Nov. 15, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 2000 ACC and 1999 national champion Maryland field hockey squad (19-3) heads to Norfolk, Va., for the 2000 NCAA Field Hockey Semifinal and Championship Rounds. The No. 3 seed in the tournament and No. 2 team in the nation, the Terrapins take on second-seeded (NFHCA No. 3) North Carolina in the round of four. Meanwhile, the top-seeded and top ranked host Old Dominion Monarchs face the fourth-seed in Wake Forest (NFHCA No. 4).

2000 NCAA Semifinal and Championship Facts and Coverage
Semifinal Round
Schedule: Friday, Nov. 17
4 p.m. - No. 1 Old Dominion (23-1)vs. No. 4 Wake Forest (18-3)
6:30 p.m. - No. 2 North Carolina (19-3) vs. No. 3 Maryland (19-3)

NCAA Championship Game
Schedule: Sunday, Nov. 19
2 p.m. - Semifinal Winners

Location: Foreman Field, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va.
NCAA Championship Website

The Road To Norfolk
Maryland makes its sixth overall and second straight NCAA semifinal appearance after handing the No. 20 New Hampshire Wildcats a 9-1 First Round loss and overpowering No. 6 Princeton, 3-1, in round two. The eight-goal margin of victory was the largest for Maryland in its history of NCAA play, and placed second all-time in NCAA Championship matches behind Old Dominion's 10-0 whipping of Virginia in a 1984 Second Round game. Six different Terrapins scored against the Wildcats, led by a two-goal, two-assist performance by Terp senior All-American Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.). Junior Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomore Carissa Messimer (Mountaintop, Pa.) also netted a pair, while senior All-American Rachel Hiskins (Victoria, Australia) notched the game-winner and dealt three assists. The Terps dominated the play and outshot the Wildcats, 32-2.

An early lead and a Smith game-winner 57 seconds into the Second Round match was all the Terps would need to knock off Princeton, 3-1. Rizzo notched her third goal of the tournament off a feed from junior All-American Caroline Walter (Reilingen, Germany), and Hiskins put the match away with a left-handed, diving grounder as Maryland outshot the Tigers, 26-7. Junior goalie Ashley Hohnstine (Oak Hill, Va.) made a pair of key saves down the stretch to preserve the victory.

Records And Rankings
The Terrapins enter the semifinal round with an overall record of 19-3 and a national No. 2 ranking, according to the Nov. 14 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll. All four teams in the field are ranked: ODU is No. 1 at 23-1, North Carolina is No. 3 with a 19-3 record, and Wake Forest is No. 4 at 18-3.

The Terps were ranked No. 1 for 11 consecutive polls dating back to Oct. 26, 1999, before being unseated after a 2-1 loss to now top-ranked Old Dominion (Oct. 15). Spending three weeks at No. 3, the Terrapins jumped up to No. 2 on Nov. 7 after defeating No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 9 Virginia en route to the 2000 ACC title.

Terps At A Glance
With an incredibly potent attack, suffocating defense and solid goalkeeping in earning their third consecutive ACC Championship and advancing through the NCAA First and Second Rounds, the Terrapins displayed the caliber of hockey that has come to be well known in College Park. The Terp attack, led by All-Americans Carla Tagliente (Cortland, N.Y.), Rachel Hiskins, Caroline Walter and Keli Smith, has overwhelmed opponents all season long with 113 scores (5.08 gpg) on 546 shot attempts (24.8 spg), while Maryland's backfield anchored by seniors Molly Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.) and Lindsay Gorewitz (Rockville, Md.) and juniors Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.) and Kristy Palchinsky (Leonardtown, Md.) has limited the opposition to 24 goals (1.08 gpg) on 142 shots (6.5 spg).

In the cage, Maryland's junior keeper Ashley Hohnstine has been solid, posting nine shutouts on the season including five against ranked teams. The Terp keeper boasts a 1.02 goals against average and a .770 save percentage. She made a career-high nine saves vs. then-No. 2 Old Dominion on Oct. 15.

A Team Of Many Weapons
With ten Terrapins totalling two or more goals in 2000, eight Terps with at least five scores and five with at least 10, opposing defenses have had their hands full to say the least. The balanced Terrapin attack is led by senior Rachel Hiskins, who picked up right where she left off in 1999 when she scored a school-record 67 points. The center midfielder currently paces Maryland with 22 goals and 18 assists for 62 total points. Three-time All-American Carla Tagliente (19 goals, 10 assists), junior All-American Caroline Walter (17 goals, 11 assists) and sophomore Carissa Messimer (15 goals) round out the top four in scoring, while two-time All-American Keli Smith has chipped in 15 season assists.

Nine Terps Named Mid-Atlantic Regional All-America
With more selections than any other program in the nation, nine Maryland Terrapin field hockey student-athletes were named 2000 AstroTurf/NFHCA Division I Regional All-Americans.

Four key members of the nationally second-rated Terrapin attack were selected to the first team. Senior Rachel Hiskins was honored a first-teamer for the second time in her career. Now four-time All-Region honorees, fellow seniors Carla Tagliente and Keli Smith also garnered first team honors, along with a two-time first squad selection in junior Caroline Walter. Walter ranks third on the Maryland team in goals, assists and points.

Ranked eighth nationally, the Terps' tenacious defense was also well represented on the first team. Senior back Molly Kauffman and junior Autumn Welsh became two-time first squad honorees.

Senior Lindsay Gorewitz, junior Dina Rizzo and sophomore Carissa Messimer garnered Mid-Atlantic second team honors. Gorewitz, a two-time second squad selection, is another key piece to Maryland's defensive effort. At the left and right forward positions, Rizzo and Messimer are consistent producers on offense and have combined for eight goals in four games (ACC and NCAA) this postseason.

Maryland In The NCAAs
The Terrapins are making their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 12th overall in 2000. This weekend also marks the Terps' sixth semifinal round showing. Maryland owns a 19-9 NCAA tournament record and is currently riding a six game NCAA win streak from last season's championship. With their Second Round win, the Terps extended their postseason win streak to ten games, which began with the Terps' ACC title run in 1999.

The Terps are looking for their fourth NCAA Championship in 2000, having taken home the hardware in 1987, 1993 and 1999. With three national titles, the Terps have the third-most in NCAA history, trailing North Carolina's four and Old Dominion's unprecedented eight. The Monarchs runs from 1982-84-84 and 1990-91-92 and the Tar Heels' 1995-96-97 streak marks the three times in the tournament's 20-year history that a team has won consecutive championships and even "threepeated." The Terps look to join those teams by capturing back-to-back trophies with a run this postseason.

Refocusing In 2000
The Terrapins captured the third NCAA and third ACC tournament title in program history last season. Their 24-1 record established a school-best mark for wins, and the national championship was the second (1993 and 1999) under head coach Missy Meharg's tenure. Only three other head coaches (Beth Anders of ODU (8), Karen Shelton of UNC (4), Diane Wright of Connecticut (2)) in NCAA field hockey history have won multiple national titles.

Having experienced such success a season ago, head coach Meharg has the squad focused on new objectives for 2000:

"Repeat," states the coach, "is not the word of choice... Reloading our energies toward our goals and creating a style of play yet to be seen in NCAA field hockey -- that's what this team is all about."

Seeing Red
The Terrapins' balanced scoring attack that ranked second in the nation during the regular season has caused opponents to "see red" in frustration all year long. That became literal for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the ACC semifinals, as the Terps donned their alternate red road jerseys for the match-up. It was the first and only time all season that the Terps wore their red uniforms. Look for the possibility of seeing "the reds" again this weekend.

Hiskins Topping The Charts
After a school-record setting 67 points in 1999, senior All-American Rachel Hiskins has continued to produce. The senior leads the team with 22 goals and 18 assists for 62 points and merited Regional All-America and All-ACC honors this season. She also handles pushouts on the Terps' penalty corners.

Hiskins is a native of Victoria, Australia, and her parents, Ken and Lorraine, have been in the U.S. watching her play for the first time in her collegiate career since Rachel came overseas as a sophomore in 1998. Her father, Ken, is a former professional tennis player and coach and has played in Wimbledon. They arrived in the U.S. prior to the ACC Championship.

Tagliente Rewrites The Record Books
Three-time All-American and four time All-Region selection Carla Tagliente has moved into the Maryland all-time goals and points lead during the 2000 season. The Honda Award hopeful scored her 71st career goal against Virginia Commonwealth on Oct. 15 and tallied her 166th career point on Sept. 23 against Wake Forest to surpass records set by former Terp Lisa Buente from 1987-90. The tri-captain has 73 career goals and 187 points coming into the weekend's games.

Smith Strikes Again!
Senior All-American Keli Smith has put up scorching numbers this postseason, with four goals and two assists in four ACC and NCAA games played. After sealing Maryland's 3-1 victory over Wake Forest with a second-half goal in the ACC Semifinal, the forward led the Terps with two goals and two assists in Maryland's 9-1 shelling of New Hampshire in the NCAA First Round. Smith went on to score the game-winner -- only 57 second into the game from just inside the circle -- against Princeton.

Can You Stop Carissa?
You can tell it's the postseason when forward Carissa Messimer begins to seriously heat up. The young sophomore on a veteran team has a knack for lighting up the scoreboard as the leaves turn, totalling seven goals in ten postseason games played. Besides her two-goal performance against Michigan in the 2000 ACC Championship, in 1999 as a freshman she was unstoppable in NCAA play. Before netting the game-winner to lift the Terps over Virginia in the 1999 title game, Messimer notched goals in a 2-1 semifinal win over Iowa and a 3-2 overtime victory over Old Dominion. An established threat on the offensive end, the sophomore was already the fourth-leading scorer on the Terp squad headed into her two-goal performance against New Hampshire. She now totals 15 goals and two assists.

Dina Delivers In November
Forward Dina Rizzo has a tendency to come on strong during postseason play as well. The junior notched the game-winning goal in Maryland's 3-1 ACC semifinal victory over Wake Forest, netted two in the NCAA First Round against New Hampshire, and punched one in in the Second Round vs. Princeton. Rizzo also scored a pair and added a helper in the Terps' First Round win over Lafayette a season ago and assisted on Carissa Messimer's game-winner as the Terps took the national championship with a 2-1 win over Michigan in 1999. As if she could smell November coming, Rizzo scored in two of the Terps' last three regular-season games. The junior netted a pair on "Senior Day" vs. Richmond on Oct. 29, and also put in the game-winner vs. No. 14 James Madison on Oct. 20.

"Arnie" In The Postseason
Maryland junior All-American Caroline Walter has been a terror in ACC and NCAA Championship play, scoring three goals and racking up four assists in ten postseason games played in 1999 and 2000. The forward, known affectionately to her teammates as "Arnie" for her Eastern European accent (similar to Austrian-born actor Arnold Schwarzenegger) and her playful attitude toward conditioning, assisted on Dina Rizzo's goal in the Second Round game vs. Princeton. She also dealt the pass for Rachel Hiskins' game winner in the Terps' First Round victory over Lafayette in 1999. She went on to beat Old Dominion with an overtime game-winner in round two, before assistsing on Hiskins' GWG again in a 2-1 OT thriller over Iowa.

Kelly And Klingerman Provide Scoring Punch
Junior Megan Kelly (Gaithersburg, Md.) and sophomore Angie Klingerman (Bloomsburg, Pa.) have provided the 2000 Terps with plenty of energy and offense in reserve roles. The duo has combined for 28 points off the bench, with seven goals and one assist for Kelly and six goals and one assist for Klingerman.

Kelly struck in two games as the regular season wound down, chipping in two goals in Maryland's 6-3 victory over Rutgers and adding the Terps' lone score vs. Old Dominion. In round one vs. New Hampshire, she finished off a penalty corner with a goal from Keli Smith.

Who Dat?
Wondering what cheer erupts from the Terp parents' section to begin every half and to cap every score? It is a chant led by student assistant coach Sarah Rappolt (West Chester, Pa.) and junior forward Dina Rizzo's fathers, Bill and Arte. They asks the crowd, "Who dat team gonna beat them Terps?" to which the parents reply, "Who dat? Who dat?"

Coming tomorrow: There's Something About Maryland

Contact: Mark Fratto
301-742-5552 (Phone)
301-314-9094 (FAX)
301-314-TERP (Fan Phone)
fratto@wam.umd.edu