When you are a three time all-state performer in high school, it is difficult to come of the bench in college, but these are the dues that must be paid sometimes when you opt for a program that has won four NCAA Division 1 field hockey national championships in the last 10 years.
Lindsey Puckett, a sophomore forward at the University of Maryland, helped lead Fallston to two state championships and she was a three-time first-team All-Metro selection with the Cougars, including the Baltimore Player of the Year in 2008.
Last fall in College Park she found herself coming off the bench, as she appeared in 17 of 24 games on a squad that spent much of the year undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Terps were 18-0 in the regular season, before going on to win the ACC championship and place second in the NCAA Tournament.
Puckett’s lone point in 2009 was an assist and she only took four shots, but her coach remains high on her.
“In our opinion, Lindsey is the state of Maryland’s most polished hockey player in the Class of 2009,” said Maryland head coach Missy Meharg. “Having had a stick in her hands since she was six years old puts her ahead of the transition curve fundamentally and tactically as she becomes a Terp. She hails from Fallston High School, where former Terps Kateri Simon and Kim Zeigler competed as student-athletes.”
Puckett and the Terps begin their 2010 season in Philadelphia as they play at Drexel on Aug. 27 and Villanova on Aug. 29, before returning to College Park for their home owner, against Old Dominion, on Sept. 3.
