After two difficult losses in North Carolina last weekend, No. 10 Maryland field hockey returns to the Plex for the Terrapin Invitational, the Terps’ annual multi-conference tournament. Before diving into conference play, Maryland will face off against Penn on Sept. 12 at 4 p.m., and against No. 13 Saint Joseph’s on Sept. 14 at noon. Both games will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Penn Quakers (1-1, 0-0 Ivy League)
2024 record: 4-12, 2-5 Ivy League
Penn is on the rebuild after a difficult 2024 season, where they finished with a win percentage
of .250 and missed the Ivy League tournament. The Quakers’ head coach, Scott Tupper, coached Maryland field hockey for four years, two of which he spent as associate head coach alongside Maryland head coach Missy Meharg.
Though Penn opened its season with a difficult loss against North Carolina, it was able to turn their luck, beating Old Dominion on Sunday.
Players to watch
Julia Ryan, senior midfielder/defender, No. 8 — Ryan, last season’s leading scorer, is an offensive force for the Quakers. The defender was named to the All-Ivy second team in both 2023 and 2024 and ranked eighth in the conference for goals. Ryan scored the game-winning goal in Penn’s win against Old Dominion last Sunday, and currently leads the team with two goals for the season.
Philine Klas, senior defender, No. 20 — Klas logged 992 minutes last season, starting in every game. The defender was responsible for three of the Quakers’ five defensive saves last season, only one of five players in the Ivy League conference to do so. So far this season, Klas has played every minute, scoring a goal in Penn’s win last weekend.
Strength
Position diversity. The Quakers have a pretty even roster, with multiple players cross-listed. With several eligible players at every position, the Terps may have a difficult time decoding Pennsylvania on both sides of the field.
Weakness
Goalscoring. Even with one win under their belt, the Quakers have been outscored by their opponents by two goals so far. Last season, they conceded 18 more goals than they scored. With a shots-on-goal percentage of just 37.5% so far, the Quakers will need to capitalize on every shooting opportunity.
No. 13 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
2024 record: 20-4, 6-1 Atlantic 10
Saint Joseph’s had an extremely impressive season in 2024. With head coach Hannah Prince at the helm, the Hawks won 20 games in a row en route to an Atlantic 10 title and an NCAA championship appearance, where they lost to Northwestern.
With the foundation in place, the Hawks have sought to continue their momentum. Close wins against UConn and New Hampshire have shown intent, but Saint Joseph’s dropped an overtime showdown against Penn State last Sunday for their first loss of 2025.
Players to watch
Ava Smith, graduate forward/midfielder, No. 8 — Smith graduated from the University of Edinburgh after scoring a whopping 35 goals in 2024. The forward competed on the winning Scottish Cup team earlier this year before heading across the pond to Saint Joseph’s. Smith has a team-leading two goals so far, one of which secured the Hawks’ win against New Hampshire.
Paige Kieft, graduate goalkeeper, No. 3 — After graduating from Maryland, the now-Hawk Kieft comes back to College Park. As a Terp, the goalkeeper won the Big Ten regular season title in 2022 and reached the conference title game in 2023. With Saint Joseph’s, Kieft has recorded 17 stops for a save percentage of 85%.
Strength
Shot accuracy. Saint Joseph’s has successfully made 65.6% of goals so far. With Maryland’s 54.5% average, the Terps offense must take advantage of every possible scoring opportunity with efficiency in mind.
Weakness
Goal-scoring depth. Though the Hawks are 2-1, they’ve only scored five goals for the season so far, two of which were scored by Smith. This gives the Terps the daunting task of defending Saint Joseph’s leading scorer to limit goals altogether.
Three things to watch
1. A long-standing tradition. This weekend’s match-ups will mark the 29th Terrapin Invitational, hosted in College Park every year since 1996, except for in 2000.
2. Rivalry renewed. Maryland’s and Penn’s match-up will be the 20th in program history. The first Terps vs. Quakers game was in 1976, where the Terps won, 2-0.
3. Streak on the line. Maryland and Saint Joseph’s have played each other five times in their programs’ histories. Maryland currently leads the series, 5-0.
