For fan support, field hockey turns to The Club

More than 10,500 total fans made their way through the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex gates to see the Terrapins field hockey team last season, more than double the total season attendance of any other team in the country. The Terps have led the ACC in each of the past four seasons, and even drew an NCAA-record crowd of 2,381 to watch the 2010 national championship in College Park.

The Terps did all that without having the benefit of an organized student section leading the charge.

That's set to change this season, however, with the recent unveiling of their new official student support group: The Club.

Comparing it to The Crew, the vocal fan base for the men's soccer team, coach Missy Meharg said she had been working on the group with the team's marketing department since last season, and it's something she hopes will grow. That process will begin with this weekend's Terrapin Invitational, where the No. 3 Terps (3-1) will host Northwestern (3-1) and Villanova (1-2).

"To have a following and a group that's your own and your fan base, there's nothing more powerful," Meharg said. "When you look at our signage with Under Armour, ‘Protect This House,' it just goes along with it really well."

The Club's official inception came at the beginning of the fall semester as part of the Resident Life Department's new Terps-for-Terps program, which works with the athletics department to link residence halls with certain teams on campus in hopes of creating more student fan bases. The field hockey team is paired with the Elkton and Easton dorms, said sophomore business major Katie Popecki, an Elkton Hall resident assistant who is one of the leaders of The Club.

In the Terps' home opener Sunday, The Club made its presence felt, joining a crowd of 721 that watched the Terps defeat Michigan, 2-1. More than 30 students attended the game as part of The Club.

"It was a really awesome experience. There were a lot of people, the crowd was crazy for the team and everyone was cheering and screaming," Popecki said. "It was a really engaging game."

But as much as the students enjoyed the experience, the Terps appreciated their presence even more. The team brought in 400 more spectators per game than the NCAA average last season, but players said having an official student fan section made the atmosphere even better on the field.

"The energy they bring to the game helps us pick up our energy," sophomore defender Ali McEvoy said. "We just really like having those extra fans there supporting us. … We really do thrive off our fans."

Even as The Club has gotten off to a good start, the Terps hope the group will continue to grow as the year progresses. They still need an official logo, Meharg said, and she hopes they will have T-shirts by the time the Terps host the ACC Tournament in early November.

"We play a really run-and-gun style, so that's a culture and a characteristic I'd like to see go along with The Club," Meharg said. "It's a very vocal game, it's a very international contest, and we just want to get that feverish response in numbers coming out to watch the women."

vitale@umdbk.com