COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The top-seeded Maryland field hockey team (17-3 B1G) will take on second-seeded Penn State (16-2) Sunday at noon in the Big Ten Championship game at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. For the full bracket and matchups, click here.
• For ticket information and to purchase in advance, click here. Parking is free for Sunday's game.
• Sunday's game will be shown live around the world on the Big Ten Network. Click here to get your channel number for BTN. BTN is available on all major video providers, including DIRECTV, Verizon FiOS, Comcast Xfinity, and about 300 additional video providers across North America. Fans can also watch on BTN2Go, or on the BTN's mobile app, and will be asked to enter their cable login information.
• 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 came back twice and eventually won in overtime to beat Northwestern, 3-2, Friday in the Big Ten Semifinals. The Wildcats struck first with a goal 6:30 into the match. Grace Balsdon tied it up off a penalty corner four minutes later. Northwestern took the lead once more in the 20th minute. Freshman Sophie Pelzer tied the game at 2 with a score from the baseline in the 54th minute. Welma Luus banged in the game-winner 1:41 into overtime. RECAP | STATS
• Welma Luus was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Grace Balsdon was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Wednesday. Both were named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Lein Holsboer was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team for her first career honor. With Luus' and Balsdon's honors this year, 15 Terrapins in program history have earned 20 conference Player of the Year awards. MORE
• Maryland is ranked No. 3 in the latest RPI rankings, available here.
• Luus leads Maryland with 15 goals, Grace Balsdon has 12 and Linnea Gonzales has 10, giving the Terps one of the most balanced attacked in the country.
• Luus and Rissinger were named to the Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Division I Senior Game Tuesday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. MORE
Scouting the nittany lions
• No. 6 Penn State is 16-2 overall. The Nittany Lions beat No. 10 Michigan, 1-0, Friday in the Big Ten Semifinals.
• Moira Putsch leads the Nittany Lions with 15 goals and 17 assists this season.
• Maryland trails the all-time series, 15-20-1, but has won the last six straight matchups and 11 of the last 12, dating back to 1994. The Terps are 4-1 vs. the Nittany Lions at home at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
• Maryland won this year's regular season meeting, 5-4, in State College on Oct. 16. Luus scored first just 2:30 in, then Penn State tied it up. Madison Maguire gave Maryland the lead once more in the 16th minute, and once again Penn State tied it up before half. Kelee Lepage, Luus and Balsdon scored three straight goals in the second half for a 5-2 lead. The Nittany Lions scored twice in the final eight minutes to make a push. 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 111-34-3 (.760) all-time against Big Ten opponents.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is 94-14-1 (.867) vs. Big Ten opponents in her 29 years at the helm of the Maryland field hockey program.
• The Terrapins are 35-1 (.972) vs. Big Ten teams at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. They have won 25 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 is ranked No. 3 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches poll released Tuesday. The Terrapins have been ranked in the top 5 in 169 of 190 polls, dating back to 1999.
• 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 158-17 (.903) 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 62-24 (.721) all-time in games that went to overtime or penalty strokes.
• In Meharg's tenure, the Terps are 51-20 (.718) in overtime or penalty strokes games.
