Sept. 7, 2011

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 3 Maryland field hockey team (3-1) will play host to the 16th annual Terrapin Invitational tournament this weekend, with No. 8 American, Northwestern, Ohio and Villanova all coming to College Park for games Saturday and Sunday.

• Admission and parking to all of this weekend's games are both free. A memorial walk to commemorate September 11 will be taking place across campus on Sunday morning. Please be aware that it may affect traffic on to campus.

• Maryland will play Northwestern at 11 a.m. Saturday and Villanova at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Terrapin Invitational Info
• For full information on the Terrapin Invitational, please log on to /ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=208113713.

Event Multimedia
• Fans can find Gametracker live stats links, team rosters, schedules and statistics all at /ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=208113713.

• Maryland's student run radio station, WMUC, will be broadcasting both of Maryland's games llive free of charge at WMUCSports.com.

Scouting The Terps
• Maryland is currently ranked No. 3 in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches poll. The Terrapins are coming off of their seventh national title, ninth ACC title, and a 23-1 overall record last year.

• Most recently, the Terrapins held off a late rally by No. 9 Michigan for a 2-1 in College Park last Sunday. With the victory, the Terrapins kept their 33-game home win streak alive. Senior Jemma Buckley put the Terps on the board in the 37th minute off of a penalty corner setup from junior Harriet Tibble and freshman Katie Gerzabek. Sophomore Jill Witmer added the Terrapins' second goal at 47:45 off of a pass from sophomore Ali McEvoy.

• Both sophomore Ali McEvoy and junior Colleen Gulick notched defensive saves in the game. Gulick now has two defensive saves this season and leads the ACC.

• The Terrapins return the entire coaching staff from last year's NCAA championship team. The staff of Missy Meharg, Tjerk van Herwaarden, Dina Rizzo and Barb Weinberg all return. The Terps welcome staff additions Jane DeGrenier as the director of operations and Meghan Dean as the student assistant coach.

Scouting Northwestern
• Northwestern is 3-1 so far this season and is receiving votes in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches poll.

• The Wildcats opened the season with a three-game win streak, after beating Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Virginia Commonwealth. They lost their first game to Albany, 2-1, in Evanston, Ill. on Sunday.

• Junior Chelsea Armstrong, who was named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List, leads Northwestern with 14 points off of six goals and two assists this year. She was the 2010 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

• Maryland is 12-4 all-time over Northwestern. Their last meeting was a 7-2 Terrapin win at Northwestern's Wildcat Classic in August 2009.

Scouting Villanova
• Villanova is 1-2 so far this season.

• The Wildcats beat Robert Morris, 3-1 last week in their season opener, but fell to Cornell 1-0 and Delaware 5-0 last weekend.

• Leah High leads Villanova offensively, with two goals so far this season. Olivia Vegliante has a goal this year as well.

• Maryland is 2-0 all-time over Villanova. The Terps beat the Wildcats 5-0 in August 2010.

Home Sweet Home
Since its opening in 2003, the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex has provided the Maryland hockey program a huge home field advantage.
• The Terps are 97-9 (.915) all-time at the Complex.
• Maryland is currently on a 33-game home win streak. The Terrapins haven't lost at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex since Oct. 11, 2008 in a 3-2 lost to No. 9 Duke.
• The Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex has played home to 18 of Maryland's NCAA Tournament games, including two Final Fours (2007, 2010). The Terrapins are 17-1 in those games and won the 2010 national title on their home field.

Pack the House
• The Maryland field hockey team has increasingly attracted more and more fans to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex season after season.
• An NCAA record crowd of 2,381 came out to watch as Maryland beat North Carolina 3-2 in double overtime for the 2010 national championship at the Complex last November.
• The Terrapins have led the ACC in attendance for four straight years. In 2010, Maryland averaged over 700 fans per game and 10,572 fans saw the Terps play during the year.

Play the Best
Due to being in the toughest conferences in the nation, the Terrapins play one of the strongest schedules in the country.
• All six ACC schools are in the top 20 of this week's Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. North Carolina (3-0) slid into the nation's top spot, while Virginia (2-2) fell to No. 3. Duke (3-1) and Boston College (4-1) are now Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, and Wake Forest (1-3) comes in at No. 20.
• The Terps will battle nine of the 16 teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. So far, Maryland is 2-1 against those teams.
• Maryland will play 12 of the 20 teams ranked in the preseason top 20 and is currently 2-1 vs preseason ranked teams.

Head Coach Missy Meharg
The 2010 NFHCA National Coach of the Year, Missy Meharg returns for her 24th season at the helm of the prestigious Terrapin field hockey program. Her current career record is 416-103-9 (.796). Below is a breakdown of just a few of her highlights since she took the reins in 1988:
• Six-time National Champions
• Nine ACC Titles
• Eight NFHCA Coach of the Year honors
• Six ACC Coach of the Year awards
• 13 NCAA Final Four Appearances
• Six Honda Awards won by four players
• 85 All-ACC selections
• 14 ACC Players of the Year
• Seven ACC Rookies of the Year
• Four Olympians

Three Named to Preseason All-ACC Team
Three Terrapins were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team - Megan Frazer, Harriet Tibble, and Jill Witmer.
• Frazer was named an NFHCA First Team All-American last year. She scored the game-winning goal in double overtime for the NCAA title over North Carolina last November.
• Tibble earned All-American honors from womensfieldhockey.com and was named to the All-ACC Team. In the 2010 national championship game, she scored her first goal of the season with 7:25 remaining to tie the game at two.
• Witmer was named ACC Rookie of the Year and an NFHCA All-American as well. She finished the season fifth in the league in goals scored with 24 and fifth in points on the year with 41.

Terps Picked to Finish No. 2 in ACC
Maryland was picked to finish second in the ACC, as voted by the league's six head coaches.
• The Terrapins received two of the six first-place votes.
• The Terps have won the last three straight ACC championships (2008, 2009, 2010), and nine overall.
• North Carolina, last year's NCAA and ACC runner-up, was picked to win the league with four of the first-place votes. Virginia came in third and Duke, Wake Forest and Boston College rounded out the standings, respectively.

Terps in Openers
• Maryland is 33-3-2 in season openers and the Terps have won their last 15 straight.
• The Terrapins haven't opened the season at home in the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex since 2000. They've opened 23 of their 36 seasons on the road.
• With their win over Michigan last weekend, the Terps are 9-0 in home openers at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex and have outscored their opponents 37-6 in those nine games.

Home Openers at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex
9/13/03 - Maryland 6, Drexel 0
9/4/04 - Maryland 6, Old Dominion 0
9/2/05 - Maryland 4, Michigan 0
9/4/06 - Maryland 1, Old Dominion 0
9/2/07 - Maryland 3, Michigan 2 (2OT)
9/5/08 - Maryland 8, Old Dominion 1
9/6/09 - Maryland 4, Michigan 1
9/3/10 - Maryland 3, Old Dominion 1
9/4/11 - Maryland 2, Michigan 1

Terps on the Tube
Thanks to the ACC's new deal with ESPN, some of the Olympic sports are able to get more global and convenient converage.
• Premium TerpsTV programming requires a subscription which ranges from $9.95 monthly to $79.95 annually for all content. To sign up, log on to REPLACE_ME.

Terps When...

Meharg Named ESPNU/ESPN The Magazine Top 20 Recruiter
Terrapin head coach Missy Meharg was named one of college athletics' top 20 recruiters by ESPNU/ESPN The Magazine in January.

"ESPNU AND THE MAGAZINE asked an all-star panel a seemingly simple question: Who are the top 20 recruiters in college sports? We spoke with three dozen experts, from Mag college football Insider Bruce Feldman to volleyball legend Karch Kiraly to women's World Cupper Cat Whitehill. Turns out, baseball coaches aren't the only ones pulling roster magic from a hat half-filled with scholarships."

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Media Information
• Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland field hockey news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email field hockey contact Rose DiPaula with "Field Hockey E-Mail" as the subject and you will receive every update.

• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.

• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2011 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.