Terps Shutout Villanova 5-0

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By Brian Kapur

The Terps field hockey team finished up their opening weekend trip in Philadelphia with a dominating defensive performance, shutting out Villanova 5-0 and allowing the Wildcats to take just one shot.

The Terps earned a penalty stroke within the first two minutes of the game and it was converted by Katie O'Donnell for her second goal of the season.

Later in the first half, sophomre Jemma Buckley took the ball to goal unassisted to make it a 2-0 Terp advantage.

The Terps offense continued to attack and kept the ball in scoring position for most of the half. Just minutes later Maryland was rewarded with another goal when Meghan Frazer passed the ball ahead to Lindsey Puckett who tapped in the goal.

Harriet Tibble and Alicia Morawski kept the defensive pressure up as the Terps kept attacking the Wildcats in waves and rarely allowed the ball into the Maryland circle.

The Terps scored on a pair of penalty corners before halftime. Kirstie Dennig scored first and at the end of the half freshman Al McEvoy scored an untimed penalty corner goal to make it 5-0.

The Terps would allow one shot nearly 63 minutes into the game. Freshman Natalie Hunter got the start in goal and had a save on the one shot.

Note: The WMUC Player of the game was Morawski

Terps Slay Dragons 4-2

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By Brian Kapur

Every team that Maryland bullied over the last couple of years will be lining up to take their best shot at the Terps. Drexel, who the Terps bounced from last year's NCAA tournament was no exception.

But the Dragons' best shot was not enough as the Terps beat Drexel 4-2 in front of a packed out at Drexel's Buckley Field in Philadelphia.

The Terrapins wasted little time showing that their offense would be as explosive as ever again this season. Just six minutes into the game sophomore Meghan Frazer stole the ball deep in the Maryland circle and made a great outlet pass to senior Katie O'Donnell who turned on the jets in transition. O'Donnell passed the ball ahead to a wide open Janessa Pope who scored the first goal of the the 2010 season.

The Terps later scored on a penalty corner when Jill Witmer deflected the ball in to make it a 2-0 Terp advantage just nine minutes into the game.

With just three minutes left in the half the Terps scored on another penalty corner, this time O'Donnell knocked in the goal to make it a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Terps allowed just two shots in the first half and outshot the Dragons overall 16-9. The Terps did a great job getting back on defense in transition. Drexel had two scoring changes both on breakaways, but the Maryland defense converged and goal keeper Melissa Vassalotti was in position to stop the ball.

The Redshirt junior keeper had four saves on nine shots in her starting debut.

But Drexel refused to go quietly. The Dragons made a furious push in the second half to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a minute to go. But the Terps drew a penalty corner and scored with 24 seconds remaining. Buckley banged in a goal to ice the game.

Note: The WMUC Player of the game award was split between O'Donnell and Vassalotti

RELOADED AND BACK FOR MORE

By Brian Kapur

While the names on the back of the jerseys change year-to-year, Maryland remains on the front and so do the expectations. The Terps come into this season with a slew of new faces and will have to replace last year's senior class which was held a record of 85-8. But as one preseason poll revealed, expectations are as high as ever with the Terps at No.2 in that poll.

Although there are many new aspects to the field hockey team this season, the Terps still have Katie O'Donnell who is widely regarded as the best field hockey player in the country. and newly minted hall of fame coach Missy Meharg. While every team the Terps face will try to stop O'Donnell and make the other Terps beat them. But Meharg has done a great job of reloading and there will be plenty of offensive fire power alongside O'Donnell as well as a new-look defense.

On the attack, Meghan Frazer is expected to have a huge offensive season and was a preseason all- ACC pick. Frazer scored the game winning goal in the ACC title game last season and brings an attitude and toughness to the Terps. The Terps offense also returns Janessa Pope who had a productive freshman season and will now be called upon to play a bigger role.

The Terps have a lot of young offensive talent that will emerge and as the season begins expect the likes of Jill Witmer and Lindsey Puckett to play big roles while others could definitely emerge on the offensive end.

On defense the Terps have a new look. Returning starters are captain Alicia Morawski and Colleen Gulick; and Harriet Tibble, who saw significant playing time late last season. The Terps will also bring back Amanda Himmelheber who has played big minutes in the past and Meghan Dean returns after an ACL injury derailed her last season.

Among the new comers, Lauren Barr stands out as a defensive version of Frazer- she is expected to bring some added toughness and physical play- to the defense as well.

In goal the Terps will split minutes between Redshirt Junior Melissa Vassalotti and Natalie Hunter. Coach Missy Meharg has voiced confidence in both keepers and is happy to have two keepers that can play.

While the Terps will have to evolve and find their own identity, one thing is for certain, this team is built to run and this team is going to be an exciting one to watch.

Welcome to the 2010 Season!

Hello Hockey fans!

I am happy to be back on board for my third season calling Terps field hockey, and my second as the crew chief. I have big plans for this blog space this season and for our broadcasts as a whole this season. I hope to provide even better coverage of the team including highlights available exclusively in this blog, photos and analysis.

Some of the things to look forward to this season:

-We will again have the the Missy Meharg talk show. We will sit down with coach on Monday afternoons on WMUCSports.com. We will chat with coach about the week that was in Terp hockey.

-Assistant Coach Dina Rizzo will be part of our pre and post game show providing analysis and breaking down the Terps matchups.

I will be back later this week after media day on Wednesday with a season preview. I will also post a "meet the crew" feature so you can put names and faces to the voices you will be hearing on game days.

Again I am very excited to be back calling hockey this season. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or feedback at bkapurdbk@gmail.com.

-Brian Kapur