Nov. 20, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Five members of the two-time NCAA Champion field hockey team were named All-Americans on Monday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, including senior Paula Infante who becomes the first player in school history to earn first team honors four times. Junior Kathryn Masson and sophomore Susie Rowe were also named to the first team, while senior Kristina Edmonds was voted to the second team. Nicole Muracco was a third team honoree, the first Terrapin freshman since 2003 to be named All-American.
Paula Infante (Santiago, Chile) leaves Maryland as one of the most decorated players in school history. She is also one of only four players in school history to be named to the All-ACC team four times, garnering ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors twice, the only Terrapin to garner conference player of the year honors twice. Infante is also a three-time Honda Award nominee, winning the national player of the year honor last year.
Infante, who is second on the team with 31 points and tied for second with 12 goals, ranks seventh all-time at Maryland with 139 points and is tied for fifth with 58 career goals.
Sophomore Susie Rowe (London, England), junior Kathryn Masson (Richmond, British Columbia) and senior Kristina Edmonds (Emmaus, Pa.), along with Infante formed one of the top three defenses in the nation, boasting a 0.73 goals against average. The team's 12 shutouts this season tied a school record. Masson ranked second in the nation among goalkeepers, sporting a career-best 0.73 GAA, while leading the nation with an 80.2 save percentage. It is her second-straight All-American honor, garnering third-team nods last season.
Nicole Muracco (Sewell, N.J.) led the team with 15 goals and 33 points, also tying for the team lead with Infante with five game-winning goals. The ACC's Rookie of the Year, she was the only freshman to be named all-conference. She is the first freshman All-American at Maryland since Infante was named in 2003 as a rookie.
Maryland won the 2006 NCAA Championship on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Wake Forest. It is the program's fifth national championship and the first in back-to-back years. The Terrapins captured the 2005 crown in Louisville, Ky., with a 1-0 win over Duke.
-TERPS-
