Oct. 9, 2003

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

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Game 14: #3 Maryland (12-1, 1-1) at #4 Duke (5-5, 0-1)
Saturday, October 11, 2003 * 1 p.m.
Williams Field (1,000/Turf), Durham, N.C.

Terps Hit the Road For ACC Clash At Duke
* Maryland hits the road for its first road game since Sept., 6, traveling to Duke for an ACC showdown. The Blue Devils are looking for their first conference win while the Terps look to extend their current win streak and improve in the ACC standings.

* Not only will Maryland and Duke be battling for position in the ACC standings, but also in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 25 rankings. The Terps are third in the nation and the Blue Devils are ranked fourth.

Terps On TV
* Maryland's 3-1 win over Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will air on CSTV on Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. Check DirecTV listings for more information.

A Look At The Terps
* With Maryland's back-to-back 7-0 victories against Rutgers and Pacific in the Terrapin Invitational, 16th-year head coach Missy Meharg recorded her 250th-career victory and boasts a 256-82-9 (.751). A 1985 graduate of Delaware, Meharg was named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2002. During her tenure, she has led the Terps to two national championship titles (1993 and 1999) and five Atlantic Coast Championship crowns. Maryland's all-time winningest coach, she has been named National Coach of the Year four times.

* The team's goal and points leader since the beginning of the season, freshman Paula Infante has 14 goals and 33 points. Infante tore it up to open the season, scoring at least a goal in the Terps' first six games of the season. Sophomore Jackie Ciconte has also posted double-digit goals, tying for the team lead with 11. Junior Anja Boettcher tallied her 10th goal of the season in the win over Ohio State. Eleven different Terps have scored goals with five tallying at least six. The team's assist leader with 13, sophomore All-American Lauren Powley did not record an assist all of last season.

* Eighth in the nation in goals against average, sophomore Tori Cano boasts a 1.05 average and team-leading 25 saves in 802 minutes played. Redshirt freshman Christina Restivo has not allowed a goal in 115:44 minutes. The Terps goalkeepers have recorded six shutouts this season.

* Maryland has been peppering its opposing goalies, outscoring its opponents 62-12 and outshooting them 303-61. The second-ranked offense in the nation, the Terps are scoring 4.73 goals per game.

* The Terps return 11 letterwinners from last year's 17-5 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and reached the ACC Tournament finals. Seven starters return, including 2002 NFHCA second team All-American and 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year Colleen Barbieri. Barbieri is the team's top-returning scorer. Maryland also welcomes 10 newcomers to the squad who have made an immediate impact.

Terps' Last Time Out
* The Terps swept two games last weekend to get back on the winning track. Maryland picked up its first ACC win of the season, defeating No. 15 Virginia, 3-2, on a Jackie Ciconte goal in the 69th minute. The Terrapins led 2-1 at the half on the strength of two Paula Infante tallies, but the Cavaliers evened the score at 68:21. UM responded, however, 34 seconds later with Ciconte knocking in the game winner to avoid the overtime.

* The game was decided in the first half as both teams combined for four goals as Maryland went on the beat Ohio State, 3-1, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex to close out the Terps' nine-game homestand. Jackie Ciconte was once again the hero, scoring two goals in the game, including the game-winning goal. Although Maryland held a 13-1 second-half shot advantage and a 5-2 advantage on penalty corners, the Buckeye defense kept the Terps scoreless in the second period for just the second time all season. Maryland outshot OSU, 24-4, for the game and 48-9 over the two games. It was the first meeting between the teams in 19 years and the Terps improve their all-time record over the Buckeyes to 3-0.

A Look at the Blue Devils
* Beth Bozman is in her 17th season coaching and in her first as coach of the Blue Devils. A 1976 graduate of Trenton State, she owns a 208-82-6 record. She went to Durham, N.C., after a successful coaching tenure at Princeton. She led the Tigers to nine-straight Ivy League titles and 10 overall. Princeton also made eight NCAA Tournament appearances under her tutelage, also leading the team to four NCAA final fours, finishing as runner-ups in 1996 and 1998. Bozman also coached one season at Hofstra in 1987 before moving onto Princeton, leading the Pride to a 15-4 record.

* For the second year in a row, sophomore Katie Grant is leading the team in scoring with 29 points on nine goals and 11 assists. Duke is eighth in the country with 1.09 goals per game. Juniors Garcie Sorbello and Johanna Bischoff are tied for second with 26 points. Sorbello is the team's goal leader with 10 while Bischoff has dished out a team-high 16 helpers. All three rank in the top 15 in points, while Sorbello is tied for 16th in goals and Grant is tied for fifth in assists.

* In the net is goalkeeper Christy Morgan. A sophomore, she ranks 16th in the nation in goals against average at 1.33 in 630 minutes played. She directs a defense which ranks third in the nation at 4.64.

* The Blue Devils return nine starters, including last year's top three scorers in Katie Grant, Kim Van Kirk and Johanna Bischof. Duke went 14-9 last season and 1-3 in ACC play, while also reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Goalkeeper Morgan Christy also returns for Duke. Last year, she started just over half of the team's games and posted a 2.19 goals against average in 925 minutes.

* LAST MEETING:
Tiffany Marsh's two-goal effort led Maryland to a 5-0 victory over Duke last season. Seven different Terps registered at least a point in the game while goalkeeper Kerry Hearsey posted her sixth shutout of the season.

Series Versus...
* DUKE: Maryland is ahead in the all-time series, 18-3-3, and has won the last seven matches, including a 6-5 overtime thriller in 2001. The Terps' three losses to the Blue Devils have all come in Durham, N.C.

Terps Among Nation's Best
* Maryland's offense and defense rates among the top five in the nation. Offensively, the Terps 4.73 scoring rate is second and the 0.92 goals allowed is fifth, helping UM to a third-best 3.81 margin of victory. Maryland's .923 winning percentage (12-1) is also second in the nation.

* Freshman Paula Infante is tied for the second-most points (33) in the nation and stands alone in second with 2.75 points per game. Infante and sophomore Jackie Ciconte are also tied for third with 14 goals, while sophomore All-American Lauren Powley is third with 13 goals. She had not registered an assist all last season. Sophomore goalkeeper Tori Cano is in the top 10 in goals against average, rating eighth with a 1.048 GAA. In all, six different Terps are among the nation's top 20 in several different categories. For a full list, check out the right margin of page three.

In The ACC Stats
* In the ACC statistical categories, freshman Paula Infante has led the league all season in points. This week, she is three points ahead of North Carolina's Kelsey Keeran with 33. Sophomore All-American Lauren Powley is tied for third in the ACC with 1.00 assists per game, followed by junior Emily Boyer coming in fifth, averaging 0.92 apg.

* Sophomore Tori Cano is fifth in the conference with a 1.05 goals against average and her 25 saves is fifth. Sophomore Jackie Ciconte (28 pts, 4th; 1.17 gpg 4th), junior Colleen Barbieri (0.75 gpg, 9th) and junior Anja Boettcher (0.77 gpg, 8th) are also among the top 10 in the league in points and goals per game.

* The Terps average 4.77 goals per game which is second in the ACC. The team's six shutouts are also tied for second. Maryland ranks third in points per game (13.00), assists per game (3.46) and goals against average (0.92).

Terp Attack
* The formidable attack from two years ago seems to be back. Maryland has scored more goals than it had all last season. With six regular-season games left, the Terps have scored 62 goals. In 22 games last year, the Terps scored 59 goals. * Two years ago, the Terps were the top-ranked offense in the nation. Maryland ranked 14th at the end of last season.

Terps "D" Up
* Six of Maryland's 12 wins have come by virtue of shutout. The Terps have allowed only 12 goals this season, allowing more than one goal to opponents just four times. The shots and penalty corners have been hard to come by for opponents as well. Maryland opponents average 4.69 shots per game and 2.77 penalty corners per game. It's no wonder the Terrapin defense has been so hard to penetrate. The backfield ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense at 0.92.

Ciconte Not Slumping
* Jackie Ciconte must not know what a "sophomore slump" is because she is having a breakout year. Playing in every game and starting all but one match this season, she is tied for the team lead with 14 goals, while posting 28 points. All are career bests. She also has a career-high four game-winning goals, tallying her fourth in the 3-1 victory over Ohio State. With her two-goal performance against the Buckeyes, Ciconte is second on the team with four multiple-goal games.

* Ciconte played 19 of the Terps' 22 games last year, making four starts. She totaled six goals, one assist, 13 points and three game-winning goals.

Nearing the Century Mark
* A first team All-American last year, junior Colleen Barbieri is on the verge of breaking the 100-career point plateau. She currently has 93 points. She has also scored 39 career points and is three away from tying for 10th on Maryland's all-time list.

Seeing Double
* Six different Terps have scored at least two goals in a game. Team scoring leader freshman Paula Infante has had the most two-goal performances, scoring a pair in five games. Sophomore Jackie Ciconte has accomplished that feat four times. Junior All-American Colleen Barbieri, junior Anja Boettcher and junior co-captain Sara Silvetti have recorded two two-goal games. Sophomore Amber McQuillan rounds out the list, tallying two goals in the win over Rutgers. Boettcher is the only Terp this season to record a hat trick.

* The Terps' offense ranks second in the nation, scoring 4.73 goals per game.

Meharg Reaches 250
* Maryland's 7-0 win over Pacific on the final day of the Terrapin Invitational gave head coach Missy Meharg her 250th-career victory. Already the program's all-time winningest coach, she boasts a record of 256-82-9 in 16 years. On Sept. 20, 1998, Meharg became Maryland's winningest coach with a 3-0 win vs. UMass, chalking up her 153rd career triumph.

Terps to Named to U.S. Team
* Four former Terps were selected for the U.S. National Team's residency program. Katie Kauffman-Beach ('97), Carissa Messimer ('03) Dina Rizzo ('02) and Keli Smith ('01) were named to the 19-player roster which was selected after open tryouts held at the team's training site in Virginia Beach, Va. The U.S. will begin preparations for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, March 19-28, 2004, in Auckland, New Zealand, including hosting the International Atlantic Cup which features four of the top 10 ranked teams in the world.

* Kauffman-Beach, Rizzo and Smith each played for the U.S. team this summer, helping the Stars & Stripes capture a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Kauffman-Beach was named team captain of that squad. Messimer is making her debut on the senior squad, having been a member of the 2001 Junior World Cup Team and 1999 Under-20 squad.

Tough Schedule
* The Terps continually play one of the toughest schedules in the nation. This year's slate is no different as Maryland is scheduled or has faced nine teams ranked in this week's NFHCA Coaches Poll. The top four spots in the poll are occupied by ACC teams, including Maryland. All five ACC teams are among the top 20. Wake Forest is the top team in the country for the third week in a row, followed by North Carolina, the Terps and Duke. Virginia is 18th in the country.

* The top four teams in the nation, besides Maryland, are featured on the Terps' schedule. After the top four spots which are occupied by ACC teams, Michigan, which the Terps defeated 4-2, is fifth. Seventh in the poll is Old Dominion, a team which UM has also already defeated. The Terps defeated No. 10 Princeton in an edge-of-your seat matchup, but fell to No. 1 Wake Forest. No. 11 Delaware visits the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex on Oct. 18 and the Terps have already beaten No. 16 Harvard who entered the poll last week for the first time this season and has climbed the charts. Opponents Ohio State and American are receiving votes.

Terps in Openers
* The Terrapins are 25-3-2 in season openers since program's first year in 1974. Maryland went unbeaten the first 15 years, going 13-0-2 before losing back-to-back openers in 1989 (at Virginia) and 1990 (at Old Dominion). UM has won the last seven opening games of the season.

* When opening the home slate, the Terps are 24-4-2 all-time, having won the last five home openers in a row.

Infante Earns Conference Honor
* Freshman defender Paula Infante was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of the season on Sept. 1. The Santiago, Chile, native tallied three goals and two assists in the Terps' first two wins of the season. She also contributed to Maryland's defensive effort which allowed just three shots and one penalty corner combined over both games.

Maryland No. 3 in First Poll of the Year
* The Maryland Terrapins were ranked third in the initial National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 20 poll of the year which was released on Sept. 9. Prior to that announcement, the Terps were 4-0, including posting a 2-1 victory over arch-rival Old Dominion.

Terps Name Captains
* Juniors Sara Silvetti and Kristin Harris have been named captains for the 2003 season. Silvetti, a redshirt junior, is a back and has started every game for the Terps the last two seasons. Harris is a midfielder who has started all but one game the last two seasons and was named second team NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Region.

Up Next
* Maryland returns home for the second game of the two-game series against Old Dominion on Oct. 18. The Terps will also honor the 1993 national championship team, as they celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the national championship. Delaware then makes a visit the following day on Oct. 19.