Jan. 9, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
For the fifth time in her career, Maryland head coach Missy Meharg was named National Coach of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. She becomes the only coach in the history of the award to earn the honor five times.
"This is a great honor. I have an amazing staff and I am honored to work with them," said Meharg. "[Assistant coaches] Tjerk van Herwaarden, Marybeth Freeman and Clemens Arnold are world-level coaches. Our head trainer Sandy Worth returned to the staff this season after 12 years, and her expertise was such a benefit for our high-performance athletes. I look at these players and staff and know my colleagues made the right selection."
Meharg, who is in her 18th season at the Terrapin helm, earns the award, voted on by her peers, after guiding the Terps to the 2005 NCAA title in November, the program's fourth overall and third under her direction. Competing in the toughest field hockey conference in the nation which features four teams ranked in the national top five and five in the top 20, Maryland also captured its sixth ACC crown in 2005, catapulting the Terps to a No. 1 final national ranking.
Meharg captured her 300th-career victory on the day the Terps won the ACC title, defeating then-No. 1 Wake Forest in the championship game. Under her guidance, junior Paula Infante (Santiago, Chile) was named the 2005 Honda Award winner, given to the nation's top field hockey player. Five Terrapins were selected All-American, including three who were named to the first team. Among them is four-time All-American and US National Team member Lauren Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.). Four more players were also named to the Mid-Atlantic All-Region team and three were voted All-ACC.
This season, Maryland went 23-2 overall, the program's fifth 20-win season, all coming under Meharg. The Terps earned their 11th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 19th national tournament appearance overall. Meharg reached the NCAA semifinals for the third-straight year and for the sixth time in seven years.
-TERPS-
