April 4, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey team and four-time NFHCA Coach of the Year Missy Meharg announced an extremely challenging schedule for the 2003 season, with nine regular season matches to be played against teams that were both participants in the 2002 NCAA tournament and ranked in the final NFHCA Top 20 of last season. The 12 home matches on the Terps' slate for 2003 will showcase the latest improvement for the hockey program, as a new artificial turf facility is slated to for completion by the start of the season.

The youthful Terrapins of 2003 add a pair of transfers and several newcomers to a core of returnees, and should be set to make waves in the always-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference and across the national landscape. First team All-America selection Colleen Barbieri (Centereach, N.Y.) returns for her junior season after ranking among the national scoring leaders in her first two years as a Terrapin. Forwards Tiffany Marsh (Marathon, N.E.) and Jackie Ciconte (Wilmington, Del.) return as sophomores after combining for 14 goals and 30 points as rookies.

Meanwhile, the Terps return a pair of strong netminders in redshirt sophomore Tori Cano (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) and junior Kerry Hearsey (Leicester, England). Both proved to be top performers in 2002 while seeing their first action as starters. Third team All-American Lauren Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.) and Mid-Atlantic All-Region selections Kristin Harris (Lititz, Pa.) and Emily Boyer (Oak Park, Ill.) return to anchor a solid corps of midfielders and defenders.

As was the case in the previous two seasons, nine of Maryland's 2002 regular season matches will be played against teams that finished in last season's NFHCA Top 20. Including Maryland's perennial home-and-home series with Old Dominion, the Terrapins will play four regular season contests against teams that finished in the poll's final Top 4.

The season begins with three straight games at the University of Massachusetts' Richard F. Garber Field, which is also where the Terrapins hope the season will end - the Minutewomen host the 2003 NCAA semifinals and championship games. Maryland takes on 2000 NCAA tournament opponent New Hampshire on Aug. 30 to open its schedule, followed by contests with UMass and local New England squad Quinnipiac.

Maryland then hits the road for the first of two dates with Old Dominion, this one on Sept. 6 in Norfolk, before heading home to host the seventh-annual Terrapin Invitational, Sept. 12-14. Invitational matches against Rutgers and Pacific begin a string of nine straight home contests for the Terps, including matchups against Michigan (Sept. 19), Harvard (Sept. 21), Princeton (Sept. 26), Virginia (Oct. 4) and Ohio State (Oct. 5). Maryland's state-of-the-art facility will also host three additional neutral site contests, making Sept. 19, Sept. 21 and Oct. 4 double-header field hockey days in College Park.

The Terps' rigorous ACC slate opens with the Demon Deacons on Sept. 28, and concludes on the road at North Carolina on Oct. 25. The 2003 conference championship tournament will be held at Virginia Nov. 6-9.

"Across the board, the schedule is probably the most competitive we've ever had at Maryland," said Meharg. "We had the opportunity to bring in the University of Michigan, and Ohio State from the Big Ten, as well as NCAA tournament participant Harvard. We begin our season at the University of Massachusetts, and are able to get a feel for that site in anticipation of being in a position to play for the national championship."