Field hockey avenges loss to Princeton with impressive 6-2 victory

It was wet and humid at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, and yet last night couldn't have gone much better for the Terrapins field hockey team.

Hosting a Princeton team that was their only blemish on a near-perfect 2010 season, the Terps avenged last year's 4-2 loss to the Tigers in dominant fashion, scoring four unanswered goals in the first half en route to a 6-2 victory.

"We left Princeton last year with our tails between our legs," coach Missy Meharg said. "Because it was Princeton off of last year, it gave it a little more importance. … [It's] always a big game for us."

The No. 3 Terps (9-1) wasted little time against the Tigers (3-5), using a penalty-corner goal by midfielder Megan Frazer less than four minutes into the contest to take a lead they would never relinquish. They scored three more goals in the first half to take a 4-0 lead into the break.

"The first half was the type of hockey we'd really like to put our signature to," Meharg said. "A lot of movement off-ball and a lot of two-touch passing, which I thought was exceptional."

Princeton notched the first score of the second half, but a beautiful back-handed goal by Terps forward Jill Witmer quelled any momentum the Tigers might have gained. Princeton added an additional goal late in the half, but it was too little, too late as the Terps rolled to a four-goal margin.

The offensive performance was one of the Terps' most impressive efforts all season. The team matched its season-high, single-game mark with six goals and recorded its best shooting percentage statistics of the season, with six scores coming on just 15 shots.

"We knew that they were the only team to knock us off last year," said midfielder Jemma Buckley, who scored two goals in the game. "To get over this win, because it was kind of a monkey on the back from the Princeton game last year, it was good to come away from a 6-2 win."

While last year's loss to Princeton helped the Terps begin a torrid 15-game winning streak that culminated with a national championship, the team's win in last night's rematch with the Tigers cleared a mental hurdle that could afford them similar late-season success. But with ACC rival Virginia visiting College Park on Friday, the Terps have little time to savor their victory.

"That would be just wonderful," Meharg said of the team possibly getting back to the national championship. "But the reality is we have a lot of great teams to play, I know we can be a much better team and hopefully we'll be the best team we can be by the end of October."

vitale@umdbk.com