Field Hockey Ranked No. 1
9/21/2004 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 21, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey team sits atop the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 20 poll this week, moving up one spot in the rankings. The Terps, who are 9-0 and coming off two crucial wins last weekend, are the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time since the 2002 campaign. Freshman Janneke van Leeuwen was also named National Rookie of the Week by www.womensfieldhockey.com.
Maryland swept its two-game road trip last weekend, defeating Princeton, 7-1, in an important Mid-Atlantic Region clash, and No. 14 Delaware, 4-3, battling back from a 3-1 second-half deficit.
Once again, the ACC dominates the top five spots in the polls. North Carolina is ranked second behind the Terps while defending ACC and NCAA Champion Wake Forest is third. Duke sits in the fifth spot behind No. 4 Michigan State, last week's No. 1 team.
Van Leeuwen (Hilversum, Netherlands) had a breakout weekend, leading Maryland with four goals on five shots and 10 points in three games. After notching her first-career goal in the 6-0 win vs. Towson earlier in the week, 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 dished out two assists, recording career highs in both categories, as well as in points. 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.
Maryland's first test as the No. 1 team in the nation is just around the corner. Head coach Missy Meharg's Terps travel to Wake Forest, the two-time conference and national champions, on Saturday, Sept. 25 to open the ACC slate. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
Division I NFHCA Top 20 Poll
Sept. 21, 2004
Team Points Prev.
1. MARYLAND 754 (15) 2
2. North Carolina 746 (12) 3
3. Wake Forest 722 (9) 5
4. Michigan State 695 (2) 1
5. Duke 670 (2) 4
6. Connecticut 585 6
7. Michigan 526 9
8. Old Dominion 495 7
9. Boston College 425 12
10. American 421 13
11. Northeastern 387 8
12. Richmond 373 11
13. Virginia 300 10
14. Delaware 299 14
15. California 262 15
16. Indiana 121 17
17. Penn State 118 T19
18. Harvard 94 16
19. Hofstra 72 18
20. Maine 67 NR
