On Tuesday afternoon in the Garden State, the nation’s two best field hockey defenses were locked in a high-scoring affair. No. 2 Maryland field hockey and No. 10 Princeton dueled it out in overtime and into a shootout.
The two goalies – Maryland’s Alyssa Klebasko and Princeton’s Olivia Caponiti – put on a clinic in the shootout, at one point reaching a combined six saves in a row.
Finally, in the sixth round, Jordyn Hollamon dropped Caponiti with a shot fake and promptly netted the forehand winner
to push the Terps to a remarkable 10-0 record.
It was a rocky finish in regulation for the Terps – they conceded a pair of late goals that allowed the Tigers to equalize – but they stayed strong the rest of the way to snatch the victory.
“One of the things that the team is very good at is emotionally and physically staying present,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “They really thrive on being in the moment.”
It was a physical first quarter, as players from each squad constantly bumped bodies in contention for the ball. Maryland had its sticks in the passing lane, making it difficult for Princeton to advance forward. One such occasion opened the scoring halfway through the first quarter. Maia Adamson intercepted a pass, rushed into the shooting circle and slipped the ball to Babs van Hest, who corralled the feed and poked it past Caponiti.
The goal was the first tally Princeton had allowed in open play this season. All three previous goals allowed came on penalty corners, an area in which Maryland has excelled in 2026. The combination of inserter Maci Bradford, stopper van Hest and drag flicker Francisca Eschoyez has been tough to stop, and that was no exception on Tuesday.
At the 4:02 mark of the first quarter, the aforementioned trio worked a penalty corner to perfection, as Eschoyez notched her team-leading eighth goal of the season to double the lead.
The goal also pushed both Bradford and van Hest to eight assists apiece, a tied team-lead.
“Maci’s insert is well under a second… and of course Babs can really stick stop anything,” Meharg said. “Fran’s a weapon. She’s very accurate. When we were warming up today, we were aiming for the P’s – for Princeton – in the lower right and left hand corner, and she hit them pretty well during walkthrough, so that always is confidence.”
Maryland owned the first quarter — considering the opponent, it’s in contention for the Terps’ most dominant frames of the season. They scored twice against the nation’s best defense, controlled the time of possession and dictated the pace of play.
“I think it was the energy that we brought and the press shape that we had,” Meharg said. “I think [the Tigers] played the ball into us a lot, which gave us an advantage, and of course getting on the board right away with the penalty corner was phenomenal.”
However, that all changed early in the second quarter. Princeton used its rapid pace and fitness – something Maryland hadn’t yet seen in 2026 – to crack the code on Maryland’s defense. After an initial shot was blocked, Ottilie Sykes was first to the loose ball and backhanded it past Klebasko to get the Tigers on the board at the 11:02 mark.
Following the goal, Princeton continued to own the second frame, attempting four corners and ripping seven shots. The Tigers came close to tying the game with about 4:30 to play in the second, but Anna Faulstich’s shot from the top of the circle missed the far post by mere inches. The Terps remained unscathed the rest of the quarter and reached the halftime break still up by a goal.
The third quarter was the type of game most had expected coming in. Neither team registered an official shot in the period as the two defenses excelled in intercepting passes and minimizing attacks in the midfield.
The pace of play opened up again as the fourth quarter began, and Maryland came out to a flying start. About four minutes into the frame, Aida Ierubino took down an aerial ball in the shooting circle and advanced towards the net before she banged into Princeton’s Gabriella Anderson. The Tigers initiated a referral, hoping to avoid a penalty stroke, but for the second time, a contentious call went against them. Josie Hollamon buried the ensuing stroke to bring the Terps’ lead back to two.
With time not on its side, Princeton pulled out all the stops to equalize the contest. While a trio of penalty corners failed, the Tigers weren’t deterred, throwing an avalanche of shots at Klebasko before Faulstich finally knocked one through to make it 3-2 with five minutes left.
Barely a minute later, the Tigers were awarded a stroke after Eschoyez illegally blocked a would-be goal. Sykes promptly walked up to the penalty spot and beat Klebasko to even the score.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the early part of overtime. Princeton had the first major chance with about seven minutes left, but Molly Nye whiffed on a give-and-go in the center of the circle. It proved costly, as the Tigers failed to close the deal and fell to 4-4 on the year.
Three things to know
1. Offensive onslaught. Both defenses gave up a season-high in goals on Tuesday. Maryland’s three goals equaled Princeton’s season total against up to that point, while Princeton came up a goal short of Maryland’s then-season total of four goals allowed.
2. Rare stat disparity. Maryland had 10 fewer shots and eight fewer corners compared to Princeton but still eked out the win. It was one of the first games all season where Maryland had not topped its opponent in those categories.
3. Klebasko clinic. Alyssa Klebasko made a season-high seven saves on Tuesday. She has now made six or more saves in three consecutive games.
