Old School vs New School

by Brian Kapur

Sunday's national championship game has been two years in the making. Last year the Terps fell just one game short of the dream matchup, but this season both teams made it back to the title game.

In sports there are always historically great teams that are forced to rebuild and comeback only to have someone else claim their mantel. That is the spot the Terps find themselves in. The Terps collected seven straight national titles up until 2001. Since then It has been Northwestern who has been the dynasty and won the last five.

Both teams come into this game very evenly matched and here are some of the big matchups to look out for:

1) Size Matters: Danielle Spencer vs Laura Merrifield
Spencer comes in at 6’2, while Merrifield towers in at 6’1 for the Terps. Both have been match up nightmares for opposing teams and in Sunday's game they have somebody their own size to pick on.

2)Goalie Matchup: Dipper vs Lomato
Both keepers are sophomores with similar stats. Dipper has shown her post season mettle in the past, especially in the ACCs, while this is Lomato's first time on the big stage.

3) Star Wars: caitlyn McFadden vs Katrina Dowd
This game may come down to, which superstar makes the last big play in the game. Both are scorers and offensive facilitators. But McFadden is arguably the best defender. The winner of this game will likely go on to win the Terwarraton trophy as well.

While those are some of the key match ups, here are some of the keys to the game:

1) Draw controls: Danielle Spencer vs Karri Ellen Johnson
Spencer leads the nation in the country in draw controls and the Wildcats do as a team. Spencer uses her size to get the ball herself. The Terps will need to keep pace in this area of the game.

2) Northwestern scoring offense vs Maryland scoring defense
The top offense versus the top defense in the nation is also a key point of emphasis. The Terps defense will have to outperform the Wildcats in a game that could be a wild shootout.