Nov. 17, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The second-ranked Old Dominion University field hockey squad (22-2) is set to appear in their NCAA-best 17th Final Four on Friday at Trager Stadium at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Monarchs will meet fourth-ranked Maryland (17-4) for the third time this season.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded North Carolina squares off against Connecticut at 2 p.m. The teams represent four of the top six winningest NCAA tournament programs in history, with ODU and Maryland tied with 49 tournament wins, North Carolina with 46 and UConn with 27 wins.
"This is a very strong group of teams - they are all very well coached and very well organized, and I know these coaches well," said ODU head coach Beth Anders, the winningest coach in NCAA field hockey history.
"The national championship tournament is something you never take for granted. I am totally excited for the kids that we are here and they are excited too," said Anders at Thursday's NCAA press conference. "I have loved coaching this team and so excited for them that we are here."
The Lady Monarchs will meet Maryland for the third time this season, having defeated the defending NCAA champions 4-0 and 5-2 in regular season games.
"I know how hard this is to play a team more than once. You don't take it for granted, and I am here to remind them," Anders remarks. "But, we focus on our structure and how we are going to play, and not so much the fact that we are playing a team we have seen before. "
"The only thing I want from tomorrow's game is for our kids to leave the field knowing they have played hard," adds Anders, the 2011 CAA Coach of the Year.
The Terrapins sport a much younger team than the squad that won the NCAA title last year, with a strong core of sophomore players. Maryland head coach Missy Meharg also believes the Terrapins are a different team now than when they played ODU earlier in the year.
"We know we have to do some things differently to play ODU again, but I believe this team has found its strength the last two weeks of the season, through ACC and NCAA tournament play," says Meharg.
Four Monarchs Named to NFHCA All-South Region Team
Four members of the second-ranked ODU field hockey team were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's All-South Region Team on Nov. 17.
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