On a brisk Monday evening in College Park, No. 6 Maryland field hockey triumphed over American, 4-1.
The Terps looked cool, calm and collected throughout, never panicking or wavering in the belief that has grown as the season has gone on.
After struggling to generate offense at home all season, the Terps turned their fortunes around on their three-game road trip, putting 11 goals past three strong conference foes in Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State.
The Terps and the Eagles traded blows early. American’s Federica Turina Dellamaggiore and Sophie Willemse saw shots denied by Alyssa Klebasko and Ericka Morris-Adams, while Maryland’s Maci Bradford forced a save from American goalkeeper Bryn Underwood — all within the first three minutes.
With offensive intentions established, both defenses rose to the occasion. The Terps’ trio of Morris-Adams, Josie Hollamon and Rayne Wright shut down American’s attack continually. Maryland allowed one open-play shot a minute in, but did not give up another for the remainder of the game — the only chances the Terps conceded were off penalty corners.
But the story of the game early on was the American defense, whose valiant press often frustrated the Terps and forced them backward. Maryland attempted to play out from the back in its usual fashion, but found it difficult to navigate a densely packed midfield. While Maryland made the occasional inroads toward the American net, it was clear the Terps would need something special to unlock the Eagles.
With just under six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Maryland won its first penalty corner of the game and pulled off a gorgeous play.
Emma DeBerdine sent an entry pass in low that found Hope Rose, who slid the ball left to Hollamon. Hollamon fired a pass inside to Fleur Knopert with her back to the goal. Knopert flipped the ball up and over her right shoulder and left Underwood helpless for her fourth goal of the year.
“She hasn’t played at this level [before],” said Meharg of Knopert. “She’s doing tremendously in getting better and better every day. [I] couldn’t be more pleased.”
The first half wrapped up steadily, but in the third quarter, the Terps found another gear. The offense exploded to life, taking eight shots, forcing three saves and scoring a goal off the stick of Hollamon.
Hollamon was also instrumental in the Terps’ third goal of the day. She had a shot blocked on a penalty corner, which slid right to Bradford. Bradford got just enough stick on the ball while falling away to redirect it for her second goal of the season.
“The one that Maci scored outside on the right from the deflection [is one] we work on all the time,” Meharg said. “That ball was bouncing, though … what a spectacular finish.”
The Terps were dominant out of halftime, taking 14 unanswered shots to open up the half. On the other end, they smothered anything the Eagles tried to create offensively.
Through 12 games, Maryland has outscored its opponents 23-4 in the second half, and Monday’s dominance was merely a continuation of this success.
“What I love about these guys is at halftime, when the coaching staff asks for a change, they do it,” Meharg said. “What you’re seeing is just simple responses, and they’re very good at doing that. So, lucky me.”
After a 40-minute shotless stretch, American found some late consolation. With just over four minutes remaining, the Eagles won a penalty corner, and Tayla-Jade Weiss got a fierce shot away. Klebasko made the diving save, but it fell to Sarah Steinman, who put away the second chance.
But any momentum the Eagles hoped to build quickly disappeared. Twenty seconds later, Rose cut inside and tapped the ball into an empty net for her sixth goal of the season.
In the end, it was a comfortable win for Maryland, who extended its winning streak to four games.
“American is a very good team, and I think this was kind of the competition we needed to go into next weekend,” said DeBerdine.
There is a new air about the Terps. And while it remains to be seen how the rest of the season will pan out, their growing self-belief certainly looks well-deserved after this performance.
Three things to know
1. Penalty corner differential key. Four of the five goals in this game were scored off penalty corners, with the Terps going 3 for 10 and the Eagles going 1 for 4. The Terps have looked better and better from dead ball situations, scoring six goals off corners in their past four games.
2. Maryland’s domination continues. Maryland extended its winning streak against American to 18 games, with its last loss coming in 2004. The Terps are 20-1 all-time against the Eagles.
3. Monumental weekend ahead for the Terps. Next week could define the Terps’ season, with home matches against one-loss teams No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Michigan and conference seeding implications on the line.
