Hard work pays off for Terps

“It wasn?t expected to be a Maryland team to win a national championship [this year],” said Meharg, who has led the Terps to four of their five national titles. “The concept of wining back-to-back is different than before, and we haven?t been able to do it [in the past].”

Maryland completed its dream season at Wake Forest Sunday by surviving penalty strokes against No. 7 Connecticut (21-4), the Big East Conference champion, on Friday night, and squeaking by No. 1 Wake Forest, 1-0, two days later.

Going into the title game, No. 2 Maryland (23-2) split their first two meetings with the Demon Deacons (22-2). After beating a then-undefeated Wake Forest team, 3-2, in Winston-Salem earlier in the season, the Terps suffered a 1-0 revenge by Wake in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Maryland was the only team to beat the Deacons this year.

“I?m just really proud of them. We worked really hard last spring,” Meharg said. “The one common thing we saw the whole time was they loved working hard. No problem with early morning runs, this and that. They were seriously invested.”

Utilizing a talented recruiting class and the skills of All-American players like senior captain Paula Infante, the Terps were able to find a balance that many pundits thought would be impossible going into the season. Playing in a tough, conference, the Terps were battle-tested at tournament time and ready to make a run.

In leading Maryland to back-to-back titles, four consecutive Final Four appearances and consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in school history, Infante, a native of Chile, secured her legacy as an all-time great in College Park.

“She was not only been blessed with tremendous talent, but leadership,” Meharg said of the two-time national player of the year. “She just did whatever it took to win, and that meant playing team hockey. You just hope that if there is another player like that that can play in the country, she plays at Maryland.”