Towson coach Missy Doherty was reluctant to call her coaching debut in College Park a homecoming.
But when the Tigers (6-2) travel 48 miles south tonight at 7 to play third-ranked Maryland (8-1) at Ludwig Field, it will be a special moment for the former Terrapin.
“It will be fun to play on the old home field and go back to the alma mater,” Doherty, a defenseman at Maryland from 1994-1997, said. “It?s a funny world where you get into coaching and you really don?t think about it much while you are playing, but it is exciting to go back to your old stomping ground.”
Doherty scored eight goals and had two assists in her career at College Park, helping lead Maryland to a record of 68-2, an NCAA-record 50 game winning streak and three national championships.
In Doherty?s previous three years at Towson, which included a Colonial Athletic Association title in 2005, the Tigers haven?t faced Maryland.
The Terrapins, who haven?t lost to Towson since 1976, lead the all-time series, 27-6, have won the past 10 meetings by an average of 13 goals. It will be the teams? first meeting since 2000.
Doherty, however, is quick to dismiss the past and focus on her current team, one that is off to a strong start and looking for a marquee win. The Tigers are averaging 13.88 goals per game this season, but have struggled against premier competition, losing 22-5 at sixth-ranked Syracuse and 12-10 at 17th-ranked Johns Hopkins. Defense also is a concern, as the Tigers have yielded 12 or more goals in each of their past four games.
“Defense all over the field,” junior midfielder Britt Woodfield said. “Whether it?s defending or getting the ball after a draw or just one-on-ones, you can?t stop that by yourself ? it has to be everyone on the defensive end.”
And Maryland has all the weapons to exploit defensive lapses, winning its past five gamesby at least six goals.
The Terrapins have six players with at least 23 points and are led by a pair of National Player of the Year candidates in seniors Dana Dobbie (32 goals, eight assists) and Kelly Kasper (19, 17). On defense, the Terrapins tout senior goalie Allie Buote (.469 save percentage, 7.98 GAA) and senior defender Katie Pumphrey (16 ground balls), integral parts of a unit that has yielded just 33 goals during the first half this season.
But Towson also has plenty of talent.
The Tigers are led by junior midfielder Hillary Fratzke (24, 13) and junior attacker Meggie McNamara (15, three). But the true key to upsetting the Terrapins rests with Tigers senior goalie Mandy Corry (.449 save percentage) and the ability of Woodfield and the rest of the midfield to slow down the Maryland attack.
“Any game we are excited for,” Woodfield said, “but Maryland is a close game and a fun rivalry to start back up.”
