Maryland Back Emma Thomas dives forward to make a pass. The Maryland Terrapins survives the late push by the Old Dominion Monarchs to win 6-3 at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on October 17, 2009. Yuchen Nie/DC Sports Box
For the Terrapins field hockey team, Old Dominion is more than just another opponent.
The Lady Monarchs are the only team in the sport with more national championships than the Terps. They’re the only other team that can make a case for being the best field hockey program in the country. And they’re the Terps oldest, fiercest rival.
When the No. 1 Terps step onto the turf at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex tonight, they won’t simply be playing just another home opener — they’ll be playing to get an early leg up on one of the few threats to their national championship defense.
“They’re a top team, and they’re going to be in it at the end. But this will be our first opening game coming back as national champions,” said coach Missy Meharg, whose team will also host Ohio State on Sunday. “There’s something to be said for that, and you make a statement when you first walk out at the beginning of the year.”
If she’s looking for a statement, she should look no further than last year’s Final Four match. After falling to their longtime rival twice in the regular season — 4-0 on Sept. 2 and 5-2 on Oct. 15 — the Terps trounced Old Dominion in Louisville, Ky., 4-0, on Nov. 18, advancing to the national championship game.
“They got us the first two times last year, but we came together as a team in the Final Four and just decided that they’re not going to beat us three times in the same season,” forward Katie Gerzabek said. “They’re definitely a great team — we just have to play our game.”
“I think it’s a bigger rivalry now because they beat us last year two times by a lot,” forward Jill Witmer said. “It just makes us want to beat them even more.”
So much of the rivalry stems from the familiarity between the two coaches, Meharg and the No. 3 Lady Monarchs’ Beth Anders. The two have a long relationship in the game, and that bond has helped them create a schedule in which their two top programs see each other each and every season.
“I think we’ve played over 60 matches with them, and I know Beth Anders well – I’ve played for her on the U.S. team, and I really admire the way her teams compete,” Meharg said. “That’s why we’ve played them twice a year, and we’ve had the opportunity to play them in the postseason as well.”
As easy as it may be to look to last year’s debacles and triumph as fuel for a new chapter in this storied set of games, Meharg thinks the rivalry itself doesn’t need any extra motivation.
“Neither of these two teams are really caught up in what happened last time,” she said. “I think the rivalry and competitiveness between the coaching staffs has always been so intense that the game at hand overshadows any past history.”
munson@umdbk.com
