#9 Terps Close Homestand vs. Spartans
9/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The ninth-ranked Maryland field hockey team (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten) will close its homestand with a 1 p.m. game vs. Michigan State (3-6, 0-2) Sunday at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
• Admission is free for Sunday's game. Parking will be free and open.
• The Terrapins will be hosting a pregame clinic from 10-11:30 a.m. before Sunday's contest. Cost is $25 and all participants will receive a Maryland T-Shirt. To register, visit ter.ps/Clinic. For the Terrapins' full promotional schedule, click here.
• The Terps-Spartans game will be streamed live on the BTN2Go app, which is the official app of the Big Ten Network. It will be a BTN Plus production and will require an additional subscription. Fans can access all Big Ten content on BTN Plus for $119.95 per year or a $14.95 monthly subscription. A Maryland School Pass for BTN Plus, which includes all Terrapin contests, home and away, on BTN Plus for $79.95 per year or for a $9.95 monthly subscription.
• Fans outside the U.S. can watch here.
• Live Stats will be available and updates will also be posted to the Maryland Field Hockey Twitter feed, so "Follow" to get updates sent straight to you.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
• Maryland won its fifth straight game with a 2-1 win over No. 18 Michigan Friday afternoon. Welma Luus scored the tying goal in the first half, the game-winning goal in the second, and picked up a defensive save in the second half to help preserve the win. Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Holliday had a career-high six saves. RECAP | STATS
• Anna Dessoye was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Tuesday for the second time this year and third in her career. She led Maryland with three goals and two assists last weekend. Linnea Gonzales was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. MORE
• Nine Terrapins have combined to score 33 goals so far this season. Maryland led the nation in scoring last year with 92 goals scored for an average of 4.00 per game.
• Seventeen of Maryland's 33 goals have come off of penalty corners this season.
• Sarah Sprink has 99 career points off of 41 career goals and 17 career assists.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is in her 28th season as head coach of the Terrapins. She's led them to a record of 497-122-9 (.799), seven NCAA titles, 20 conference titles and 16 Final Fours. With three more wins, she will be the fourth Division I head coach to reach the 500-win mark.
Scouting the spartans
• Michigan State is 3-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play. The Spartans fell at Penn State, 6-1, Friday. Megan Fenton leads Michigan State with five goals so far this year.
• Maryland owns the all-time series over Michigan State, 4-0. Most recently, the Terrapins won 4-2 in East Lansing last Sept. 28. Sarah Sprink scored Maryland's second goal as the Terps took a 4-0 lead with 25 minutes to play. The Spartans scored twice to get on the board. RECAP | STATS
• This will be Michigan State's first trip to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
Maryland in the rankings
• Maryland is ranked No. 9 in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, released Sept. 22.
Penn Monto/Division I Coaches Preseason Poll
1. Connecticut (31)
2. Syracuse (7)
3. North Carolina (9)
4. Virginia (2)
5. Albany
6. Duke
7. Wake Forest
8. Louisville
T9. MARYLAND*
T9. Stanford
11. Boston College
12. Delaware
13. Liberty
14. Northwestern*
15. Old Dominion
16. Iowa*
17. Boston University
18. Michigan*
19. James Madison
20. Princeton
Three Terps Selected To Big Ten Players To Watch List
• Seniors Anna Dessoye, Sarah Sprink and freshman Linnea Gonzales were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list in August. The full list, click HERE.
• Dessoye was named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List last year as well and made the All-Big Ten Second Team. She led the Terrapins with 19 assists last year and added 12 goals.
• Sprink earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honor last season and was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team. She led Maryland in scoring last year with 16 goals.
• Gonzales, a forward from Bel Air, Md., is a member of the U.S. Under-21 Team.
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 93-33-3 (.733) all-time against Big Ten opponents.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is 76-13-1 (.850) vs. Big Ten opponents in her 27 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 144-17 (.895) all-time at the Complex.
• The Terrapins are 27-1 (.964) vs. Big Ten teams at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. They have won 17 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 56-24 (.700) all-time in games that went to overtime or penalty strokes.
• In Meharg's tenure, the Terps are 46-20 (.697) in overtime or penalty strokes games.
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