No. 2-seed Maryland field hockey (17-1, 7-1 Big Ten) concluded the regular season as the Big Ten’s best offense. No. 6-seed Iowa (13-4, 4-4 Big Ten) features the conference’s top two goalscorers. The last time these two sides squared off, six combined goals were scored.
Maryland and Iowa will play this Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio with the winner advancing to the Big Ten Tournament final. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
What happened last time
Last Friday, then-No. 2 Maryland welcomed then-No. 9
Iowa to College Park for a late-October clash to wrap up the regular season. What ensued was a bloodbath, as the Terps handed the Hawkeyes their worst loss of the season, 5-1.
The Terps stormed out of the gates, tallying three goals within the first 15 minutes. Maci Bradford got the party started before 90 seconds had elapsed, and Francisca Eschoyez buried a pair of penalty-corner lasers to stretch the lead.
After a quiet second quarter, the Terps went back to work in the third period. Both Bradford and Ella Beach found the scoresheet with set-piece goals.
The Terps smoked the Hawkeyes in the penalty corner department. Maryland had eight corners and scored four times, while Iowa forced just three corners and scored only once.
Last Friday was a career day for Bradford, as the senior collected a pair of goals and added a pair of assists. Her four-goal involvement tied a career-high set earlier this season.
What’s happened since
Each team has only played once since last Friday’s bout. Maryland began its Big Ten Tournament run with a 3-1 victory over No. 7-seed Ohio State. The Terps used a two-goal first period to build a quick advantage over the host Buckeyes and held on the rest of the way to ensure the win.
On the other side, Iowa upset the red-hot No. 3-seed Penn State in comeback fashion. Like the previous meeting against the Terps, the Hawkeyes fell behind immediately, surrendering a score within the first six minutes.
However, the Hawkeyes stayed patient, and eventually, it was their two superstars who broke the ice. Fréderique van Cleef knotted the score at one late in the second quarter with a missile to the top right corner of the net, and Dionne van Aalsum secured the lead for good midway through the final frame with a bouncing shot to the bottom of the cage.
After Penn State’s early goal, Iowa dominated. The Hawkeyes outshot the Nittany Lions by 12 in the game and held their opponents without both a shot and a penalty corner for the final three quarters.
Three things to watch
1. Big Ten Tournament history. This is the fifth time Iowa and Maryland have matched up in the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland leads the series, 3-1. The most recent battle came in the 2024 quarterfinals: Maryland won in shootout fashion, 1-0.
2. No longer newcomers. All of Maryland’s goals on Wednesday were scored by first-year Terps, the fifth time this has happened this season. Eschoyez, van Hest, Beach and all the first-year Terps have made the transition to College Park look easy.
3. Two-man band. Iowa scored 51 goals during the regular season. 36 of them came from two players: van Cleef and van Aalsum. As these two players go, so does Iowa.
