Coach Missy Meharg (left) discusses play with associate coach Dina Rizzo during the Terps’ 4-1 victory over Wake Forest on Sept. 20, 2013.
Missy Meharg doesn’t like to use the word “rivalry,” but she couldn’t avoid adhering that label to the Terrapins field hockey team’s history with North Carolina.
As the 27th-year coach pondered the matchups between the two teams, it was the only phrase that seemed to fit. Meharg spent 26 years battling the Tar Heels for ACC supremacy and is looking to come away victorious in the first-ever nonconference bout between the programs, which takes place Friday night in College Park.
“Maryland-North Carolina has played in enough championships, either between the ACC championship or the NCAA championship, to call it a really good rivalry,” Meharg said.
Since 2008, the Terps have played the Tar Heels in three ACC championships and three NCAA championships, winning two of each.
The rivalry dates further back, though. The programs have played each other 61 times and have combined to win 14 NCAA Championships. They were the only schools to win the NCAA Championship between 2005 and 2011, and played each other for the title from 2009 to 2011.
“There is never a better game,” Meharg said.
In 2011, the programs played one of the most dramatic NCAA finals in history. Trailing 2-0 with less than four minutes remaining, the Terps rallied to score two goals in regulation, then added the game-winner in overtime to devastate the Tar Heels on the sport’s biggest stage.
While Friday’s game won’t determine a national champion, it will decide the sport’s top team in the country — at least for now. The Terps (2-0) enter the game ranked No. 1 in the nation, with North Carolina (2-0) ranked No. 2.
For two teams so accustomed to meeting late in the season with hardware on the line, a second-week matchup presents a different kind of test. Still, the familiarity makes the meeting easier.
“It’s kind of fun playing Carolina early because I do know them so well,” Meharg said. “It feels a little different getting prepared for them [the] second week of the season, but it’s nice for the players.”
North Carolina only lost one starting senior from last year, so the Terps can expect to see a similar lineup to the one they played twice last season. The Terps won the regular-season meeting, 2-1, in overtime and ousted the Tar Heels, 2-0, for their final ACC title.
Former forward Jill Witmer starred in the rivalry games last season by scoring three of the Terps’ four goals. Witmer will see the Tar Heels again this season as an assistant on the sideline.
While Meharg joked that the Terps would love to hand Witmer a jersey and send her out on the field, the coach is confident the offense will step up against North Carolina without Witmer’s talent.
“We relied on [Witmer] when we needed a goal, but this year we have such a versatile set of players who can score,” forward Alyssa Parker said.
The lineups have a few changes, the goal-scorers have different names on the back of their jerseys, and the schools are in different conferences, but the history isn’t lost on Meharg or her players.
“I mean, it is our first year in the Big Ten, and that’s exciting,” goalkeeper Brooke Cabrera said, “but we’re still ready for Carolina, and it’s still our big rival.”
