No. 7 Maryland field hockey had a frustrating first half. The Terps had 13 shots, 11 penalty corners and even two disallowed goals, but they remained scoreless against the upset-minded Towson Tigers. Missy Meharg’s crew returned to the locker room searching for answers.
“We just had some lack of focus in the first two quarters,” Meharg said. “We freed them up, gave them some really disciplined shapes and demanded that the players be in those spaces so that we gave ourselves more space to get from
the front third into the circle.”
Fortunately for the Terps, they did just that. A four-goal third quarter – including a hat trick from sophomore Jordyn Hollamon – was all the home team needed to spark its fifth straight win to open up the season, a 6-0 destruction of Towson.
“Jordyn is so versatile,” Meharg said. “She understands all the shapes. She’s so thorough because she can play anywhere in the front seven.”
The Terps used a funky play to catch fire after halftime. Just two minutes into the third period, Hollamon received a long pass on the left wing and slipped the ball towards the center of the shooting circle for Maddie Vasilios. The ball never reached Vasilios, but it did find the back of the net, clanking off the heel of Towson’s Else Wismans to open the scoring.
About five minutes later, freshman Kendall Gilmore – making her first career start – took a pass at midfield, dashed into the shooting circle and lifted the ball over Towson goalie Riley Redding for her first collegiate goal and a 2-0 Maryland lead.
Not long after, Hollamon added two more. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year tallied her second goal of the contest off a penalty corner from the top of the circle before securing her hat trick after cleaning up a rebound at point-blank range.
“I think we were just in our spots at the goal [in the second half] – everyone’s on back post or at the stroke – ready to hop on that ball,” Hollamon said. “We just weren’t doing too much, and I feel that caused us to be able to put the ball in the goal.”
While Maryland might’ve been heavy favorites entering Friday evening’s contest, Towson gave the Terps all they could handle in the early going. Redding and the rest of the Tiger defense stole the show in the first few minutes, stopping six consecutive Terp penalty corners within the first 2:30.
As the quarter wore on, Maryland wouldn’t let up, but neither would Towson. The Terps continued to create penalty corners, but Towson’s set-piece defense continued to hold firm. By the end of the first quarter, the Terps had attempted nine penalty corners and nine shots but remained with a zero in the score column.
“We got penalty corners, but their goalie was in a zone, and when a goalie gets into a zone like that, it can be tough,” Meharg said. “I thought she made some spectacular saves.”
Friday’s first quarter was the complete opposite for Towson in comparison to its previous matchup. Against Rider, the Tigers attempted 10 shots and allowed zero in the opening quarter. The Tigers’ ability to respond to such a different game helped stymie an aggressive Maryland squad.
The Terps continued to own the time-of-possession battle in the second quarter, but one quick rush from the Tigers nearly stunned the College Park crowd. At the 25-minute mark, Delfina Larripa received a centering pass from the left wing and let a shot rip from mere feet from the cage, but Ryleigh Osborne stood tall and made the save to keep the game scoreless. Neither team did much else afterwards, sending the game to halftime deadlocked at zero.
Osborne earned her first career start on Friday and kept a clean sheet with two saves. The sophomore has been Alyssa Klebasko’s understudy for the past year and finally got a chance to showcase her skills for a full 60 minutes.
“Her growth from the last four weeks has been phenomenal, and she’s deserved it,” Meharg said.
Maryland added two more goals for good measure as time ticked down in the fourth. Ella Fehr and Babs van Hest each found the back of the net to finish the scoring at 6-0.
Three things to know
- Hollamon hat trick. Jordyn Hollamon scored her first three goals of the season Friday. She scored seven as a freshman en route to winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2025.
- The teacher triumphs. Missy Meharg coached against Katie Gerzabek Salem – a former player of hers – Friday. Meharg prevailed in the first meeting between the pair.
- Who’s next? The Terps welcome St. Joseph’s to the Plex Sunday. The Hawks may be 2-3, but they started the season ranked No. 20 in the NFHCA poll and are just two years removed from a national title game appearance.
