Forward Emma Rissinger and defender Sarah Sprink high-five after Sprink’s second goal of the game during the Terps’ 6-1 victory against American on Sept. 13.
While the Terrapins field hockey team convened in the locker room during halftime of Sunday afternoon’s game, a group of women who claimed that spot a decade earlier stood on the field.
Members of the 2005 NCAA national champion Terps squad held hands and swung their arms back and forth while the crowd cheered and recognized the 10-year anniversary of the squad’s triumph.
The No. 10 Terps missed the announcement, but the program’s celebration last weekend added to their motivation to claim a crown of their own this season.
“Right now, we’re kind of focusing on game to game, like we’re not really thinking about that end product,” forward Emma Rissinger said. “But seeing them all together and being back and just loving it and celebrating such a great achievement, it kind of puts it into the forefront.”
With the alumnae in the stands, the Terps (3-3) put on an offensive showcase against American. Three goals in each half, including a hat trick from defender Sarah Sprink, propelled the Terps past the Eagles, 6-1.
Before Sunday, the Terps endured their first three-game losing streak since 1998 after dropping games against No. 5 Albany, No. 7 Duke and No. 11 Boston College. Coach Missy Meharg pointed to the Blue Devils’ combination of speed sand stout defense as qualities that puts Duke in the conversation of possible final four teams come November.
Meharg hopes to have another shot at the Blue Devils then. Her team dropped a 2-1 overtime contest to its former conference foe Sept. 6, but the Terps have looked to the example of Sunday’s honorees as proof they can prevail in a potential postseason rematch.
In 2005, the Terps fell to Wake Forest and Old Dominion in the regular season. They beat the Demon Deacons in the ACC tournament, though, and downed the Monarchs in the NCAA final four en route to their fourth national title.
“Different teams peak at different times,” Rissinger said. “It’s exciting to know that we can see these teams again that just beat us, and we can come after them.”
After struggling to convert their scoring chances in recent games, the Terps’ offensive success against American — they outshot the Eagles 27-7 — restored their confidence.
The national champions in attendance took notice, too.
“Every team goes through a period of time where there’s weaker moments or these little struggles,” said Ellen Ott, a midfielder from the 2005 squad. “It’s how you come back and coming together as a team and working for the person next to you, not the people you’re playing against.”
Meharg agreed with her former player. She said the piling losses caught the attention of her players, motivating them to work on improving various areas of their games.
“Losing is an opportunity to grow,” Meharg said. “What I think is more of an opportunity to grow is we haven’t been in a situation where we’ve lost a number of games in a row.”
After falling, 2-1, to Albany on Friday, the Terps took a break from field hockey to attend the Terrapins football game at Byrd Stadium on Saturday. The 2005 champions braved the rainy weather with them.
On Sunday, the two squads reunited again after the Terps rolled over the Eagles, and both generations of Terps shared stories about the program’s success and locker-room antics at the postgame tailgate.
This year’s Terps hope to be in the same spot 10 years from now.
Seeing them, “reminds you that’s our main goal,” Rissinger said. “That’s our focus.”
