WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – In spending the past four seasons with the Terrapin field hockey team, forward Katie O'Donnell has seen her share of great attackers both alongside and against her.
O'Donnell played her first three seasons with Nicole Muracco, whose 85 career goals rank second only to O'Donnell's 95 in program history. And while their pairing on the frontline was lethal, this year's combination of O'Donnell and freshman forward Jill Witmer has been just as good, if not better.
All season long, the duo has had opposing coaches struggling to find any way to stop the Terps from scoring in bunches.
"They've got tremendous speed and skill, and they strike in a hurry," North Carolina coach Karen Shelton said Sunday after her team's 5-2 loss to the Terps in the ACC Championship. "They exploited our weaknesses today."
This year's ACC has no shortage of great forwards. Virginia's Paige Selenski and Elly Buckley, Boston College's Janna Anctil and North Carolina's Jaclyn Radvany all have made significant impacts on the pitch this season.
But it's O'Donnell and Witmer who make up arguably the nation's best partnership.
O'Donnell, who was named the ACC Tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring three goals and dishing out three assists in two games, has an ACC-best 28 goals this season, and her 86 points lead Division I. She also received ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors last week, becoming the first field hockey player in the ACC to take home the Player of the Year award in four consecutive seasons.
"There is no question she's the [national] Player of the Year," Shelton said of O'Donnell.
Witmer, meanwhile, emerged as the league's runaway pick for Freshman of the Year. Her 16 goals are good for fourth-best in the talent-rich conference and are just two shy of what O'Donnell had during her own rookie campaign in 2007. With the possibility of four more games in the NCAA Tournament, Witmer seems primed to easily surpass that total.
Speed sparks both O'Donnell's and Witmer's scoring touch. Coach Missy Meharg called Witmer "the fastest player I've ever worked with," and O'Donnell's agility regularly causes headaches for defenders.
"Having Katie O'Donnell and Jill Witmer up there caused some problems," North Carolina defender Caitlin Van Sickle said. "Their speed is incredible."
But it's their forechecking pressure, in addition to their ability to score with ease, that makes them invaluable, according to Meharg.
"They're great goal scorers, but the most dynamic situation for the two of them together is the way that they press defensively," Meharg said. "Jill and [O'Donnell] really have a connection together playing two-v.-two that's unparalleled in the NCAA."
That was certainly evident Sunday. In the game's 30th minute, O'Donnell deked around two Tar Heel defenders, gaining entry into the shooting circle. But instead of taking a shot, she sent a cross to Witmer, who tipped in a goal past All-ACC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer.
"I know Jill's going to run as fast as she can when she gets the ball," O'Donnell said. "Today, it definitely showed with Jill. We had good combinations all over the field."
Although O'Donnell is ending her time as a Terp just as Witmer is beginning hers, the duo plans to make their one-year stint on the frontline stick in the record books — something that can be accomplished by winning a national championship.
"We're first, and we want to keep being first," Witmer said.
jengelke@umdbk.com
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