Sept. 22, 2009

• UVa's Tara Puffenberger Named National Rookie of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina senior forward Danielle Forword and Maryland freshman forward Janessa Pope have been named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Players of the Week for their efforts in helping the second-ranked Tar Heels and first-ranked Terrapins to wins in each of the team’s games last week.

Forword helped North Carolina extend its streak of shutouts to six games with an 8-0 win against Radford (Sept. 16), a 4-0 win against No. 15 Old Dominion (Sept. 18), and a 6-0 win against Longwood (Sept. 20) last week. Against Radford, Forword netted two goals on nine shots—five of which were on goal—in the Tar Heels win against nationally-ranked Old Dominion. Forword ended the week with a goal against Longwood to run North Carolina’s record to 9-0.

The East London, South Africa, native has tallied points in seven of nine games this season, while scoring goals in five. A team captain, Forword has seven goals and three assists this season, and is connecting on 43.6 percent of her shots on goal.

Pope came off the bench to lend a hand in two of Maryland’s six goals in a 6-2 win against ninth-ranked Boston College (Sept. 19). In the ACC-opener for both teams, Pope assisted a Katie O’Donnell goal in the 18th minute to give the Terps a 2-0 lead, then extended Maryland’s lead to 4-2 by taking advantage of her only shot of the day with a goal of her own.

Pope has seen action in all eight of Maryland’s games this season, and despite taking just eight shots, has three goals to go with an assist.

All six ACC field hockey teams are ranked in the Kookabura/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll and will return to action this evening, with Virginia hosting Boston University at 6 p.m. on TurfField. North Carolina will host Duke at Francis E. Henry Stadium and Maryland will host Wake Forest at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex—a rematch of last season’s national championship game—in conference match-ups on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. The weekend will close on Sunday, Sept. 27 with a trio of 1 p.m. games, as Virginia will host Boston College in a conference game, Wake Forest will travel to Washington, D.C. for a game against American, and Duke will host New Hampshire on Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.

The ACC Field Hockey Player of the Week will be announced by 5 p.m. each Tuesday during the season. More ACC field hockey information can be accessed at www.TheACC.com.