No. 1 Field Hockey Faces Two Nationally Ranked Opponents This Weekend
8/31/2007 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Aug. 31, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The top team in the preseason polls, two-time NCAA Champion Maryland looks forward to a big weekend, as it travels to No. 6 Old Dominion on Friday and opens the home season against 12th-ranked Michigan on Sunday.
A perennial power which has won nine national titles, Old Dominion goes into Friday night's contest with an 0-1 record, falling to seventh-ranked Penn State, 3-1, on Aug. 25. The Lady Monarchs trailed Miami (Ohio), 1-0, in the second half on Aug. 26, but the game was called due to bad weather.
ODU is coming off a 19-4 season and was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2005, the Terps faced Old Dominion in the national semifinals, en route to its 2005 NCAA title win. The Monarchs lead the all-time series, 22-17-1, dating back to 1982. However, Maryland swept the home-and-home regular season series last year, winning both games by the score of 1-0. It has also won seven of the last nine meetings. The two teams meet again later in the season at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex on Friday, Oct. 12..
Michigan comes into Sunday's contest with a 1-2 record, falling to a pair of ACC teams in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. After dropping games to No. 3 North Carolina (3-1) and No. 2 Wake Forest (3-2), the Wolverines bounced back to defeat Temple, 2-1, in College Park. Senior Ashley Lennington scored both goals in the game, including the game winner with only 13 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Terps lead the all-time series, 6-1, coming out victorious in the last three meetings. Michigan's only win against the Terrapins was a heartbreaking 2-0 decision in the NCAA finals in 2001.
Maryland enters the weekend 2-0 after winning both its opening season games in Evanston, Ill. The Terps blanked Central Michigan, 5-0, before finishing out the road trip with a 6-0 win over host-Northwestern. Freshman Katie O'Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.) leads the way on offense with four goals, three assists and 11 points. All-Americans Susie Rowe (London, England) and Nicole Muracco (Sewell, N.J.) each have recorded three goals.
Admittance into the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex is free, while parking is also free. The game on Sunday vs. Michigan is slated to begin at 12 noon.
-TERPS-
