After their final home practice Wednesday afternoon, Terrapins field hockey players started taking their luggage out of the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex locker room and loading it onto the bus for the last time this fall.

The Terps were preparing to travel to Norfolk, Va., for their sixth straight NCAA semifinals appearance and the 16th semifinals game of coach Missy Meharg’s career with the team. But even as the 26th-year coach enters the final weekend of another memorable season, she doesn’t take time to look back at her past success.

“I don’t really reflect too much,” Meharg said. “When you look at the women and you see how present they are … I probably live my life the same way and is probably why I lead that way.”

The team’s focused mindset powers its consistency, and when the top-seeded Terps face No. 4-seed Duke this afternoon, Meharg and the players look to put aside the Terps’ illustrious history as they compete for the program’s ninth NCAA title.

Though Meharg doesn’t often dwell on her past accomplishments, she has helped build a winning tradition since arriving in College Park in 1988. The Terps have made the national semifinals in 13 of the past 15 years, winning the NCAA championship six times in that period.

The Terps’ philosophy didn’t change during that span, and it remains a point of emphasis for this year’s postseason run. The team is matched up with the Blue Devils for the third time this season, and despite a pair of defeats to the Terps, Duke still has an opportunity to eliminate them.

“Duke is a great team and they’re going to go all-out, and if we don’t play our best, they’re going to beat us,” defender Sarah Sprink said. “It’s a new game. It doesn’t matter how it was in the past, and that’s going to be the focus of Missy.”

So far this season, the Terps have taken Meharg’s advice the second time they’ve played teams. Though they dropped their second matchup with Old Dominion after winning the first, the Terps took down both Duke and No. 3-seed North Carolina twice. Against the Tar Heels, the Terps followed up an overtime regular-season victory with a win in the ACC championship game.

The Terps’ ability to change up their looks was a key factor in those rematches. Meharg didn’t hesitate to shift the lineup and put players in different positions to make the team more unpredictable.

Forward Jill Witmer, the Terps’ leading scorer, has played midfield more often than her natural position. Witmer and other players such as Sprink and Hayley Turner, who have both switched from defense to midfield, have helped the team become more well rounded entering the postseason.

“What makes them special to Coach is their ability to just do what they’re asked to do and have no judgment on it,” Meharg said. “No one does, and it’s really nice to lead a group like that.”

When the Terps and Duke play today for a spot in the NCAA championship, the Terps hope to use their versatility to their advantage, but the most significant factor will be the team’s mindset leading into the contest. The Terps look to disregard their past successes and focus solely on adding to their legacy.

“Our mission is obvious: We would love to win a national championship,” Meharg said. “To get there, we’ll need to be ready to compete on Friday at 2 o’clock.”