CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Unveiled in Tuesday night's NCAA Selection Show, the Albany Great Danes will travel to College Park, Maryland to face the University of Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Albany (12-9 overall record, 4-1 America East record) earned an automatic berth into the tournament by defeating University of New Hampshire Sunday afternoon for the 2008 America East Championship Title.
The Great Danes are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. Albany is currently on a five-game winning streak, with their last loss coming in overtime on October 12 against Connecticut, another 2008 NCAA Tournament participant. Senior Michele Polizois, the America East Defensive Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 34 overall points. America East Midfielder of the Year Michelle Simpson, who scored the second-half game-winning goal in the conference title game, also helps pace the Great Dane offense with 10 goals, 12 assists and 32 points.
Maryland (18-2) is hosting one of four regional first and second round sites at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex and is the first overall seed in the tournament. The Terrapins, one of five ACC teams to earn bids to the NCAA Tournament, defeated Wake Forest in their conference tournament final in a 4-3 thriller last Sunday. Maryland was knocked out of last year's tournament by national runner-up Penn State, but won the National Championship in 2006.
Duke and Connecticut will square off in the other first round game in College Park. The winners of the two first-round games will play a second-round contest on Sunday, also on the campus of Maryland.