Field Hockey Hosts No. 9 North Carolina And No. 8 James Madison In Big Weekend

Oct. 24, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The third-ranked Maryland field hockey squad (13-2, 2-1 ACC) looks to get back to its winning ways as the Terps host No. 9 North Carolina and No. 8 James Madison on Saturday and Sunday. The Terps tangle with the Tar Heels (8-8, 2-1 ACC) in their last regular-season conference match-up on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. before meeting the Dukes (11-5, 4-2 CAA) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27.

The Terps and Tar Heels will get an early look at one another two weeks before facing off at the 2002 ACC Championship Tournament in Durham, N.C. Saturday's match will determine which of the Terps or Tar Heels will be the No. 2 seed and which will be the No. 3 seed. Regardless, the two squads will meet again at the conference championship on Friday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m.

Maryland looks to rebound this weekend after a hard-fought 1-0 loss at Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Monarchs forced a season-split with the Terrapins after scoring the lone goal of the match in the second period. Wins this weekend would give Maryland some momentum heading into "Senior Day" on Sunday, Nov. 3 and then into the postseason.

Maryland moved to No. 3 the STX/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll (NFHCA) after holding the top spot for six weeks in a row. The Terrapins were the last team in the nation to suffer two losses - both of which came at the hands of a top 5 team.

Terps At A Glance

Having graduated four All-Americans and the 2001 national player of the year among a senior class of eight last season, the Maryland Terrapins opened the 2002 campaign looking to make a fresh start with its new roster. Now, toward the end of the Terps' regular-season schedule, the new-look squad has already made some waves on the national scene - a roster that features 10 newcomers and a starting line-up that includes six rookies finds itself at 13-2 and ranked third in the nation.

On the offensive end, 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year Colleen Barbieri (Centereach, N.Y.) and senior All-American Carissa Messimer (Mountaintop, Pa.) lead the way with 11 goals and four assists each for 26 points, which ties them for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Meanwhile, Mid-Atlantic All-Region senior Kateri Simon (Fallston, Md.) has adapted well to her role in the Terps' midfield and totals a team-leading eight assists. Ten different Terrapins have scored goals in Maryland's first 15 games, as the Terps have outscored their regular-season opponents 38-10.

Defensively, the Terrapins are off to a fine start, reclaiming the top spot in the nation in limiting opponents to a 0.65 goals against average and only 4.7 shots per game. Led by the ACC's top-rated netminder Kerry Hearsey (Leicester, England) and senior back Izzy Palmer (Malvern, England), the Terps' talented backfield continues to uphold the standard that led the nation in 2001.

Now in her 15th season, four-time national coach of the year Missy Meharg owns a career record of 240-78-9, good enough for 13th on the all-time Division I wins list. New to the 2002 season is the addition of the Missy Meharg Radio Show, which airs alternate Thursdays at 5:15 p.m. on the campus radio website WMUCsports.com. Check www.WMUCsports.com or www.umterps.com for archived cybercasts.

Seniors Step Up

What the 2002 Terrapins may lack in upperclassman quantity, they more than make up for in quality. All three of the Maryland seniors have stepped into important roles for the Terrapins, and all three have risen to the challenge.

Midfielder Carissa Messimer, a second team All-America selection from a season ago, has been rock solid in the Terrapin midfield. Messimer stands tied for first on the squad with 26 points after finishing tied for second in 2001, and has been playing tenacious defense in her dual role. Messimer is a viable option for the Terrapins in different roles on attack penalty corners, and her elimination skills in open space are unmatched.

Fellow midfielder and 2001 all-region selection Kateri Simon has also adjusted to her new role, moving from strictly defense into the Terps' offensive scheme. Simon, who earned a full-time position as a defensive back in 2001, has developed into a playmaker as a senior and currently leads the team and ranks tied for third in the conference with eight assists. Her first career goal came in the Terps' Sept. 6 win over Drexel.

The Terrapins had a major gap to fill in the backfield with the graduation of 2001 Honda Award winner Autumn Welsh, and readily stepping in has been international veteran Izzy Palmer. Palmer has been a voice of leadership for Maryland out of the backfield, in addition to her key role on attack penalty corners. She totals 13 points on three goals and seven assists.

International Connection

The Maryland hockey team has always been a squad that embraces diversity, and accomplished international transfers Izzy Palmer (Malvern, England) and Katrin Rummer (Karlsruhe, Germany) have carried on that tradition.

Palmer, the Terps' center back, has become the backbone of the Terps' defense and a team leader on the field. The England national squad member comes from the University of the West of England and has only this season of NCAA eligibility remaining, but will be completing a second degree at Maryland. She has contributed three goals and seven assists in addition to the intangibles she brings to the young Terp lineup.

Rummer, a transfer from Karlsruhe University in Heidelberg, Germany, came to the Terrapins from the same region which two-time former Terp All-American Caroline Walter hails. Rummer has been a spark in the midfield, opening the season with points in each of the Terps' first four games. Rummer's first game-winning goal of 2002 came in the first half against then-No. 2 Old Dominion on Sept. 8, and her six assists rank second on the team and fifth in the ACC.

Hail To The Chief

Sophomore Kerry Hearsey has performed brilliantly for the Terps in her first season as starting goalkeeper, posting a 0.65 goals against average to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference and the nation.

Hearsey's seven shutouts also are tops in the ACC, while her save percentage of .804 is the best for a Terp goalie in more than eight seasons.

Hearsey had made tremendous strides as a sophomore after averaging 17 minutes per game during her rookie campaign and never playing more than 41 minutes.

Strong Island Strikes Again

There's no second-year slump for sophomore sensation Colleen Barbieri, who leads the high-powered Terps in goals and points for the second straight season. The 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year came back with a vengeance in her second season with the Terrapins, and her 11 goals and 26 points ties senior Carissa Messimer for first on the team and second in the conference.

Barbieri's ruthless pursuit of the goal cage has resulted in nothing but success for the Terps, as she accounts for six of Maryland's 13 game-winning goals. She has also contributed four assists.

The sophomore's efforts have not gone unnoticed, as she has been named ACC Player of the Week twice in 2002 - on Sept. 3 and Oct. 7 - after receiving the honor two times as a freshman in 2001.

The Marathon Assassin

Calculating rookie forward Tiffany Marsh (Marathon, N.Y.) has come on strong for the Terps as the season has progressed. She currently stands fourth on the team in scoring with five goals and one assist for 11 points.

The freshman has started 10 of the Terps' 15 games this season and has contributed when Maryland needed it most - Marsh has scored in games against then-No. 2 Old Dominion, then-No. 5 Wake Forest, then-No. 15 Princeton and recently netted a pair in an ACC victory over then-No. 12 Duke. Her first goal in the first half against the Blue Devils on Oct. 12 marked the freshman's first career game-winner.

Marsh hails from the Cortland, N.Y. area and attended the same high school as all-time Terp scoring leader Carla Tagliente. Marsh shattered all of Tagliente's high school scoring records and the Terrapins can only hope her success continues in College Park.

The Third-Ranked Terps

The Maryland field hockey squad dipped to No. 3 in the seventh STX/NFHCA poll of the 2002 season, released Tuesday. The Terrapins were No. 1 in the first six coaches polls this year and have been ranked in the top 5 in every poll of the last four seasons. The Terrapins moved from the top spot after falling, 1-0, to then-No. 3 Old Dominion in Norfolk on Saturday. The Terps had defeated the Monarchs by a 2-0 margin earlier in the season on Sept. 8.

With a starting line-up that includes six newcomers, Maryland opened the season with a seven-match victory streak and was rewarded with the No. 1 ranking. Now at No. 3, Maryland is 6-2 against this week's NFHCA top 20, and also defeated Delaware when it was ranked at No. 14 earlier in the season.

All five ACC field hockey schools rank in the top 20, with Wake Forest (13-2) ranking fourth and North Carolina (8-8) tied for ninth. Also joining the Terps, Demon Deacons and Tar Heels in the top 20 is No. 12 Duke (10-6) and 19th-ranked Virginia (8-7).

The Terrapins take on No. 9 Tar Heels and No. 8 James Madison Dukes as the regular season starts down the home stretch this weekend. Maryland plays a total of 10 regular season matches against teams listed in the seventh top 20 of 2002. Two more of the Terps' opponents received votes in this week's poll.

Maryland was voted No. 1 in six of the eight coaches' polls conducted in 2001, and has not been ranked below No. 5 in every NFHCA poll over the last four seasons.

Scouting No. 9 North Carolina

The Tar Heels head into the weekend's match at Maryland with an 8-8 overall and 2-1 league record. With four national championships in school history and an undefeated record in 1995, North Carolina is one of the most traditionally accomplished programs in NCAA history. The Tar Heels have not lost eight games in a season twice before in its history, and have not lost nine games since head coach Karen Shelton's first season in 1981.

Sophomore forward Kerry Falgowski leads the Tar Heels with nine goals and 19 points on the season, and is followed closely by second-year midfielder Laura Douglas (six goals, 16 points). Senior Meredith Keller checks in with 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists).

All-America and U.S. National squad member Amy Tran is in her fourth season as the Tar Heels' starting goalkeeper. This season she has made nearly 100 saves and owns a 1.54 goals against average.

Three-time national coach of the year Karen Shelton owns a 359-98-9 record in her 22nd season, all at UNC.

Maryland trails in the all-time series, 14-27-0, but Maryland leads 5-2 since 1998. The last three regular-season meetings between the two schools have been nail-biters: Maryland wins 1-0 (OT) in 2001, UNC wins 1-0 (OT) in 2000, Maryland wins 2-1 (2 OT) in 1999.

Scouting No. 8 James Madison

After finishing the last two seasons with a 12-9 record and being denied a berth in the national tournament, at 11-5 the Dukes appear to be NCAA bound for the first time since 1999. They have beaten all four ACC teams besides Maryland: Duke on Sept. 7, Wake Forest on Sept. 8, Virginia on Sept. 15 and North Carolina on Sept. 12. James Madison has been ranked as high as fourth in the NFHCA coaches poll this season.

Junior Janelle Perlis paces the Dukes with 12 goals, but the JMU offense is keyed by a sophomore from Holland, Veerle Goudsward (10 goals, nine assists, 29 points). Sophomore Alissa Santanna and senior Carrie Phillips each have 15 points apiece as well. The Dukes ate the 11th-rated scoring offense in the nation at 2.68 goals per game.

Veteran cager Kiernan Raffo is back once again in the JMU goal, with a .723 save percentage and a 1.93 GAA.

A 1995 graduate of the University of Maryland, Irene Horvat's semi-annual homecoming represents yet another teacher-versus-student match-up for four-time national coach of the year Missy Meharg. The Terp All-American from 1993 and 1994 and the national champion in 1993 is in her third season on the JMU sideline. Horvat still holds the Maryland career goalie record for shutouts (42.5 from 1991-1994) and the single-season records for shutouts, save percentage and GAA.

Follow The Terrapins In 2002

Terps on the Web - For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please locate www.umterps.com on the Internet. Check it out today for the most recent field hockey player and coaches bios and the 2002 season recaps.

E-mail Straight To You - If you would like the latest Maryland hockey news e-mailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, e-mail hockey contact Mark Fratto at fratto@wam.umd.edu with the message "Hockey E-mail" as the subject and you will receive every update released about the team.

Terrapin Fan Phone - For up-to-date reports, comments from coaches and other Maryland athletic department information, call the Terrapin Fan Phone at 301-314-TERP.

"Inside the Circle" - For a weekly Maryland field hockey update from an insider perspective, check out "Inside the Circle" on umterps.com. Each Tuesday throughout the 2002 season, senior Kateri Simon and sophomore Kristin Harris update fans on all of the latest Terp happenings from the student-athletes' point of view. Log on to umterps.com, find the field hockey page and click on the button for "Inside the Circle" to get your Terp news from the "inside."

Field Hockey Hosts No. 9 North Carolina And No. 8 James Madison In Big Weekend

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