COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The 2014 Maryland field hockey team began the season with an entire list of unknowns. The Terrapins entered a new world of the Big Ten, new opponents, and new adjustments to be made all the way around.
While the Terrapins' season ended sooner than most had planned, the team's success in their new adventures cannot go unnoticed. The Terps went 19-4 on the year, won the Big Ten regular season title with a conference record of 7-1 and earned their 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance – the longest active streak in the country.
“We are very proud of this team,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “I'm really pleased with how they handled the transition going into the Big Ten from the ACC to the constant, traditional expectations of Maryland field hockey to be in position to win national championships. They had a lot of courage to try to do what's been done in the past.”
The Terps led the nation in scoring with an average of 4.0 goals per game, in points per game with 11.26 and in scoring margin (+2.83). The Terrapins went 19-0 in games in which they scored first.
“Sometimes, statistics can be useful. We played great hockey when we got into scoring flows and sometimes, goals just seemed to come,” Meharg said. “The reality is that in games that we were down first, we tried too hard to get even and sometimes less is more.”
The Terrapins have three of their four leading scorers returning in All-Big Ten First Team honoree and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Sarah Sprink, All-Big Ten Second Team honoree Anna Dessoye and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Moira Putsch.
Maryland went on a 13-game win streak to clinch the Big Ten's regular season championship and get to the Big Ten Tournament title game. The Terrapins fell to Northwestern, 3-1, in the conference title game.
The following week, Maryland was awarded a home site for the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds. The Terps beat Princeton, 5-1 in the First Round. Maryland fell to Albany, 2-1 in the Second Round, despite numerous attempts and chances to tie or take the lead.
“We can look at it as expectation following a culture and tradition and maybe pressing too hard at times,” Meharg said. “That's on everyone. We do this collectively. We have a team around the team and we fell short. We will do everything we can to learn from it. It's certainly not the end of the world. It's a chapter to learn from and we will go forward.”
“We need to debrief and go back at it for 2015. For the women that are moving on, we will talk about what's next for them. The opportunity to play sports is a chapter in the book. It's certainly not the whole book.”
This year's senior class of Brooke Cabrera, Maxine Fluharty, Katie Gerzabek, Welma Luus and Steffi Schneid compiled a record of 78-16, winning the 2011 NCAA title, the 2013 ACC title and the 2014 Big Ten title. Cabrera was a part of the 2010 NCAA Championship team.
The University of Maryland is hosting the NCAA Semifinals and Finals this weekend at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, an important event regionally and nationally for the sport of field hockey. Maryland has led the nation in attendance for the last five years. This year was no different, as the Terps averaged over 670 fans per game.
"Maryland has had tremendous support of field hockey,” Meharg said. “Everyone in our athletic department is working their butts off today and this whole week. The field looks gorgeous. What Maryland does for this sport locally and regionally is amazing. It's part of our culture here.”
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