Two-Game Road Trip Pits Terp Field Hockey vs. Two Top 10 Squads
10/14/2004 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 14, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
GAME #15: #4 Maryland (12-2) at No. 8 Old Dominion (9-3)
Friday, Oct. 15 • 6 p.m.
Foreman Field (20,000/Turf)
Norfolk, Va.
GAME #16: #4 Maryland at No. 10 Michigan (10-3)
Sunday, Oct. 17 • 1 p.m.
Pyllis Ocker Field (500/Turf)
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Two-Game Road Trip Pits Terps vs. Two Top 10 Squads
• Maryland faces a challenging road trip, beginning with a game at No. 8 Old Dominion on Friday, Oct. 15. The weekend then wraps up with the Terps making their first-ever trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., to battle No. 10 Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 17.
• The game with the Lady Monarchs closes out the regular-season home-and-home series, a series which the Terps swept last year for the first time ever. Maryland dominated the first matchup in College Park, 6-0, earlier this season.
• Michigan will be the second Big Ten squad the Terrapins will face this year. The Terps topped Northwestern, 2-0, in the Terrapin Invitational in September.
Terps in the Polls
• After coming out victorious in a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over Duke, Maryland is ranked No. 4 in the nation this week, earning a top-five rating for the fifth-consecutive week. Maryland was the No. 1 team in the nation for the week of Sept. 20, earning the top spot in the rankings for the first time since the 2002 season.
• The ACC continues to be the strongest conference in the nation as four ACC squads are ranked in the top five while all five are in the top 15. The only non-ACC team ranked in the top five is No. 3 Michigan State.
A Look At The Terps
• Maryland's potent attack is bolstered by balanced scoring as 12 different Terrapins have tallied at least one goal. A pair of junior pace the attack with Tiffany Marsh leading the way with 27 points. Junior All-American Jackie Ciconte is the team's goal leader with 11 tallies. After dishing out a career-high tying three assists in the win at Virginia, junior Lauren Powley has team-best 10 assists.
• Sophomore Christina Restivo has four shutouts while helping the squad to seven overall, which leads the ACC. Her 1.2 goals against average ranks 14th in the nation. She had a career game in the Terps' win at Princeton, making a personal best 11 saves, many of them diving stops. Freshman Kathryn Masson made her first-career ACC start vs. Duke and made a career-best nine saves to lead the Terps to victory.
• The only team in the country to return two first team All-Americans, the Terps return the majority of a squad that reached the 2004 NCAA Tournament semifinal game while recording the program's fourth 20-win season. Going 20-4 overall, Maryland ended the year ranked fourth in the nation on offense while fielding the fifth-best defense in the country. Ranked third in the final NFHCA Top 20 poll, the Terps return 15 letterwinners, including nine starters.
• Missy Meharg is in her 17th year as head coach of the Terrapins. Under her tutelage, she has led Maryland to two national titles and five ACC titles while putting together a 276-87-9 record. A four time National Coach of the Year, she has also guided the Terps to all four 20-win seasons while mentoring the team to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven NCAA Tournament final fours.
About Old Dominion & Michigan
Old Dominion
• Old Dominion is 9-3 and ranked No. 8 heading into Friday's match. After losing back-to-back games to North Carolina and Duke, the Lady Monarchs have rolled off six-straight wins, winning their last two by a goal each.
• The Terps have defeated four Colonial Athletic Association teams this season, including a 6-0 thumping of ODU at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. Maryland still has two more games against CAA squads left to play this season, including its contest at ODU.
• Old Dominion leads the all-time series, 20-13-1, dating back to 1982. Last year, the Terps swept the regular-season home-and-home series for the first time ever.
MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines are 10-4 and ranked 10th in the nation heading into the weekend. Michigan dropped an overtime thriller at Iowa, 4-3, snapping a seven-game win streak.
• Maryland leads the all-time series vs. the Wolverines, 3-1. Their only victory was a 2-0 win in the 2001 NCAA Championship game, a game which the Terps dominated. The Terrapins defeated the Wolverines, 4-2, in College Park last year. It is Maryland's first-ever trip to Ann Arbor, Mich.
Last Time Out
• The then-No. 5 Terps defeated the then-No. 4 Blue Devils, 5-4, in a thrilling and pivotal overtime game at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. Maryland, who was tied with Duke for second-place, now stands alone in the second spot in the conference standings.
• The last time the two teams had met was in the 2003 NCAA Tournament semifinals when Duke got the better of the Terps in a 4-2 win. The game featured a lot of offense, including three penalty shots, 21 penalty corners and 51 shots. After a 1-1 tie at the break, the Terps jumped ahead, 3-1. With Maryland leading 4-2, the Blue Devils earned back-to-back penalty shots, which evened the score, 4-4, sending the game into overtime. In the extra period, junior All-American Jackie Ciconte knocked in the rebound on her own shot to give the Terps the win.
• Ciconte scored two goals in the win to lead Maryland. Sophomore All-American Paula Infante also contributed a pair of goals. Freshman Kathryn Masson made a career-high nine saves in her first-career ACC start.
Terps in the ACC Stats
• Second in the ACC in points at 12.0 points per game, the Terps are led by junior Tiffany Marsh who is seventh in the conference with 27. Junior All-American Jackie Ciconte is 10th in the league with .79 goals per game and fellow classmate and All-American Lauren Powley is the team's assist leader with 0.77 assists per game which is sixth.
• Sophomore Christina Restivo made a career-high 11 saves at Princeton and has 24 on the season, averaging 1.85 stops per game, ranking sixth in the ACC. Her 1.29 goals against average is second in the league.
• As a team, Maryland is second in every offensive category and two defensive categories. The Terps are averaging 12.0 points per game, 4.29 goals per game (tied), 3.43 assists per game, 26.21 shots per game and sport a 1.20 goals against average. Its 66.7 percent save percentage is last in the league.
Ciconte Earns Conference Nod
• Junior All-American Jackie Ciconte was named co-ACC Player of the Week on Oct. 11 after scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winning tally, in the 5-4 overtime win over Duke in a crucial ACC matchup. Ciconte is the first Terrapin to earn the honor this season. It is the second time in her career she has been named ACC Player of the Week.
Masson Tabbed Rookie of the Week
• Maryland goalkeeper Kathryn Masson was selected National Rookie of the Week by www.womensfieldhockey.com on Oct. 11 after making nine saves and allowing just two goals in her first-career ACC start. She becomes the second Terp this year to earn the accolade.
van Leeuwen Earns National Honors
• After scoring her first-career goal against Towson, freshman Janneke van Leeuwen went on to have a breakout weekend, leading the Terps with four goals on five shots and 10 points. She gave the Terps a 1-0 lead over Princeton after the teams were deadlocked for 25 minutes. She went on to score another goal in that game and also dished out two assists. In Maryland's come-from-behind victory at No. 14 Delaware, van Leeuwen's tally tied the game at 3-3 late in the second half.
Terp Attack
• Boasting a balanced attack, 12 different Terps have tallied at least a goal with junior All-American Jackie Ciconte leading the way with 11 goals. The Maryland offense notched at least three goals in 11 of its 14 games and has outscored its opponents, 60-17, so far this season. The Terps' offense ranks third in the nation as of Oct. 11 at 4.15 goals per game.
• The Terps' high-powered attack from a year ago returns intact. Ranked fourth in the nation in 2003, Maryland scored 92 goals on the season with four players scoring at least 15 goals each. Sophomore All-American Paula Infante was the team's leader with 19 tallies, followed by senior Anja Boettcher with 18. Junior All-American Jackie Ciconte contributed 17 goals and senior Colleen Barbieri, a 2002 first team All-American, knocked in 15 on the year.
Defense!
• What jumped right off the box score after the 2-0 win over Northwestern was the fact that the Maryland defense did not allow a Wildcat shot or a penalty corner for the game and it repeated that feat in the very next game vs. Towson. The Terps have allowed just two goals from Aug. 29-Sept. 17, a span of seven games. The defense also put together a streak of 191 minutes of shutout hockey, which was snapped in the win over Drexel. Maryland opponents have been limited to four shots or fewer seven times and one penalty corner or less six times.
• With seven shutouts under their belt, the Terrapin defense is 12th in the nation as of Oct. 11, allowing just 1.20 goals per game.
Up Next
• Maryland returns home to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex next weekend for one game on Saturday, Oct. 23 against North Carolina. The match will determine the ACC regular season champion.
