The Terrapin field hockey team was selected to finish second in the ACC by the six conference coaches, commissioner John Swofford announced today.
The Terps, who won the ACC regular season and tournament last season, placed behind defending national champion North Carolina.
The Tar Heels received 24 out of the 25 possible points, as the Terps claimed one top-place vote en route to a total of 21 points.
The nod to North Carolina makes sense, as the Tar Heels defeated the Terps 3-2 in last year’s national championship game on a last minute penalty corner. North Carolina also returns seven starters, while the Terps only return four.
The Terps went a perfect 5-0 in league play last year, including a 4-1 victory over the Tar Heels on Oct. 24, but it was their final game of the season that inevitably made North Carolina the conference’s top dog.
The conference also announced it’s preseason All-ACC team today. Attacker Katie O’Donnell, the 2009 Honda Award winner and and reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and midfielder Megan Frazer were the only two Terps to make the squad.
North Carolina placed three players on the team: midfielders Katelyn Falgowski and Kelsey Kolojejchick and goalie Jackie Kintzer.
Duke and Virginia had two players receive a nod, while Wake Forest and Boston College had one.
For the full list of players on the all-conference team and the full order of predicted finish, check out the ACC’s press release.
The Terps open their season on Aug. 27 at Drexel, with their second game of the season coming just two days later at Villanova. The team’s first home game is Sept. 3 vs. Old Dominion.
The team will also host a scrimmage against Penn State this Friday at 11 a.m. and play its annual red/white scrimmage on Saturday at 9 a.m. Check terrapintrail.com on Friday for an update about what happened against the Nittany Lions.
Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s Terrapin field hockey beat reporter. He can be reached at engelke@umdbk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.