Terps Host No. 5 Princeton Tonight
10/7/2009 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 7, 2009
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The top-ranked Maryland field hockey team will host No. 5 Princeton this evening at 7 p.m. at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. The Terps are 12-0 (3-0) heading into tonight's match-up, while the Tigers are 9-1 overall and 3-0 in Ivy League competition.
The Terrapins are coming off of a 3-1 win over No. 3 Virginia last Friday. Senior Emma Thomas scored once in that game and senior Nicole Muracco scored twice. Senior goalkeeper Alicia Grater added 7 saves to preserve the win.
ACColades
Thomas was named Co-ACC Player of the Week the league announced Tuesday afternoon. She shares the weekly recognition with No. 2 North Carolina's Melanie Brill. Thomas earned the award for her two-goal performance in the Terps' 3-0 win over American on Sept. 29 and her one goal, one assist showing in the Terps' win over conference-rival Virginia last Friday. She is fourth Terp to earn the award this year. She joins junior Katie O'Donnell, freshman Janessa Pope and Muracco as recipients this season.
TOUGH TIGERS
Princeton is 3-0 over ranked teams this year, most recently beating No. 5 Connecticut 3-1 on Sunday. The Tigers' lone loss came against Providence 2-1 on Sept. 20.
POWER PENALTY CORNERS
Both teams are strong with penalty corners. The Terps have taken 102 penalty corners on the year, while the Tigers have taken 106. Maryland has allowed 62, while Princeton has allowed it's opponents just 49.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Muracco, O'Donnell and Thomas are all ranked in the top-20 nationally in scoring. they are ranked No. 4, No. 7 and No. 18, respectively. O'Donnell is also ranked second in the nation in assists and senior Alexis Pappas is ranked fifth. Grater is ranked sixth nationally in saves percentage.
BLOGGING TERPS
Check out the Terps' 2009 blog called Stick Stories:Tales of the Terps. Terps take turns writing about their experiences throughout the season and what they're looking forward to in the next week. Find the link on the field hockey page.
