charts. The defensive midfielder and Terp "point guard" has a team leading 36 points, eight assists and .520 shot percentage, a team-high tying 14 goals scored and a tie for second with a pair of game-winning goals.

Klingerman Shines Off The Bench Sophomore Angie Klingerman (Bloomsburg, Pa.) has been a key contributor in a reserve role during the Terps' 2000 campaign. The forward has netted five goals for 10 points, the most among non-starters. Klingerman had a similar impact as a freshman in 1999, tallying 11 goals and one assist for 23 points.

ACC Tournament Comes To College Park
We are now less than a month away from the 2000 ACC Field Hockey Tournament, to be held Nov. 2-5 at the Artificial Turf Facility in College Park, Md. Game times are still tentative, but the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds will meet on Thursday, Nov. 2. No. 2 faces No. 3 and the top seed meets the No. 4/No. 5 winner in the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 3. The championship game is slated for Nov. 5 and will be aired by Home Team Sports. Be a part of the action as five NFHCA Top 20 Teams square off in the stronjgest conference tournament in the nation. Be sure to make plans to attend, and keep checking www.umterps.com for updates.

TERPS BY THE NUMBERS

0
Shot attempts allowed Delaware by Maryland's defense on Sept. 8.

No. 1
Maryland's ranking according to the official NFHCA coaches poll of the 2000 season, released Sept. 26. SI For Women also picked the Terps as the top team in the nation in its fall preview issue.

1.23
Goals against average of Terp junior keeper Ashley Hohnstine after eight games. Opposing goalies possess a 5.96 GAA.

3
National championships won by the University of Maryland's field hockey program (1987, 1993, 1999).

3
ACC Tournament titles won by the University of Maryland's field hockey program (1992, 1998, 1999).

3
Victories needed by Missy Meharg to reach 200 career wins.

4
Shut outs recorded by savior Ashley Hohnstine and the Terps' tenacious defense. Three of those blankings have come against NFHCA Top 20 teams.

"Top 5"
Maryland is among the "Top Five Field Hockey Teams to Watch" in 2000, according to ESPN.com.

8
Number of helpers dished out by 2000 season assist leader, All-American Rachel Hiskins.

8
Career hat-trick performances by senior captain and three-time All-American Carla Tagliente. Tagliente began the 2000 season with a pair of three-goal efforts.

14 and 36
Goals and points recorded by team leader, Rachel Hiskins.

61-14
Goal margin put forth by the Terps in the eight matches of the 2000 season.

291-63
Shot advantage enjoyed by the Terps in their eight matches.

                   2000 ACC Standings
	             Overall	               ACC
Team	         W	L	T	W	L	T
No. 5 UNC	10	1	0	2	0	0
No. 3 WFU 	10	1	0	1	1	0
No. 1 UMd	 9	1	0	1	1	0
No. 10 UVa	 4	4	0	0	1	0
No. 17 Duke	 5	7	0	0	1	0

Contact: Mark Fratto
301-314-7064 (Phone)
301-314-9094 (FAX)
301-314-TERP (Fan Phone)
fratto@wam.umd.edu