Field hockey looks to toss aside 2007 results with 2010 title run

As hosts of the 2007 NCAA Final Four, the Terrapin field hockey team entered postseason play with hopes of a third consecutive title.

But with an upset 1-0 loss to Penn State, the then-No. 2 Terps never even made it out of the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend.

Penn State moved on to the semifinals and defeated Wake Forest before eventually losing to North Carolina in the national championship. As the Tar Heels celebrated their sixth NCAA title on the Terps' home field, players and coach Missy Meharg were left to think about what could have been.

Seniors Amanda Himmelheber, Alicia Morawski and Katie O'Donnell played on that 2007 squad, and the memory of the loss to Penn State still resonates in their minds.

But with the top-seeded Terps' 3-1 quarterfinals victory over Connecticut on Sunday, the three seniors reversed their fortune from a disappointing freshman campaign. This weekend, the Terps are hosting the NCAA Final Four once again.

Only this time, they'll be in attendance.

"It'd be hard to say that [the loss to Penn State is] not in the back of your mind," Morawski said. "It happened, and we all know that. But we know that to win, we need to play our game. You can't do anything about the past, and we just move forward. With the team that we have this year, we can do whatever we put our minds to."

Before this year, 2007 marked the only season in which the Terps hosted the Final Four. Missing out on the chance to play in front of a home crowd back then — and the opportunity to do it this season — only added more drive to a team that hasn't needed any additional motivation.

After losing to ACC rival North Carolina, 3-2, in last year's NCAA Championship off a last-second penalty corner, this year's team has made it clear anything other than a seventh national championship will be deemed a letdown.

"We were in the same position last year, and it was kind of expected of us to win the national championship, and we didn't," O'Donnell said last Tuesday. "So it definitely puts a little bit of pressure on you. Then our parents, our friends, our family — everyone has a little bit of an expectation for you when you're No. 1. We've got to live up to it."

The Terps are just two wins away from achieving their season-long goal. Their next opponent is Ohio State, which earned an at-large bid and upset Big East Champion Syracuse in the quarterfinals. If the team advances, an ACC showdown against either second-seeded North Carolina or third-seeded Virginia awaits in Sunday's title game.

After missing out on the home-field opportunity in 2007 and faltering in the championship game last season, this year's Terps, especially the team's three seniors, are looking to go out on top this time.

"I've seen a lot and been through it all with the NCAA Tournament," Morawski said. "My [redshirt] freshman year, we won it down in Wake Forest. The year after we were here but didn't make it to the Final Four. It's a great feeling to know that you're in the Final Four at your place. … There couldn't be a better way to end my senior year."

jengelke@umdbk.com