From my Premium post yesterday:
OK, the Terps are now 3-0 after beating #17 Penn State today, 16-6 and we can now get a better assessment of how the team looks this year. The Nittany Lions were the first ranked team that Maryland has faced and it was a road game, so this is a decent yardstick.
We all figured that Karri Ellen Johnson would come back big-time for Maryland and she has with 2 goals, 1 assist today for 8 goals and 4 assists on the year. Katie Schwarzmann exploded for 6 goals today which gives her 12 goals and 1 assist on the season. All that was as expected.
But the new kid on the block is redshirt freshman Brooke Griffin who added 2 more goals today for 11 goals and 1 assist on the year. The Edgewater, MD/South River product is making a statement that she has come back very strong from her ACL last year and is going to be a force. After having been a consensus prep A-A and the Prep Player of the Year by both the BaltSun and WashPost, we knew she would be good, but no one ever assumes that a player will start as a freshman from Day One and then be one of the top three scorers on a team that has been to the Final Four three consecutive years. She is going to be a really good one; perhaps the ideal replacement for the graduated Sarah Mollison and like Sarah, a versatile player who covers a lot of territory.
But there is another pleasant surprise: true freshman midfielder Kelly McPartland (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) who was also a prep A-A and who has stepped in very nicely in the midfield for the graduated Laura Merrifield. Her goal today gives her 6 on the season with 2 assists to place her 5th on the team in scoring. McPartland was the player who originally verballed to UNC but switched to Maryland over the summer. She is a former member of the US U-19 squad that won the U-19 World Cup. She looks taller than the listed 5'6" and is very strong and fast -- a terrific athlete.
I should also put in a word for junior attacker Alex Aust who had to step it up this year and has done so; she grabbed 2 goals and 1 assist for today for 7 goals, 3 assists on the season, placing her 4th on the roster. She is one of those really solid athletes who just improves every week she is out there and has been doing it now for over two years.
Also contributing is senior attacker Kristy Black who leads the Terps in assists with 5 on the year to go with 3 goals. This is something of a role reversal for her as she previously was more of a goal scorer, but has rounded out her game as a senior and is creating chances for teammates.
And ya gotta feel good about the defense because when you go into the house of a Top 20 opponent and hold them to 6 goals, the D is getting it done. Yes, senior goalie Brittany Dipper, perhaps the best goalie in the country, has a lot to do with that. But the completely rebuilt defense in front of her led by last year's only returning starter, junior Ileana Sanza, and junior Melissa Diepold has been getting it done....
And this is where we find two more new stars of the future: true freshman Meg Douty (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson Fair Haven) and Shanna Brady (Smithtown, NY/St. Anthony's) are terrific athletes with real skills.
***Note on the all important draw control, the freshman McPartland and Sanza are co-leaders for Maryland with 8 draws on the season.
And Coach Cathy Reese has more in the tank. True freshman Mattie Meredith (Lutherville, MD/Roland Park) is having an impact off the bench, scoring today to give her two goals on the year. Freshman defender Nicole Aust, younger sister of the aforementioned Alex, has come off the bench in every game on the backline.
We will get a clearer picture next Saturday when Maryland travels to #5 Duke. The Blue Devils just got clobbered by #1 Northwestern 13-5 in Durham, which probably says more about how good Northwestern is than about any problems Duke is having. It was a close game in the 1st half until the Wildcats stepped on the gas and made an 8-2 run in the 2nd half. Duke was actually statistically even with Northwestern on the draw control but could not finish their chances on the attack.
So far, so good for the Terps. The big tests are at their doorstep, but to this point it is very encouraging to see what so many young players have been able to accomplish. This is all very hopeful for this season and beyond.
OK, the Terps are now 3-0 after beating #17 Penn State today, 16-6 and we can now get a better assessment of how the team looks this year. The Nittany Lions were the first ranked team that Maryland has faced and it was a road game, so this is a decent yardstick.
We all figured that Karri Ellen Johnson would come back big-time for Maryland and she has with 2 goals, 1 assist today for 8 goals and 4 assists on the year. Katie Schwarzmann exploded for 6 goals today which gives her 12 goals and 1 assist on the season. All that was as expected.
But the new kid on the block is redshirt freshman Brooke Griffin who added 2 more goals today for 11 goals and 1 assist on the year. The Edgewater, MD/South River product is making a statement that she has come back very strong from her ACL last year and is going to be a force. After having been a consensus prep A-A and the Prep Player of the Year by both the BaltSun and WashPost, we knew she would be good, but no one ever assumes that a player will start as a freshman from Day One and then be one of the top three scorers on a team that has been to the Final Four three consecutive years. She is going to be a really good one; perhaps the ideal replacement for the graduated Sarah Mollison and like Sarah, a versatile player who covers a lot of territory.
But there is another pleasant surprise: true freshman midfielder Kelly McPartland (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) who was also a prep A-A and who has stepped in very nicely in the midfield for the graduated Laura Merrifield. Her goal today gives her 6 on the season with 2 assists to place her 5th on the team in scoring. McPartland was the player who originally verballed to UNC but switched to Maryland over the summer. She is a former member of the US U-19 squad that won the U-19 World Cup. She looks taller than the listed 5'6" and is very strong and fast -- a terrific athlete.
I should also put in a word for junior attacker Alex Aust who had to step it up this year and has done so; she grabbed 2 goals and 1 assist for today for 7 goals, 3 assists on the season, placing her 4th on the roster. She is one of those really solid athletes who just improves every week she is out there and has been doing it now for over two years.
Also contributing is senior attacker Kristy Black who leads the Terps in assists with 5 on the year to go with 3 goals. This is something of a role reversal for her as she previously was more of a goal scorer, but has rounded out her game as a senior and is creating chances for teammates.
And ya gotta feel good about the defense because when you go into the house of a Top 20 opponent and hold them to 6 goals, the D is getting it done. Yes, senior goalie Brittany Dipper, perhaps the best goalie in the country, has a lot to do with that. But the completely rebuilt defense in front of her led by last year's only returning starter, junior Ileana Sanza, and junior Melissa Diepold has been getting it done....
And this is where we find two more new stars of the future: true freshman Meg Douty (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson Fair Haven) and Shanna Brady (Smithtown, NY/St. Anthony's) are terrific athletes with real skills.
***Note on the all important draw control, the freshman McPartland and Sanza are co-leaders for Maryland with 8 draws on the season.
And Coach Cathy Reese has more in the tank. True freshman Mattie Meredith (Lutherville, MD/Roland Park) is having an impact off the bench, scoring today to give her two goals on the year. Freshman defender Nicole Aust, younger sister of the aforementioned Alex, has come off the bench in every game on the backline.
We will get a clearer picture next Saturday when Maryland travels to #5 Duke. The Blue Devils just got clobbered by #1 Northwestern 13-5 in Durham, which probably says more about how good Northwestern is than about any problems Duke is having. It was a close game in the 1st half until the Wildcats stepped on the gas and made an 8-2 run in the 2nd half. Duke was actually statistically even with Northwestern on the draw control but could not finish their chances on the attack.
So far, so good for the Terps. The big tests are at their doorstep, but to this point it is very encouraging to see what so many young players have been able to accomplish. This is all very hopeful for this season and beyond.
