Terrapins Take On Michigan For 2001 NCAA Field Hockey Championship

Nov. 17, 2001

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KENT, Ohio - The ACC champion Maryland Terrapins (20-3) meet the Michigan Wolverines (17-5) in a 2p.m. showdown at Kent State University for the 2001 NCAA Field Hockey Championship. The Terrapins look to capture their fourth NCAA title in school history and second in three years as the two UM's clash in a rematch of the 1999 national championship game. Michigan, making its second-ever NCAA tournament appearance, enters the match after a 4-2 win over Princeton in the semifinal. Back in 1999, then-freshman Carissa Messimer's (Mountaintop, Pa.) goal at the end of the first half from Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.) lifted the Terps to the NCAA title in the Wolverines' only other appearance.

The second-seeded Terrapins needed 99 minutes and two overtime periods to take out ACC-rival Wake Forest for the third time this season. Maryland had beaten the Demon Deacons by the same score in the conference championship game, and again displayed the persistance and character necessary to finish the job in the NCAA semifinal. Trailing for much of the match, three-time Mid-Atlantic All-Region senior Rizzo found ACC Rookie of the Year Colleen Barbieri (Centereach, N.Y.) on identical goals to tie, then sink, the Deacs in the second extra session.

Maryland had cruised through the NCAA First and Second Rounds, overwhelming Fairfield and Syracuse by scores of 7-1 and 6-0. Senior forward Caroline Walter (Reilingen, Germany) totaled five goals in the first two games of the tournament, including her first hat trick of the year against the Orangewomen. Messimer scored a goal and dished out seven assists in the two games, a total that is one off the all-time mark for assists by an individual in the entire tournament. Meanwhile, All-America defensive back Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.), goalie Ashley Hohnstine (Oak Hill, Va.) and the Terp defense held opponents to one goal on four shots all weekend. The blanking of the Orangewomen was Maryland's 11th shutout of the season.

The Terrapins, ranked first in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, were seeded second by the NCAA and granted a home site for the first and second rounds of the tournament two days after capturing their fourth-consecutive ACC title. Maryland's Honda Award hopeful Welsh keyed a tremendous defensive effort at the 19th annual conference championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., and came away with 2001 ACC Tournament MVP honors. Walter and Messimer were also recipients of all-tournament accolades.

Welsh and Walter joined head coach Missy Meharg and two other teammates among the six Terrapins to receive 2001 All-ACC honors. Senior midfielders Dina Rizzo and Rachel Hiskins (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) were also selected to the all-conference team, while Welsh was named Co-Player of the Year and Meharg Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career. Barbieri, who ranks tied for first on the team and 11th in the nation in scoring, captured ACC Rookie of the Year honors.

Maryland enters the final on an nine-match win streak. The Terps bounced back from a 1-0 OT loss to Old Dominion on Oct. 14 to reel off the season-high for consecutive victories.

Planetfieldhockey.com And Kent State Provide Live Coverage

Fans unable to make it to Kent State for the 2001 NCAA Field Hockey Championships can still feel like a part of the action through planetfieldhockey.com.

The NCAA has agreed to allow PFH to cybercast a text message play-by-play so fans far and near can catch all the action live from Kent, Ohio. Follow your favorite team on the road to the national championship through planetfieldhockey.com. Click here to go live.

Host Institution Kent State will also cybercast live stats. To check that out, click here and then on the link for live stats.

Download and print the full championship game release by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

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