Impact Of A Scholarship: Maureen "Bean" Scott Dupcak

Upon her first tour of the University of Maryland campus, Maureen 'Bean' Scott Dupcak didn't honestly know what she was getting herself into with the cultures of Maryland's women's lacrosse and field hockey programs.

Coming from West Chester, PA, Dupcak was part of a family centered around education and sports. The daughter of teachers who officiated and coached sports, she became a three-sport athlete competing in lacrosse, field hockey, and basketball at West Chester East High School. In addition, she was a part of strong lacrosse and field hockey programs for the Vikings. She had won back-to-back Pennsylvania state lacrosse titles and had finished runner-up in field hockey during her high-school tenure.

She had been following in the footsteps of her older sister, Denise, who played the same three sports in high school and went on to play lacrosse and field hockey at the University of Richmond, where she became an All-American. 

Dupcak knew of the success of both Maryland programs from staying up to date on college lacrosse and field hockey through her sister. However, as she competed in both sports in College Park, she familiarized herself with what it meant to play Maryland field hockey and women's lacrosse quickly.

"I kind of knew the overall caliber of the players, but I just didn't really know I'd be playing for championships and how much time and energy put into it, but I embraced it because I was competitive and I love playing," Dupcak said.

During her time competing with the Terps from 1990-94, Dupcak joined the storied lineage of Maryland women's lacrosse and field hockey. In her tenure at College Park, the Terps had tremendous program success in women's lacrosse. Maryland advanced to the NCAA Final Four every season during Dupcak's tenure, winning a national championship in 1992. 

With the field hockey team, the Terps earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament all four seasons Dupcak was with the team, advancing to two NCAA Final Fours and winning it all in 1993. 

"It can be very humbling sometimes just to think about the talent I was surrounded by the coaches I had looking back on it and just being able to step back from it now when you're older," Dupcak said. 

Individually, Dupcak became one of the best lacrosse players in program history, earning All-American honors in 1994. She was also named to the 50th Anniversary All-ACC Women's Lacrosse Team. In addition, Dupcak earned All-American honors during the 1993 championship season in field hockey.

While at Maryland, Dupcak became one of the top players in the country through the leadership of two of the best to ever coach their respective sports. With Missy Meharg coaching for the field hockey team and Cindy Timchal leading the women's lacrosse squad, Dupcak developed as a player and learned some tips about coaching that she would later employ.

"I met some wonderful teammates and had wonderful coaches," Dupcak said. "I mean, I was coached by two Hall of Fame coaches, not only in the University of Maryland Hall of Fame, but in the national Hall of Fame for their sports respectively. What an opportunity it was to have to played on those caliber of teams."

Dupcak also received a great deal of support from her parents, who continued to support their daughter throughout her college career, even though she had moved over two hours away from West Chester.

"My mom and dad were at almost all my games," Dupcak said. "My mom, because of her work situation, was able to come to all my college games. My dad couldn't come to as many games just because of work, but was super supportive."

After graduating from Maryland, Dupcak excelled in lacrosse at the national level, playing for six years with the U.S. Women's Lacrosse National Team, where she won a gold medal at the 1997 Women's Lacrosse World Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

Dupcak has found that her experience in lacrosse transferred into the jobs she has worked. She started working as a high school coach in Texas before rejoining the Terps as an assistant coach in 1997 when Maryland won the women's lacrosse national title amid its seven consecutive championship wins. 

Dupcak then took the head-coaching job at American University, where she led the Eagles to their lone NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

Even in non-coaching roles, Dupcak found jobs to work as a direct result of her student-athlete experience.

"I was hired for my coaching jobs because of my experience, but I also had a sales job in there somewhere, and I was literally hired because I was an athlete," Dupcak said.

Dupcak remains active in the Maryland women's lacrosse and field hockey programs, serving as an M Club Board Member for the women's lacrosse and field hockey teams. She also stays in touch with her teammates and coaches from both sports three decades after their national championship campaigns.

"When you work together, you build these bonds and these friendships over the years of playing together," Dupcak said. "You work so hard and you spend so much of your time doing your sport when it all comes together to win the big game and win championships, it helps to grow that bond. The camaraderie that you mold and form when you do win those big games is the coolest thing ever."

Dupcak is thankful for all of the opportunities that Maryland's donors afforded her through her athletic scholarship, learning not just about the top-notch cultures of the Terps' women's lacrosse and field hockey programs but also the outstanding education the university had to offer.

"It was just a wonderful experience for me to be on a scholarship and it was an opportunity for education, meeting great people, competing at the highest level and not having to worry about paying for school," Dupcak said. "My parents were super supportive and helped me but they weren't able to afford to pay for college for me, so it was a godsend."

After ending her national player career and her coaching role at the collegiate level, Dupcak has become a personal trainer, living and working in Annapolis, MD.

Since her playing and coaching days wrapped up, lacrosse remains at the heart of the Dupcak family. Bean Dupcak married her husband, Neal, a former Maryland men's lacrosse player, and both of their daughters, Samantha and Alexis, play lacrosse competitively. Samantha is currently a defender at Penn State in her junior year, and Alexis will join the Terps as a freshman in 2024.