Sept. 15, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The reigning national champion Maryland field hockey team (5-0) hosts a pair of opponents this weekend at the Artificial Turf Facility in No. 12 Massachusetts and unranked Radford. The Terps meet the Minutewomen Saturday at 1 p.m., while Maryland and Radford square off on Sunday at 2 p.m. Please note that games involving Georgetown this weekend have been removed from the schedule.

The Terps continued their winning ways on Sept. 13, routing Towson by a 7-1 count. Led by junior All-American Caroline Walter's (Reilingen, Germany) four goals, the Terps pelted Towson's keeper with 32 shots while the solid Maryland defense held the Tigers to two attempts. Maryland has beaten its last two opponents, Delaware and Towson, by a combined score of 15-1. The Terps offense and defense has worked together for a 65-2 shot advantage in the last two contests.

We're No. 1
The first official National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll of the season was released on Sept. 12, with the reigning national champion Terrapins the unanimous No. 1 selection. The 4-0 Terps garnered all 25 first-place votes. Four of the five field hockey playing ACC schools were in the Top 10, with North Carolina (5-0) taking the No. 2 spot, Wake Forest (5-0) claiming No. 6 and Virginia (3-1) ranking No. 7. So far in the 2000 season, the Terps have dispatched No. 3 Old Dominion, 5-4 (2 ot) and No. 8 Uconn, 9-1. No. 12 Massachusetts comes to College Park this weekend.

Still Streaking
Maryland's taming of the Tigers extended the Terps' current school-record win streak to 27 games. The Terps have not been beaten since Sept. 6, 1999, in a 5-3 decision vs. Old Dominion. The previous record streak, and now second-longest, came during a 13-game tear in the Terrapins' 1993 national championship season.

Scouting UMass: Time For The Minutewomen
The Terps host the No. 12 UMass Minutewomen Saturday at the Artificial Tuf Facility after posting a pair of road wins. The Minutewomen have a 5-1 record to date and have won their last three matches in a row. UMass, the three-time defending Atlantic 10 champions, defeated now No. 14 Boston College 1-0, Ball State 3-1 and Miami (Ohio) 2-1 before coming to College Park this weekend.

First-team Atlantic 10 goalie Zowie Tucker leads a solid UMass squad. Tucker owns two shut-out victories and a 0.86 goals against average, good enough for eighth nationally. Junior All-American Anke Bruemmer anchors the UMass defense while also pacing the Minutewomen with a team-high tying five goals and 12 points. Ten starters returned to head coach Patty Shea's lineup.

Shea is in her fourth season on the sidelines of her alma mater. The mentor, who is one of the most decorated field hockey players in UMass history, spent 10 years as an assistant at UMass, Harvard and Iowa before taking over her current position. The Terrapins own a 6-0 record in the all-time series vs. UMass.

Scouting Radford: Highlander Notes
Radford enter's this weekend's tilt with a 2-5 season record. The Highlanders defeated Catawba and Vermont among losses to No. 19 Drexel, Fairfield, Holy Cross and most recently, to No. 6 Wake Forest.

Seven starters returned to head coach Jeff Woods' squad, which posted a 5-15 record in 1999.

Maryland beat Radford 7-0 last season in the only meeting between the two schools.

Terp Defense Shines In Two Games
The suffocating Maryland defense, comprised of senior tri-captain Molly Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.), fellow upperclassman Lindsay Gorewitz (Rockville, Md.), juniors Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.), Carol Senkler (Hockessin, Del.) and Kristy Palchinsky (Leonardtown, Md.) and sophomore Kateri Simon (Fallston, Md.) put in a stellar performance against both Towson and Delaware, not allowing the Blue Hens one shot attempt and limiting the Tigers only two. The Terp backfield helped the Maryland offense bury the Blue Hens with eight goals on 33 shots and Towson with seven scores on 32 attempts. The last time the Maryland defense did not allow an opponent a shot was in the Terps 2-0 victory over Virginia in round one of the 1999 ACC Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C.

In the cage, junior keeper Ashley Hohnstine (Oak Hill, Va.) collected the 2000 season's first shut out vs. Delaware, and Hohnstine, junior Jackie Reilly (Suffern, N.Y.) and Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.) shared time in goal against Towson.

International Appeal, Part II
Maryland's international duo of All-Americans, junior Caroline Walter and senior Rachel Hiskins (Victoria, Australia), has opened the 2000 season with displays of offensive prowess.

Walter continued her season tear with a four-goal effort against Towson. The junior, affectionately referred to by her teammates as "Arnie," has scored at least two points in each of the 2000 Terrapins' five matches. Walter scored a goal and tallied an assist against UConn, posted a pair of goals vs. Ohio, dished out two assists in the Terps' double-overtime victory over Old Dominion and scored two and assisted on a goal vs. Delaware before her four-score flurry to help the Terps over Towson. The midfielder leads the Terps with a team-high tying nine goals and four assists on the season and is in the outright team lead with 22 points. Walter is also tied for first with two game-winning goals after leading the 1999 squad in that category with five.

Hiskins has scored in four of the Terps' five games in the 2000 season and is tied for the team lead with nine goals. She also ranks tied for fifth with two assists. The senior has posted two hat trick performances on the season -- a four goal, one assist match vs. Ohio and a three goal effort that helped the Terps beat Old Dominion in double-overtime. The midfielder from "down under" set the single season point scoring record a season ago with 67 in 25 games.

Meharg Approaching Milestone
Maryland added a victory to Terp head coach Missy Meharg's career record as the Terps devastated local rival Towson. With a career slate of 193-68-9, Meharg is only seven victories away from the 200 win plateau. The Terps' mentor is currently 17th all-time in collegiate field hockey in wins, and would move into 16th place with four more victories, passing her college coach at Delaware, Mary Ann Hitchens, who amassed a 196-76-33 career record. The Terps have won more than 15 games each season since 1990.

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