Aug. 26, 2005

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

COLLEGE PARK-The Maryland field hockey team travels to Big Ten country to open the 2005 campaign with three games. Northwestern hosts the Terps on Aug. 27 to officially open the season, then Maryland heads over to Columbus, Ohio, to take on its second Big Ten team in its first four contests, battling Ohio State on Aug. 29. Ohio makes the short trip to Columbus to meet the Terps in a neutral site game on Aug. 30.

GAME NOTES
Game 1: Sat., Aug. 27 • Terps at Northwestern • 2 p.m. ET
Game 2: Mon., Aug. 29 • at Ohio State • 12 p.m.
Game 3: Tues., Aug. 30 • vs. Ohio (at Columbus, Ohio) • 12 p.m.

TERPS IN OPENERS
Maryland has lost just three season-opening games and are 26-3-2 all-time in openers, having won the last eight in a row. The Terps have opened the season on the road every year since 2001.

A LOOK AT THE TERPS
Maryland returns 14 letterwinners from last year's team which went 17-6 and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive year, while achieving a final ranking of No. 2 in the NFHCA Coaches poll. The Terps also return eight starters, including first team All-Americans Paula Infante and Lauren Powley, and ACC Rookie of the Year Janneke van Leeuwen. Last year's top four goal scorer's also return, including NFHCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region honoree Tiffany Marsh, who tallied a team-high 34 points and scored 13 goals. Infante led the team with 14 goals and tallied 33 points, while senior Jackie Ciconte, a 2003 All-American, had 11 goals and 25 points. Goalkeepers Kathryn Masson and Christina Restivo return as the Terps' last line of defense. Both split time in the cage last season, helping the team to a 1.36 goals against average and nine shutouts. Six newcomers join the team this season. Three hail from Maryland, two from Pennsylvania and one from England.

ALSO JOINING THE TERPS...
The Terps welcome Tjerk van Herwaarden to the coaching staff, as he assumes assistant coaching duties. Van Herwaarden brings with him extensive coaching experience spanning over 10 years. He comes to College Park from The Netherlands, considered the most progressive in the world in the sport, it is also considered to have the best field hockey competition in the world.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats open the Terps' regular-season schedule for the second time in school history. Maryland defeated Northwestern, 3-1, to open the 2002 campaign in Evanston, Ill. Under the direction of second-year head coach Kelly McCollum, the Wildcats are coming off of a 7-13 season. NU returns nine starters from last season's team. One of their two loses is All-American Candice Cooper, the team's leading scorer with 21 goals and 46 points. Northwestern brings back plenty of experience, however, as almost half the team are juniors and seniors. The `Cats also welcome back junior goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg. She boasted the team's best goals against average last season at 1.86.

SERIES VS. NORTHWESTERN
Maryland leads the all-time series, 7-4, winning the last seven meetings. Since their first loss to the Terrapins in 1989, the Wildcats have scored just two goals against the Terrapins, with the Terps posting seven shutouts during that span. Maryland's trip to Evanston, Ill., will be its second ever in the history of the series. The Terps made their first trip to the LBT Athletic Complex on the shores of Lake Michigan in 2002.

ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes return 16 letterwinners from last year's 11-10 squad, inlcuding seven starters. Ohio State is fielding an experienced team with four seniors and 10 juniors. The team's top six scorer's from last season return, including third team All-American Saskia Mueller and NFHCA All-Region pick Curlyne Wynn, who tied for the team lead with eight goals and 17 points a year ago. Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Williams also returns to take on the team's goalkeeping duties. Williams played every minute in the cage for OSU last seasn, sporting a 2.07 goals against average and a .768 save percentage.

SERIES VS. OHIO STATE
The Terps lead the all-time series, 3-0. The Buckeyes traveled to College Park in 2003 for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was the first meeting between the teams since 1984. The very first clash took place in College Park in 1979.

ABOUT OHIO
Unlike Northwestern and Ohio State who are opening their seasons against the Terps, Ohio University makes a trip east to open 2005 at Northeastern and Providence before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to battle the Terps. Ohio, who was picked to tie for second in the Mid-American Conference in a preseason coaches poll, is under the direction of first-year head coach Neil MacMillan. MacMillan experienced plenty of success in his previous position and is very familiar with the ACC. He was an assistant coach on Wake Forest's three NCAA Championship teams. First-year assistant coach Katie Jo Gerfen is also very familiar with the Terps. She is a recent graduate of Virginia where she earned four letters in field hockey and was a three-time all-region pick. She was also a former teammate of current Terrapin senior Emily Beach. Ohio returns 15 letterwinners from last season's squad that went 7-15 overall. They also return seven starters, including All-MAC honoree Lindsay Rothenberger.

SERIES VS. OHIO
In the only other meeting between the teams, Maryland dominated Ohio, 9-1, on Aug. 28, 2000.

MARYLAND VS. THE BIG TEN
The Terps are 35-26-2 all-time vs. Big Ten teams, inlcuding 1-0 against Minnesota who no longer sponsors a field hockey team. Maryland has a winning record against seven of those squds and only has a losing record against Penn State, trailing in the series, 18-9-1.

FAMILIAR FACES
There will be plenty of familiary faces in this weekend's season-opening road trip. Head coach Missy Meharg will be pitted against her former University of Delaware teammate, Ohio State head coach Anne Wilkinson. When the Terps battle Ohio, roaming the Bobcat sideline will be senior captain Emily Beach's former teammate at Virginia Katie Jo Gerfen, who is currently serving as an assistant coach at OU. Ohio head coach Neil MacMillan is very familiar with the ACC and the Terps. He was an assistant coach at Wake Forest for six years prior to this season, winning three NCAA titles and two ACC crowns during his tenure.

TERPS NAMED TO ACC HONOR ROLL
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the league's 2004-05 Honor Roll student-athletes. Among them were 15 Maryland field hockey players, inlcuding current Terrapins Kendall Beveridge, Kristina Edmonds, Megan Fox, Linzi Jones, Meredith Long, Kathryn Masson, Katie Mockus and Kim Ziegler. The University of Maryland played a school-record 252 student-athletes on the list, placing third overall among the ACC schools and second among the conference's public institutions.

COMING UP
Maryland comes home on Friday, Sept. 2 when it hosts Michigan, the fourth Big Ten opponent in four games. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

-TERPS-