Nov. 10, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The top-ranked Maryland field hockey team was named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament Tuesday night. The undefeated Terrapins, who are returning national champions, will begin their road to defending their title at home Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against American.

Maryland will also host Connecticut and Drexel who will play each other Saturday at 2 p.m. The winners of the two games will face each other Sunday at 2 p.m.

American is 12-8 on the year and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament after beating Lock Haven 2-1 Tuesday in a play-in game. The Terps faced American in Washington D.C. earlier this season. After a hard-fought match, Maryland came out on top 3-0 with seniors Emma Thomas and Nicole Muracco both scoring to lead the way.

"We've played AU in this round so many times. I was pretty confident we'd either play AU or Richmond coming into tonight's selection," said head coach Missy Meharg. "As I just said here to the women, it's just really important that we stay focused on what we're doing. We played just okay with them down in D.C. We have another level to take the game."

Connecticut is ranked No. 5 in the latest NFHCA/Kookaburra Division I Coaches poll and (19-2) won the Big East tournament. The Huskies have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 22 times in program history. The Drexel Dragons are ranked No. 10 in the latest poll and earned an at-large bid following their 18-3 season and the CAA regular season championship.

Maryland's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 44-15, which includes six national championships. Maryland has won three national championships in four years (2005, 2006, 2008). This year makes 14 straight trips to the 16-seed Tournament for the Terps.

For those wishing to attend this weekend's games, admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Due to Saturday's home football game against Virginia Tech, fans must park in lot 4i, which is directly next to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. The cost of parking is $15. Traffic will be heavy in the College Park area, so fans should plan accordingly.

Three ACC schools will host the first and second rounds, including Virginia, the No. 2 seed, and Wake Forest. North Carolina received the No. 2 overall seed.

"I'm excited for the league to have three of the four first seeds is a fantastic representation of ACC hockey. I would assume our league has probably had the most genuine experience leading up to the playoffs in the NCAA," Meharg said. "I think it's really fun for us, outside of American, we don't know Drexel and we don't know Connecticut. It's going to be fun researching all of their games."

The Terps are coming off a thrilling 3-2 overtime win in the ACC Tournament Sunday afternoon. After defeating the 4-seed Wake Forest 3-2 Friday afternoon, Maryland rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game at 2-2 late in the second half. Just under two minutes into overtime, the Terrapins scored off of a penalty corner deflection to seal their second consecutive ACC Tournament win. Sunday marked the first time the Terrapins had won two consecutive ACC Tournaments since 1998-2001.