Fight 4 ALS

When the Maryland field hockey team takes the field on Friday for its home opener as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge, it will be playing for a lot more than a win over Duke. 

This year’s Challenge is highlighted by a Fight4ALS Campaign, put into place thanks to head coach Missy Meharg’s close ties with Peggy Engleka, a former USA field hockey player whose husband, Matt, is battling advanced ALS.

“It’s an opportunity to bring awareness to this region and to continue the growth and the momentum that they have started,” Meharg said. “I couldn’t be more proud to have the Big 10/ACC Challenge aligned with this cause.”

The Englekas will be in attendance on Friday’s opening day with Matt set to perform a ceremonial push of the ball to kick off the game. 

“It’s great for us to bring awareness to the cause,” said fifth-year forward Margot Lawn. “I personally know people who have had ALS or certain types of that same neuromuscular disease. So, it makes it really special to help raise awareness and be able to bring people together at the same time.”

Like his wife Peggy, Matt Engleka was an athletic star in his own right. He excelled at baseball at Ohio University before the Detroit Tigers drafted him and played in their minor league system for a few years. He stayed involved in professional baseball for years after that, running MLB’s Pitch, Hit & Run program. 

But on April 5th, 2022, Matt and Peggy’s lives changed forever as Matt was diagnosed with ALS, a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function which worsens over time. 

“Our life crumbled,” Matt said of the diagnosis through a video on fight4ALS.com.

Though the diagnosis was heartbreaking, Matt and Peggy were not going to lie down and crumble. 

“We felt helpless but we ultimately decided to say, ‘Hey, let’s do something about this,’ Peggy recalled.

As a result, the couple adopted the mantra “attack life everyday” and designed shirts in partnership with Fight4ALS. The Englekas then donated the money from the shirts to go to ALS research, which is severely underfunded. 

“People think because of the ice bucket challenge that there is a cure, but that’s just not the case,” Peggy said. “We wanted to raise awareness about how awful this disease is.”

“People with my diagnosis feel completely helpless,” Matt added. “There is no cure. There’s nothing that doctors can really say or do to increase your livelihood. For us, it was a matter of, there should be a cure. It’s been 80-plus years and we’re nowhere closer to finding a cure. This disease is so awful and we want to make sure that we can raise funds so no one else has to go for this.”

Both Peggy and Matt sold their respective businesses once they got the diagnosis and have dedicated their lives to focusing on Matt’s health in addition to working to spread awareness and raise money to find a cure. They also both got tattoos on their wrists with their manta “attack life everyday.”

“You have to make the most of every day,” Matt said. “We are trying to do that. There may be good days and bad days but everyday that I get to spend with Peggy is a great day.”

The couple has gotten help from another powerhouse athletic couple, and one that Maryland fans will know very well: Keith and Katie Beach. While in College Park, Keith and Katie each became All-Americans in their respective sports, men’s soccer and field hockey. Today, they’re best friends and partners with the Engleka’s in an immensely important battle against ALS. 

The connection between the families stems all the way back to Atlanta in 1996 as Katie and Peggy were teammates and roommates with Team USA in the Olympics—with Meharg as one of their assistant coaches. It was in Atlanta where Peggy, who was an alternate on Team USA, met Matt and the two eventually fell in love. In 2000, while Team USA was in residency in Virginia Beach, the four of them basically all lived together, strengthening the bond between them even more. 

The Beach’s will be in attendance over the weekend for the Challenge, something that Meharg regards as incredibly exciting for all of Maryland Athletics as a whole. Additionally, Peggy will have former field hockey connections everywhere she looks on Friday. The four coaches of the teams participating in the challenge are all former USA players or coaches: Meharg (Maryland), Tracey Fuchs (Northwestern), Pam Bustin (Duke) and Kelly Doton (Boston College). 

“It’s just an amazing opportunity for all of us as her peers, as her coaches and teammates, to be there with Matt and her,” Meharg said.

“It’s amazing,” Peggy added. “I get emotional talking about it. It just means a lot. I don’t feel alone.”

The opportunity to advocate for ALS research and funding is just as amazing for the Maryland student-athletes.

“We actually know these people because Missy’s very close with them, and so it’s a great way for us to see we’re making a difference. I think it keeps inspiring us to use our platforms as student-athletes,” Lawn said.

“Our theme for the season is ‘Made For Now’ and things like this are the now,” Meharg added. “Making sure that you’re invested and aware and impacting any opportunity that you can, that’s the now and that’s what’s really important.”

Supporting and aiding important causes like Fight4ALS is nothing new to the team. They embrace the opportunity to make as much change as they can with their platforms.

“We’re involved in so many different programs as a team,” Lawn said. “We participate in Team IMPACT, we have girls that are in Morgan’s Message, the ALS Foundation, and Best Buddies. We feel that as student-athletes and as women in our sport, we’re given this great platform and opportunity that it’s almost a disservice if we don’t help important causes and people that need help.”

The support from not just the Maryland program, but the entire field hockey community, means the world to the Englekas. 

“Sports are great, but this is wrapping sports into something bigger,” Peggy said. “Teams go out there and play, they work hard everyday in practice, but when you get off the field, real life happens. Playing for a bigger purpose is something I learned playing sports because there are bigger things in life and you have to learn through sports how to handle them.”

Peggy specifically points to her appreciation for Meharg’s passion for helping the cause. 

“Missy has gone above and beyond for us in this cause. I hadn’t seen her in a few years and when we saw her for the first time, she just jumped right into this. We are really thankful for her. I have Carolina connections because I played there but this is different because she reached out to us and wanted to do something for us with Katie and Keith.”

And as Meharg thinks ahead to what the scene on Friday will be like with the team decked out in custom Fight4ALS shirts and Matt getting ready to do the opening push, she’s filled with immense pride.

“We’re really excited that Maryland has taken this on for a great cause. It’s going to be a very special moment.”