COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland field hockey team released its 2015 schedule Monday, which includes games against six of the 15 other 2014 NCAA Tournament teams. The Terrapins will take on nine teams that ended last year ranked in the top 20.
The Terps won the Big Ten regular season last year in their first year in the league. They made their 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the longest active streak in the nation. Maryland led the nation in scoring with 92 goals scored on the season. The Terrapin faithful helped the Terrapins lead the nation in attendance for the fifth straight year.
“Our leadership players are talented and exciting to watch compete,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “They are naturally committed to the fun and hard work that goes into playing for championships. The new players are Terps – they're highly talented, humble, athletically and academically committed and have the experience to make an impact in August. We can't wait to get this group together and start our 2015 run."
Maryland will open its season with the Conference Cup in Philadelphia and College Park Aug. 28-30. The Terps will play at Temple on Friday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m., then will return home to play St. Joseph's at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30.
The following weekend, Maryland will help host the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Cup at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Lancaster, Pa. on Friday, Sept. 4 and Sunday, Sept. 6. The Terps will take on Boston College and Duke, while fellow Big Ten squad Northwestern will also be competing.
“The inaugural Big Ten/ACC Cup over Labor Day weekend at the home of USA Field Hockey ideally serves as an early showcase of what premier NCAA Division I hockey will look like in 2015,” Meharg said. “Between Maryland, Duke, Boston College and Northwestern, 20 student-athletes hail from the state of Pennsylvania. We expect an outrageous tournament experience to help set the stage.”
Maryland will host one of last year's NCAA Semifinalists in Albany, as well as American and Yale in the Terrapin Invitational Sept. 11-13. That opens a seven-game stretch of home games to close the month of September.
The Terps will welcome Northwestern to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex to open Big Ten play on Friday, Sept. 18, then will host New Hampshire and Princeton the following week. Maryland will host conference opponents Michigan and Michigan State the weekend of Sept. 25-27.
An Oct. 2 matchup at Ohio State will open a three-game road swing through the first half of October, with contests at Penn State, Old Dominion and Rutgers.
The Terrapins will return home to host Indiana and Towson Oct. 23 and 25, then will trek to Iowa to close the regular season on Oct. 31.
The 2015 Big Ten Tournament will be held Nov. 5-8 on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will be held Nov. 14 and 15 at selected campus sites.
The 2015 will be Nov. 20 and 22 at Michigan's Phyllis Ocker Field in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Click here for the Terrapins' 2015 schedule.
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