THE MATCHUP
Saturday, February 8 -- at George Mason, 12:00 p.m. 
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 1 Maryland women's lacrosse team will enter its 47th season of lacrosse coming off the program's 15th national championship in 2019, beginning the 2020 campaign at George Mason.

OPENING DRAW
• Maryland begins the 2020 season ranked No. 1 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll for the fourth time in the past six seasons, receiving 15 of the 25 first place votes in the poll. The Terps will face 11 teams ranked in the preseason top-25 including showdowns with No. 2 North Carolina (Feb. 22), No. 3 Northwestern (March 26) and No. 4 Syracuse (Feb. 28). 
• The Terps have never lost a season opening game under head coach Cathy Reese, compiling a 13-0 record.  
• The Terps were also picked to win the Big Ten for the sixth season in a row. Maryland has never lost a Big Ten regular season game, standing at 28-0 over five years and has eight conference championships (five regular season, three tournament).

MEET THE TEAM
• Among the Terps key returners in 2020 is Second Team All-American Kali Hartshorn, who has tallied 144 career goals, 37 assists, 181 points and is second all-time in Maryland history with 388 draw controls.
• Brindi Griffin will help lead the attack, having recorded 82 goals, 51 assists, 133 points and 48 groundballs in her first three years as a Terp.
• Grace Griffin will star in the midfield, having tallied 75 goals, 19 assists, 57 groundballs and 27 caused turnovers.
• Meghan Doherty will lead the Maryland defense as the lone returner in that unit, with 64 groundballs and 45 caused turnovers in her career.
• Other key returners include Catie May and Hannah Warther. 

WELCOME THE NO. 1 RANKED FRESHMAN CLASS
• Maryland welcomes the top ranked freshman class to College Park for the 2020 season, as named by Inside Lacrosse. Six Terps were ranked in the publication's Top 50 Freshmen rankings, including five of the top 20 and the top ranked attacker and defender. 11 of the 12 Terrapin newcomers are ranked in the top 100.
• Six of the incoming freshmen were Under Armour All-Americans, the most in the country, all of whom were ranked by Inside Lacrosse: No. 4 Shaylan Ahearn, No. 5 Emma Schettig, No. 9 Hannah Leubecker, No. 13 Catherine Flaherty, No. 20 Kate Sites and No. 26 Victoria Hensh.​​​​​​​

2019 RECAP
• The Terps won their 15th national championship in 2019, going 22-1 and winning the Big Ten regular season title for the fifth year in a row. Maryland beat Boston College 12-10 in the title game after pummeling Northwestern, 25-13 in the semifinals.
• Goaltender Megan Taylor racked up a handful of awards after a sensational season, winning the Tewaaraton Award, the Honda Award and being named the IWLCA National Player of the Year.
• Cathy Reese was selected as the IWLCA National Coach of the Year for the fourth time, Julia Braig was named the IWLCA National Defender of the Year and Maryland earned a program best seven All-Americans, led by Taylor, Braig and Jen Giles as first teamers. ​​​​​​​

FOUR TERPS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
• Four Terps: seniors Meghan Doherty, Brindi Griffin and Kali Hartshorn and junior Grace Griffin were named Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse.
• Maryland is tied with Northwestern and Syracuse for the second-most preseason all-americans of any school, trailing only North Carolina who has six.​​​​​​​

TERPS SELECT 2020 TEAM CAPTAINS
• Maryland has selected seniors Lizzie Colson, Meghan Doherty and Brindi Griffin and junior Grace Griffin as its 2020 team captains. 

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
• George Mason finished the 2019 season at 11-7, winning a program-best seven Atlantic 10 games
• Maryland is 7-0 all-time against the Patriots, defeating George Mason in last year's opener, 16-5, led by five goals from Jen Giles.