Aug. 28, 2003

College Park - The Maryland field hockey team opens the 2003 campaign with three games in Amherst, Mass. The Terps officially open the season on Aug. 30 vs. New Hampshire, then play host Massachusetts on Aug. 31. After a one-day break, UM squares off with Quinnipiac on Sept. 2. Maryland's focus in 2003 will be long term. The Terps will be working hard all season to make a return trip to Amherst, Mass., the site of the NCAA Tournament semifinals and championship games.

The Terps, who are 24-3-2 in season openers, are 9-0 all-time against the Wildcats (2-0) and the Minutewomen (7-0). This will be the first meeting against Quinnipiac.

A Look At The Terps
* Head coach Missy Meharg embarks on her 16th season at the Maryland field hockey helm. Nearing the 250-win plateau, she boasts a 244-81-9 (.744) career record over her 15 years leading the Terrapins. A 1985 graduate of Delaware, Meharg was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year in 2002. During her tenure, Meharg 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 Terps return 11 letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament second round team that went 17-5 and reached the ACC finals. Seven starters return, including 2002 NFHCA second team All-American and 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year Colleen Barbieri.

* First team NFHCA All-American junior Colleen Barbieri is the team's top-returning scorer. The speedy forward tallied 13 goals and six assists. Also returning is sophomore Lauren Powley. In her rookie campaign, she earned third team All-American honors as a midfielder starting in every game. Sophomore Tiffany Marsh led all freshmen with eight goals and 17 points and classmate Jackie Ciconte contributed six goals and an assist. Also returning is goalkeeper Kerry Hearsey. As a sophomore last year, she ended the season ranked fourth in the nation with a 1.04 GAA.

* Maryland welcomes 10 newcomers to the 2003 team. Joining the squad are junior transfers Emily Beach (Univ. of Virginia), Heather Kenney (Univ. of Massachusetts) and Meredith Long (Boston Univ.). Anja Boettcher comes to Maryland from Germany and has junior eligibility. A talented freshmen class includes Kristina Edmonds from Emmaus, Pa., Brooke Johnson from Australia, a Nazerth, Pa., native in Emily Trycinski, Chilean National Team captain Paula Infante and Megan Fox out of Zionsville, Pa. Senior Lauren Pruitt is a local product who was the UM's field hockey club squad's leading scorer the last three years and has now joined the team as a walkon.

* The Maryland Terrapins reached the ACC championship finals last year for the fifth-straight year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by Old Dominion. UM ended the year ranked fifth in the final NFHCA Coaches Poll.

A Look at the Wildcats
* The Wildcats are coached by Robin Balducci, a 1985 graduate of UNH who has led the program for the last 12 seasons and has guided New Hampshire to two NCAA Tournament appearances (1998 and 2000). UNH's all-time winningest coach, she has compiled a 124-113-5 overall record.

* New Hampshire tied for the top spot in the America East in 2002, going 4-1 in the league. The Wildcats also posted their fourth double-digit win season in five years going 12-8 on the season. UNH returns 11 letterwinners, losing four overall, including first team NFHCA All-American Marcie Boyer. She led the team in every offensive category last year (14 goals, 9 points, 37 points).

* Among the returnees for UNH is the teams' top returning scorer and a first team All-America East pick Jen Stamp. She tallied 12 goals and eight assists a year ago. Back in the cage is junior goalkeeper Christine Buckley. She posted two shutouts and a 1.96 goals against average in the Wildcats' 20 games.

* LAST MEETING: The Terps took a 4-1 decision over New Hampshire in Evanston, Ill., in the second game of the 2002 season. Colleen Barbieri gave UM the lead for good in the first half, netting the second of two goals in the 10th minutes. The Terps never looked back, scoring two more in the second. Kerry Hearsey recorded the win, making one save in 70 minutes of action.

A Look at the Minutewomen * UMass has been under the direction of head coach Patty Shea for the last six seasons. In her seventh season at her alma mater (1994 graduate), she owns a 77-58 mark during that time. Shea has coached the Minutewomen to five Atlantic 10 titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1999 and 2000, she was selected A-10 Coach of the Year and was named 2000 Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the NFHCA.

* The Minutewomen went an uncharacteristic 5-17 last year and were second in the A-10 with a 4-2 record. UMass struggled last season and were outscored 62-26, while being shutout seven times. The team went 0-14 to start the season before posting its' first victory, but ended the year with a much improved showing, going 5-3, while also reaching the A-10 finals. Six starters return from last year's team and 10 letterwinners overall. Sophomore back Jaime Bawden led the team with six goals as a rookie and was an all-conference pick. Junior Adrianne Monaco was also selected all-conference. She recorded three goals and a team-leading four assists.

* The Minutewomen were projected to finish second behind current conference champion Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll.

* LAST MEETING: Ranked No. 1 at the time of the meeting, the Terps claimed a 4-0 victory over UMass in the first game of the Terrapin Invitational. Kerry Hearsey recorded her third-straight shutout. Carrisa Messimer scored two goals to lead the charge and Colleen Barbieri recorded a goal and an assist. UMass goalkeeper Ashley Egland made 11 saves in the loss.

A Look at the Bobcats
* A 1994 Penn State graduate, Becca Main Kohli has been with the Quinnipiac Bobcats since the team's inception in 1995, posting a 67-75 record. In her ninth season as the head coach of the Bobcats, she has been named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year three times. In the team's six seasons in the conference, Kohli has led QU to a 36-9 conference record to at least a share of six NEC titles.

* The Bobcats dominated conference action last year, going 11-0 during the regular season, becoming the first team to go undefeated in conference games in NEC history. Quinnipiac earned three All-NEC selections, incuding junior Chelsea Osbrey who tied for the team lead with 10 goals and recorded a team-best 26 points. QU was 1208 on the season, losing in the conference championship final. Of the 17 letterwinners returning, sophomore Erin McKay will be wearing the pads once again in the goal. She posted five shutouts and was a second team All-NEC pick.

* The Bobcats were picked to win the Northeast Conference for the fourth straight-year by the league coaches.

Series versus...
* NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Terps have won both meetings against the Wildcats. The first clash was a 9-1 UM victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in which the Terrapins played host. The second meeting, Maryland topped UNH, 4-1, in Evanston, Ill., in the second game of the season.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - UM leads, 2-0
11/11/00   College Park 1     W,  9-1
9/1/02     at Evanston, Ill.  W,  4-1
1 NCAA Tournament

* MASSACHUSETTS: The Terrapins have dominated this series, winning all nine meetings. The Terps have won by shutout eight times with UMass scoring its only goal of the series in a 2-1 NCAA Tournament loss in 1993. UM has not scored less than two goals in any of the matches. The only meeting played in Amherst, Mass., was a 7-0 rout in 1999.

MASSACHUSETTS - UM leads, 9-0
12/1/79   at Princeton, N.J.   W 2-0
11/14/93  College Park 1       W 2-1
9/8/95    College Park	       W 4-0
9/20/98   College Park 2       W 3-0
9/11/99   Amherst, Mass.       W 7-0
9/16/00   College Park	       W 2-0
9/13/02   College Park 2       W 4-0
1 NCAA Tournament; 2 Terrapin Invitational

* QUINNIPIAC: The Sept. 2 meeting will be the first-ever meeting between the squads. The Terrapins have never played a team that is currently in the Northeast Conference.

Terps in Season Openers
* The Terrapins are 24-3-2 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 six opening games of the season.

Meharg Approaching Milestone
* In her 16th season as head coach of the three-time national champion Maryland field hockey team, Missy Meharg is just six wins away from the 250-career wins mark. Carrying a record of 244-81-9 entering the 2003 season, she became the program's all-time winningest head coach, chalking up her 153rd career victory, on Sept. 20, 1998 with a 3-0 win vs. UMass.

Reunion at Amherst
* A familiar face will be pacing the sidelines in Amherst, Mass. Former Maryland assistant coach Stephen Simpson is in his first year as an assistant coach at Massachusetts. Simpson served as an assistant to UM head coach Missy Meharg for eight seasons before taking his new post at UMass this summer.

* Returning to familiar territory is junior Heather Kenney. Kenney transfered to Maryland from UMass this summer. In two years with the Minutewomen, she played in 39 games, starting in 33. In 2001, she was named second team NFCA all-region and was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team.

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
* After playing three games in five days in Amherst, Mass., the Terrapins hit the road again the following weekend to play Old Dominion on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. The game is the first of the home-and-home series. Game two will be in College Park on Oct. 18.