Maryland field hockey’s first top-10 matchup of the season against Boston College remained scoreless for the first 36 minutes and 28 seconds of the game.
With just over eight minutes left of the third quarter, two Boston College forwards teamed up, and after forcing a turnover and centering a pass, the Eagles hit the ball right over goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko’s shoulder, scoring the first goal of the game.
Boston College used this momentum to its advantage, scoring again on the back of a penalty stroke
in the fourth quarter. Maryland was unable to answer either goal, costing it its first game of the season, 2-0.
Friday’s matchup was nothing short of a battle to the end. The Terps’ defenders limited the Eagles to only eight shots all day, and Klebasko saved just one goal in net.
“Defense is 90% of the game,” head coach Missy Meharg explained. “I think our defense is really strong.”
On the other side of the field, Maryland’s offense managed to sneak by Boston College’s defenders and take three shots on goal, two of which were by freshman forward Jordyn Hollamon.
The Terps’ struggles Friday stemmed largely from their inability to finish during penalty corners. Though Maryland had 10 chances to score via penalty corners, it didn’t log a goal on any of them. The Eagles also didn’t have success scoring from corners, but used the penalty stroke they were awarded in their favor, ultimately scoring their winning goal.
“We work on penalty corners a lot, we’ll just have to be more detailed with it,” Meharg said. “They need to pay attention to the game plan. We’ll go over it and over it.”
The Terps are still a young team, which head coach Missy Meharg partially attributed to their performance.
“I think when you have ten new players, and six first years, they’re rotating spots, they’re just getting connected, and I’m really confident that we’ll learn a lot from this,” Meharg explained.
“They’re super talented, they’re super smart field hockey players, and they look forward to just getting better and better.”
Things to know
1. The end of a streak. This loss is Maryland’s first against Boston College since 2021.
2. Rankings in jeopardy. With its first loss against a ranked team – a top ten team, at that – Maryland’s No. 4 ranking is in hot water.
3. A rematch looms. Maryland’s next game against Duke may be the most important game before conference play. Leaving the weekend with two losses could hamper the Terps’ confidence.
