COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The seventh-ranked Maryland field hockey team (9-3, 3-1) will host Michigan State (5-6, 1-2) Friday at 6 p.m. as part of Maryland United Night. Admission is free and parking will be free and open after 4 p.m.
• The University of Maryland Athletics Department will be hosting Maryland United Night at the Terps' field hockey game versus Michigan State and men's soccer match against Ohio State Friday evening.
The No. 7 Maryland field hockey team takes on the Spartans at 6 p.m. at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex while the top-ranked men's soccer team battles Ohio State at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field. The Terps' contest with the Buckeyes will also be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Friday night's festivities – which coincide with National Coming Out Day Oct. 11 - will include:
· T-shirts inspired by former Maryland men's soccer standout and current LA Galaxy star Robbie Rogers for students at men's soccer and Maryland United shirts for fans in attendance at field hockey (both first come, first serve basis).
· Rick Knight - a member of the DC Gay Men's Chorus - will be singing the National Anthem at field hockey
• The Maryland-Michigan State 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 of the U.S. will be able to watch here, using their BTN Plus subscriptions.
• 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
• The Terps beat No. 13 Old Dominion, 2-1, Tuesday night in College Park. Olivia Reiter put the Terrapins on the board first when she tapped one in off the rebound on a penalty corner in the 14th minute. The Monarchs tied the game just before halftime. Welma Luus gave Maryland the win when she scored in the 46th minute off a pass from Linnea Gonzales. RECAP | STATS
• Maryland is ranked No. 6 in the latest RPI rankings, available here.
• Grace Balsdon was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week Tuesday. Read more here.
• Balsdon and Luus lead Maryland with 10 goals, Gonzales has six and Rissinger has five, giving the Terps one of the most balanced attacked in the country.
Scouting the spartans
• Michigan State is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Most recently, the Spartans lost to #5 Penn State, 4-1, and Ball State, 3-2, last weekend.
• Kendal Anderson leads Michigan State with 10 goals and seven assists and Megan Fenton has scored nine goals.
• Maryland leads the all-time series over Michigan State, 6-0 and is 1-0 vs. the Spartans at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. Last year, The Terps won 5-1 in College Park on Sept. 27. Linnea Gonzales scored twice, and Welma Luus, Carrie Hanks and Brooke Adler also scored for the Terrapins. RECAP | STATS
• They met again in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals in Bloomington, Ind. Luus gave Maryland the early lead, then the Spartans scored twice in the first half to lead 2-1 at the break. The Terrapins tied it up 4:52 into the second half off a penalty corner, then took a 3-2 lead 32 seconds later they wouldn't let up. RECAP | STATS
Terps in the B1G
• The Terrapins joined the Big Ten conference in 2014, 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 105-34-3 (.750) all-time against Big Ten opponents.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is 88-14-1 (.859) vs. Big Ten opponents in her 29 years at the helm of the Maryland field hockey program.
• The Terrapins are 31-1 (.969) vs. Big Ten teams at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. They have won 21 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.
• 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.
• Maryland defended its first Big Ten title when it clinched the 2015 regular season crown with a 1-0 overtime win vs. Indiana on Oct. 23.
• The Terrapins won their first Big Ten Tournament title with a 5-1 win over second-seeded and 10th-ranked Michigan on Nov. 8 in the final. Welma Luus scored four goals in the match and broke a Tournament record with seven in the three-game run.
Maryland in the top ten
• Maryland was tabbed as the No. 7 team in the country in the Penn Monto/Division I Coaches poll released Tuesday.
• The Terrapins have started the year in the top 10 in each of the last 18 years, since 1999.
• Click here for the latest NFHCA poll.
Three Terps Selected To Big Ten Players To Watch List
• Sophomore Linnea Gonzales, junior Lein Holsboer and redshirt senior Welma Luus were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list before the start of the season. The full list, click here.
• This marks Gonzales' second straight year on the conference's Preseason Watch List. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last year and also earned NFHCA Third Team All-America honors. Gonzales scored 10 goals with three assists in her rookie season.
• Luus also earned All-Big Ten and NFHCA Third Team All-America honors last year. She led the Terrapins in scoring with 20 goals on the year. Luus helped lead the Terps to the Big Ten tournament title with seven goals in the three-game tournament run.
• Holsboer added six goals, three game winners, and 11 assists in helping the Terps to a 19-4 record and their second straight Big Ten championship.
staff updates
• The Terrapins welcome two new assistant staff members in 2016. Stefanie Fee joins the staff as an assistant coach and Joann Engestrom joins as a volunteer assistant coach.
• Fee played at Duke from 2008-11 and helped the Blue Devils to a pair of NCAA Quarterfinals appearances as a four-year starter on defense. She earned NFHCA Second Team All-America honors in 2011. She is a member of the U.S. national team and competed in the Olympics in Rio this summer.
• Engestrom played at Temple, where she graduated in 2005. She earned Regional All-American, All-Atlantic 10, and All-America East Conference honors during her time with the Owls. In 2003, Engestrom played on the U-23 Junior National Team and the U.S. National Team, training for the 2004 Olympics. Engestrom helped to restructure the Washington Wolves Hockey Club in 2007.
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 152-17 (.899) all-time at the Complex.
• 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 in five of the last six years.
• 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.
terps on national teams
• Ten Terrapins, former and present, are currently on USA Field Hockey's national team rosters.
• Katie O'Donnell Bam is a two-time Olympian. Bam and Jill Witmer competed with Team USA in the Rio Olympics this past summer. Bam led Team USA with five goals. Ali McEvoy is also a member of the U.S. Senior National Team.
• Junior Carrie Hanks and sophomore Linnea Gonzales are on the U.S. Under-21 Team. Lizzy Dessoye and Kelee Lepage are on the U.S. Under-19 Team.
• Recent Terp alums Anna Dessoye, Alyssa Parker and current senior Delaney Leathers are members of the U.S. National Team system, as alums of the U.S. Under-21 Team.
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 60-24 (.714) all-time in games that went to overtime or penalty strokes.
• In Meharg's tenure, the Terps are 49-20 (.710) in overtime or penalty strokes games.
