Emma DeBerdine Is Carving Her Own Path

Emma DeBerdine made a splash on the Maryland field hockey program from the minute she stepped on campus. 

DeBerdine started in all 21 games as a freshman, earned Third Team All-America honors, and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team. 

"Being at Maryland allows everyone, no matter what age you are, to be successful and have a great experience," DeBerdine said. "When I came in as a freshman, I really felt that I could jump right in and I had the complete support behind me of my teammates and my coaches." 

"Since the day she stepped onto the turf four years ago, Emma DeBerdine has been pure speed, excitement and the catalyst in our midfield," coach Missy Meharg added.

DeBerdine came to Maryland as a forward but switched positions late into her freshman campaign, allowing her to develop further as an all-around player and be more than just a goal-scorer. 

"Being in the midfield really gave me a lot of space to grow, to quicken my decision-making and to really figure out where the space is on the field," DeBerdine said.

DeBerdine shined in that new role and has ultimately developed into one of the highest-regarded midfielders in college field hockey. 

"Em's ability to counter defefend on a dime and run players down is extraordinary," Meharg said. "Her high fitness level coupled with unmatched speed and agility make her one of the top midfielders in the NCAA and potentially the United States."

Now, as a senior, DeBerdine is embracing another new role—one as a team leader.

"Every time they announce 'senior midfielder', it's just weird and it doesn't feel right. But it's exciting. It's a new opportunity for me." 

It's hard enough to step into any leadership position, but DeBerdine was tasked with doing so on a team with nine new faces—two graduate students and seven freshmen. 

"I was a little nervous at first," DeBerdine said of the revamped roster. "That's a lot of different personalities, a lot of different playing styles. But from our first week together, we all just meshed really well. The team atmosphere is really fun, really competitive and everyone loves to win and have a good time together while doing it."

It's also DeBerdine's first season as a Terp without a special teammate—her sister, Brooke.

Brooke, who's two years older than Emma, was a program legend in her own right as the first Terrapin to start in 100 career games. She was also named the University of Maryland Student-Athlete of the Year in 2022 and was a two-year team captain, a title that Emma now holds this season.

"This is the first time I really felt like I was taking on a leadership role," Emma said. "The past three years, my sister has been my leader of the team and everyone else's. With her not being here anymore, it gave me the opportunity to grow into more of a leadership role myself."

Emma and Brooke started playing field hockey together at a young age, but they didn't do it at an official level until they were teammates at Penn Manor High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There, the two sisters realized how much they genuinely enjoyed playing together and started envisioning themselves as college teammates.

Emma would tag along on her older sister's college visits and start forming her own opinions of the different schools. When Brooke chose to attend Maryland, Emma's decision became easy.

"Brooke deciding to come here really pushed me in that decision, but Maryland's definitely where I would want to be anyways," Emma said. 

The sisters spent three seasons together and got to experience many highs, including a Final Four appearance. 

Of course, like any younger sibling, there were times when Emma felt she was standing in Brooke's shadow. However, the joy and memories from their years playing together far outweighed any of those moments.

"There were definitely some of those feelings sometimes, but Brooke's a great role model and someone to follow so following in her footsteps is definitely not the worst place to be," Emma said. "She's always been so encouraging of making sure I have my own experiences and am doing my own thing. I think us growing in Maryland together allowed both of us to have our own experiences and to become our own people."

Emma's experience will be even more unique this season, something she's looking forward to.

"(Me and Brooke) have those incredible memories together that I'll always treasure but it's also kind of cool to be able to play with Maryland by myself and have that experience."

Over the past four seasons, DeBerdine has started in 63 of 64 possible games. The one game she didn't start was due to playing with the US Under-22 squad in the Junior Pan American Games in South Africa, an experience that DeBerdine does not take for granted. 

"Just going into that new culture and meeting all these different individuals from different countries, we got to compete against each other, but also make those memories all together," she said. "It was the farthest flight I've ever been on. It was just an amazing experience."

DeBerdine started playing for the US in high school when she competed for the U17 and U19 programs and has continued to this day. She hopes to continue representing her country once she leaves Maryland.

"It's been so exciting just being able to go to all these different places and play against such incredible teams," she said. "Being able to play at such a high-level against these teams on the international platform makes field hockey so fun. Being able to represent the country and being able to represent Maryland with people who share the same interest as you, it's really exciting." 

DeBerdine, who has the option to return for one more season for a COVID year, hasn't decided on her future plans. However, one way or the other, it will include playing the sport she loves. 

"I definitely want to see where I can go with field hockey. I'm not ready to stop yet."