Message from Meharg keeps field hockey ready

The Terrapins field hockey team is in a position for which championship-level success is the expectation. The Terps won last year's national title and four of the last six and, with many of their core players returning, entered this season as a favorite to repeat last year's feat.

But even with their immense talent, national reputation and championship aspirations, coach Missy Meharg has preached one simple idea to her Terps that has underscored their success all season long: stay present.

The concept, which Meharg describes as the idea of training, practicing and playing in the moment, isn't necessarily a novel one in sports. But it is an idea Meharg and players agree has helped the Terps to win after win so far this season.

"If you look at things you can control, like performance and work rate, those two things and anything we do, whether it be me as a coach or players as players, in order to do those two things well, you need to be able to do them in the moment," Meharg said. "Staying present is putting yourself in a position to be able to do those two thing very well."

Her mantra was never more manifest than in the No. 3 Terps' (10-1, 3-0 ACC) matchup Friday with Virginia (5-7, 0-2). The presence of Elly Buckley, the younger sister of Terps midfielder Jemma Buckley and one of the Cavaliers' most dominant players, added a bit of personal distraction to a game that historically has been a fierce rivalry.

But even with the familial ties lending added drama to the contest, Buckley and her Terps teammates had no trouble putting it behind them. She scored two goals as the Terps' defense held her sister to just one in a 6-3 victory.

"It's a really interesting thing when you've got really high-profile, high-level players on very competitive and rival type of teams," Meharg said after Friday's game. "My feeling is you got to avoid it, you got to stay from the storybooks of it. I felt [Friday] there was a little bit of giddiness that went on that probably wouldn't have been there without that relationship, and I think we worked out of it."

The Terps' presence will be tested again this week as they prepare for a road contest with No. 9 Duke on Saturday. The eight days separating the Terps' win over Virginia and their matchup with the Blue Devils will be the team's longest stretch between games at any point this season, and Meharg said the Terps' ability to focus during their long week of preparation will be paramount.

"After two days off, you can not be in the mood knowing you have five days of training coming up," Meharg said. "But they're great. They seemed very, very energetic [at practice yesterday], they seemed like they were appreciative of the break, and I know the staff is, so it feels pretty good."

A game against No. 1 Old Dominion, which dealt the Terps their lone loss of the season, follows the Duke showdown, making the Terps' mantra especially important in the coming weeks.

"We've stuck to it because, even though we're scoring a lot of goals, we need to remember that the other team is just as capable to fight back and get another goal," defender Ali McEvoy said. "So we need to make sure we stay present in the moment, in the game so that we don't allow that to happen."

vitale@umdbk.com