Tribe Field Hockey Loses to Maryland, 2-1, in First Round of NCAAs

11/16/02

NORFOLK, VA - William and Mary’s field hockey team lost in overtime to Maryland, 2-1, this afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Foreman Field in Norfolk, Virginia. W&M was ranked 16th and Maryland was fifth in the final NFHCA Coaches Poll of the season. The Tribe ends its season with a 12-9 record, while the Terrapins’ record improves to 17-4.

Maryland took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute of the game when Jackie Ciconte scored off a pass from Colleen Barbieri on a penalty corner play. The Tribe defense kept the Terrapins from extending the lead in the second half, led by the strong play of senior goalkeeper Claire Miller (Virginia Beach, VA), who made a number of outstanding stops in the period, and redshirt-freshman defender Anna Davis (Richmond, VA), who had two key defensive saves in the second half.

W&M tied the game on a penalty corner with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation. Senior forward Ann Ekberg (Virginia Beach, VA) fired a pass to sophomore forward Kate Baird (Lismore, Australia) on the left side of the cage, who then knocked in her second goal of the year.

Maryland won the game less than five minutes into the first overtime as Carissa Messimer scored her team-leading 16th goal of the season.

The Terrapins outshot the Tribe, 20-4, and were awarded 15 penalty corners to W&M’s three. Maryland goalkeeper Tori Cano stopped three shots, while Miller made 11 saves in the game.

Ekberg ended the season leading the Tribe in scoring with a phenomenal 51 points and 23 goals, both the third-best single season marks in school history. Senior defender Jessica Nixon (Haddonfield, NJ) recorded a team-high seven assists on the year, while Ekberg and senior midfielder Kristen Southerland (Virginia Beach, VA) tied for second with five each. Miller ended the season with a 1.41 goals against average, seventh-best in school history, to go with 132 saves, four shutouts and a .810 save percentage.