#5 Terps Meet #16 Tigers in NCAA First Round
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The fifth-ranked Maryland field hockey team (19-3) will take on No. 16 Princeton (10-6) Saturday at 2 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Syracuse's J.S. Coyne Stadium. Top-seeded Syracuse (17-1) will play No. 20 Massachusetts (12-8) in the first game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Winners of Saturday's matches will play Sunday at 2 p.m. in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
• The Terps-Tigers game will be streamed online for free through Cuse.com.
• Tickets are available at the door only at $6 for adults and $3 for youth. Gates will open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. There will also be designated parking for field hockey patrons in the Manley North Lot, which is on the Comstock Ave. entrance to the athletics complex.
• Live Stats will be available and updates will also be posted to the Maryland Field Hockey Twitter feed.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
• Maryland won its 17th straight game Sunday with a 5-1 win over No. 10 Michigan in the Big Ten championship game. Fifth-year senior Welma Luus set a Big Ten Tournament record with seven goals in the three-game stretch. She scored a career-high four goals in Sunday's championship match. Luus was named Tournament MVP and senior Anna Dessoye was named to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team. RECAP | STATS
• The Terrapins racked up numerous honors from the Big Ten conference earlier this month. Head coach Missy Meharg was named Coach of the Year for the Second Straight Year, Sprink was named Big Ten Player of the Year and freshman Linnea Gonzales was voted Freshman of the Year.
• Sprink and Dessoye were unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten First Team. Luus and Gonzales were both named to the Second Team. Senior Shari Jones earned a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
• Fourteen Terrapins have combined to score 74 goals so far this season.
• Thirty-three of Maryland's 74 goals have come off of penalty corners this season. The Terrapins have allowed just eight goals off of corners this year.
• Head coach Missy Meharg became the fourth coach in Division I history to reach the 500-win mark with the Terrapins' victory in October. In her 28 years as head coach, she's led Maryland to a record of 508-122-9 (.802), seven NCAA titles, 22 conference titles and 16 Final Fours.
Scouting the TIGERS
• No. 16 Princeton is 10-6 overall this season and won the Ivy League. The Tigers beat Penn, 2-1, in overtime Saturday. Maddie Copeland leads Princeton with 16 goals this year.
• Maryland owns the all-time series over Princeton, 21-7-1. The Terrapins have won the last five matchups. Most recently, the Terrapins beat Princeton, 3-0, in College Park on Sept. 22, behind two goals from redshirt junior Emma Rissinger in the first half and one from sophomore Lein Holsboer in the second. The Terrapins outshot the Tigers, 24-5, in the match. RECAP | STATS
• The Terrapins and the Tigers have met in the NCAA Tourmament in the last four years straight. In 2012, Princeton beat the Terrapins, 3-2, in overtime on a penalty stroke en route to the Tigers' first NCAA title. In 2013, Maryland won 3-2 in the Second Round, and the Terrapins won 5-1 last year in the First Round.
ncaa tournament history
• Maryland has won eight NCAA titles (87, 93, 99, 05, 06, 08, 10, 11) and seven under head coach Missy Meharg. She was an assistant with the Terrapins when they won in 1987.
• The Terps are 56-19 (.747) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which is more wins than any other school.
• Missy Meharg is 52-18 (.743) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, the highest winning percentage of any coach.
• This marks Maryland's 27th NCAA Tournament appearance and 21st straight, which is the longest active streak.
Maryland in the rankings
• Maryland is ranked No. 5 in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, released Nov. 10.
Penn Monto/Division I Coaches Poll
1. North Carolina (9)
2. Syracuse (21)
3. Connecticut (11)
4. Virginia (1)
5. MARYLAND*
6. Duke
7. Wake Forest
8. Albany
9. Boston College
10. Michigan*
11. Louisville
12. Delaware
13. Stanford
14. Liberty
15. Boston University
16. Princeton
17. Maine
18. James Madison
19. Northwestern*
20. Massachusetts
2015 Team Captains
• Seniors Sarah Sprink and Kasey Tapman were voted co-captains for the 2015 season. This is Sprink's third straight season as captain for the Terrapins. She helped lead the Terps at both ends of the field last season as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and as the team's leading scorer. Tapman is a fifth-year senior that has worked to become one of the anchors of the Terrapins' defensive unit.
"Sarah's daily commitment to hard, gritty work in a high performing training enviroment make her a logical choice as captain," head coach Missy Meharg said. "She has developed to be the type of versatile leader that her teammates rely on. Kasey is the eptitomy of the word selfless both mentally and physically. On the field and off the field, she lives within the four Fs….Family, Friends, Faith, Field Hockey. She is unconditionally loyal and reliable. Both Sarah and Kasey are excellent role models for the new players. They set the tone for how we behave and what our goals are."
TERPS GO B1G
The Terrapins joined the Big Ten conference last year, after playing in the ACC for 31 years. Big Ten field hockey is the largest conference in the history of the sport in the NCAA with nine teams - Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Maryland.
• The Terps are 101-33-3 (.748) all-time against Big Ten opponents.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is 84-13-1 (.862) vs. Big Ten opponents in her 28 years at the helm of the Maryland field hockey program.
• The Terrapins won the first Big Ten title for the University of Maryland with a 4-1 win over No. 14 Iowa on Nov. 1, 2014 in College Park.
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 147-17 (.896) all-time at the Complex.
• The Terrapins are 29-1 (.967) vs. Big Ten teams at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. They have won 19 straight matchups at home vs. Big Ten teams, dating back to 2008. Penn State is the only Big Ten team to win at the Complex with a 1-0 victory on Nov. 11, 2007.
• Maryland won 38 straight games at the Complex from Oct.11, 2008 through Oct. 14, 2011. The streak ended with a 5-2 loss to then-No. 1 Old Dominion.
• The Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex has played home to 24 of Maryland's NCAA Tournament games and has played host to three Final Fours (2007, 2010, 2014). The Terrapins are 22-2 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. The Terrapins have led the nation in attendance for the last five years - since 2010.
• In 2014, Maryland led the country in attendance with 8,707 fans coming out to see the Terrapins. On average, 670 fans came to each game.
• 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.
overtime is terps time
During Missy Meharg's tenure, the Terrapins have become one of the nation's most dangerous teams in overtime.
• The Terps are 59-24 (.707) all-time in games that went to overtime or penalty strokes.
• In Meharg's tenure, the Terps are 48-20 (.706) in overtime or penalty strokes games.
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