The Terrapin field hockey team wears the small No. 11 on the back of their jerseys, as a constant reminder of former Terp player Sabrina Salam.
No members of the Terrapin field hockey team knew Sabrina Salam, but they are all a part of her story now.
Salam starred as a two-time All-American for the Terps, winning a national championship in 1993. But history resurfaced for the players in early April when Salam, 33, died in a car accident in the Boston area.
Terp coach Missy Meharg said she was in the middle of lifting with her team in the weight room when assistant strength and conditioning coach Barry Kagan, who was close to Sabrina and her sister Sara, told her about the accident after getting over the initial shock himself.
“She was one of those players who really impact the coach,” Meharg said. “She gave her heart to people and she gave her soul to competition.”
Not the fleetest of foot like current Terp back Paula Infante, Maharg said Salam was never beaten on a play despite being physically slower than her competition.
Detail and precision characterized Salam as a player, someone who spent the extra time at practice just to get her penalty corner push perfect. The Germany native started at right back and was named to the ACC All—Tournament in 1990, 1992 and 1993.
Off the field, Salam was even more attentive to detail. She received only one B as an undergraduate, graduated summa cum laude and held a doctorate in Organizational Behavior from the Robert H. Smith School of Business. In 1992, she was named Maryland Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Meharg and Kagan traveled to Massachusetts for the memorial service, something Sabrina’s husband, Kevin Curow, saw as a sign of how much she meant to the program.
“To know she meant that much to them that they would drop everything to be there … really helped me get through it,” Curow said.
On the way back, Meharg and Kagan discussed an idea to honor Salam, who was also the mother of a 10-month old boy, Sean. Wanting to remember one of her best players ever, she decided her team would wear Salam’s No. 11 on its jerseys and dedicate the season to her.
“I am extremely touched by it,” said Sara Salam, who played field hockey from 1994-96 and also wore No. 11. “I know wearing No. 11 was very important to Sabrina.”
Although none of the Terps knew Salam, they dealt with the tragedy in a different way, learning a valuable life lesson.
“As a team we didn’t personally know her, but she was a Terp field hockey player, she’s a part of the Terp field hockey family,” senior midfielder Lauren Powley said. “It just reminds us to live every day like it’s your last and that anything can happen any moment.”
The Terps weren’t hit as hard emotionally as Meharg, so they instead helped their coach cope with the death.
“My team was amazing,” Meharg said. “We’ve gone through something very personal together.”
Almost five months after the accident, with the No. 11 on their backs, the Terps took the field against Michigan Sept. 2 and observed a moment of silence for Salam.
In the home opener and with the former All-American in mind, they won 4-0. Salam was such a major part of penalty corners during her time as a Terp, so it was appropriate that the team scored three corner goals that night.
“When I saw [the No. 11] on their backs for the first time, it was very profound,” Kagan said.
The loss of Salam made an already tight-knit team even closer by giving them a common link to the past and each other.
“In a sense we feel close to her,” redshirt junior goalkeeper Christina Restivo said. “She shared every experience that we’ve shared here.”
The shared experience of wearing the No. 11 on their jerseys is something Meharg takes great pride in because of the team’s ability to personify Salam.
“I respect my team right now for being so fit and so good, they remind me of Sabrina,” Meharg said. “They aspire to be great- for them to wear that little 11 is so fitting.”
Freshman forward Danielle Keeley, who wears No. 11 now, said the team is working even harder to show they appreciate Salam. And while the players don’t always think about Salam when they’re on the field, the numbers on their backs serves as a constant reminder.
“It’s more when they’re walking behind each other that they realize it,” Meharg said. “They walk with pride with that.”
Meharg said Salam wouldn’t want the Terps to retire her number, but would rather want someone to wear it every season. Keeley added she wouldn’t have a problem giving up her No. 11, but said the team aspect of remembrance is even more valuable than just hanging a jersey in the stadium.
Salam led the 1993 team to a national championship and many of the Terps agreed winning this season would have extra significance.
“It means a lot to [Meharg] and us to be playing for something bigger than just a trophy,” senior back Emily Beach said.
Sara said the honor to her sister would be indescribable if the Terps were able to capture a national championship and dedicate it to her.
But Meharg said it was the journey this team has gone on that represents how the Terps remember Salam, not the outcome.
Still, the Terps have their eyes locked on competing for, and winning, an ACC and a national title. And if they need any extra inspiration, it’s as simple as glancing at the No. 11 on each others backs.
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
