Defending NCAA Champion Terps Release 2009 Field Hockey Schedule
7/2/2009 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
July 2, 2009
Maryland 2009 Field Hockey Schedule 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland field hockey coach Missy Meharg, entering her 22nd season in College Park, today released the defending national champion Terrapins' 2009 schedule, which features 12 games versus teams that finished in the top-25 of last season's final National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll.
"This is another powerful and exciting schedule for the Terps," Meharg said. "Each year we thrive on playing the toughest and most regionally diverse schedule in the nation. We are fortunate to be located in the Mid-Atlantic region as many premier teams around the country enjoy competing in College Park. "
Maryland, winners of three of the last four NCAA National Championships, will open the 2009 campaign in Evanston, Ill., on Aug. 28 at the Wildcat Classic versus Ohio. The Terps will look for their 12th-consecutive victory over host Northwestern the next day before wrapping up the event versus Boston University on Aug. 31.
The Terps will continue their annual home-and-home series versus regional rival Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 4 before welcoming the Monarchs to College Park later in the season on Oct. 16. ODU and Maryland rank No. 1 and No. 2 in all-time NCAA crowns with nine and six titles, respectively, with the Terps having won seven-straight meetings with the Monarchs.
Maryland's home-opener at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex is scheduled for Sept. 6 versus Michigan out of the Big Ten. The game marks the 10-year reunion celebration of Maryland's 1999 national championship team, a club that defeated the Wolverines in the NCAA Final.
The annual Terrapin Invitational, in its 13th year, will be played from Sept. 12-13 in College Park. The Terps will take on Penn State, ranked 11th in last year's final NFHCA Poll, in the first game of the event before Maryland faces Towson the next day. American will also participate in the Terrapin Invitational, facing Towson on day one and Penn State on day two.
Maryland, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champs, will open league play on Sept. 19 at Boston College. A two-game homestand ensues next for the Terps with contests versus Cal (Sept. 21) and Wake Forest (Sept. 26) - the nation's second-ranked club that Maryland defeated three times in 2008, including wins over the Demon Deacons in the ACC Championship and National Championship contests.
The Terps will travel to American on Sept. 29 in a series Maryland leads 31-1. Maryland will then engage in its final two-game homestand of the regular season with games versus Virginia (Oct. 2) and Princeton (Oct. 7). The Cavaliers finished 2008 ranked 12th in the NFHCA Poll while the Tigers finished ninth.
Maryland has a date with Duke (eighth in final '08 poll) in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 10 and will return home for the Oct. 16 meeting with Old Dominion. The Terps will then face Meharg's alma mater, Delaware, on the road on Oct. 18 looking for their 11th-straight win against the Blue Hens.
In its final ACC game of the season, Maryland will travel to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels (seventh in final NFHCA Poll) on Oct. 24. The regular-season finale and Senior Night versus Stanford is slated for Oct. 30 at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. Maryland is 7-0 all-time versus the Cardinal.
The 2009 ACC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 5-8 in Charlottesville, Va., in advance of the NCAA Tournament. The first and second rounds of the national tournament will be held at yet to be determined campus sites on Nov. 14-15. The NCAA Final Four will be contested from Nov. 20-22 at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Maryland returns eight starters and 15 letterwinners from its national title-winning team, including two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year Katie O'Donnell and fellow All-Americans Brianna Davies, Alicia Grater and Nicole Muracco. Meharg also welcomes 10 freshmen to the mix in the Terps' bid to win back-to-back national titles for the second time in five years.
