Another strong second half powers Maryland past American, 4-1

Photo by Ashley Ray/Maryland Terrapins

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Coming out of the half, Maryland sought to expand its one-goal lead in a quarter they’ve dominated all season. The Terps entered Monday’s contest with 12 of its 28 goals coming in the third quarter and proceeded to add to that total. 

Maryland used elaborate passing to score its first penalty goal, but Josie Hollamon took a much simpler approach. She immediately ripped a shot off the hold, bouncing off one of American’s defenders and into the upper right corner to give Maryland a 2-0 lead.

Backed by another strong second half and efficient penalty corner scoring, No. 6 Maryland (9-3, 4-1 Big Ten) cruised past American (7-6, 3-0 Patriot League) 4-1 at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park on Monday night.

“What I love about these guys is at halftime, when the coaching staff asks for a change, they do it,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “I think what you’re seeing is just simple responses, and they’re very good at doing that.”

The Terps capitalized for a third time on a penalty corner in the fourth quarter. Hollamon was the featured shooter again, but for the second time, the Terps redirected a shot past goalkeeper Bryn Underwood. Maci Bradford started on the right edge of the shooting circle and sprinted toward the net, sliding on her knees to redirect the low shot and put Maryland up 3-0.

Maryland’s offense had been backed by depth scoring all season, as through Maryland’s first 11 games, the Terps have featured 12 different goal scorers. 

American cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter, but nearly 30 seconds after the Eagles’ goal, Hope Rose scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season. The goal also made her the fourth different Maryland goal-scorer of the game.

“From a scouting standpoint … for Maryland, it’s a little different. You have to manage a lot for weapons,” Meharg said on the team’s depth scoring.

Unlike Maryland’s prior three games, the Terps could not get off to a quick start. While the Terps hadn’t always produced goals in the opening, they had generated offensive chances. Maryland drew five penalty corners in its last game against Michigan State, but on Monday, American drew the first three penalty corners.

While Maryland’s offense struggled in the first half, its defense flourished. The Terps’ defense had dominated all season, surrendering just eight goals in 11 games. The defense continued to stifle its opponents, blocking two shots on American’s first penalty corner.

When the Eagles’ shots did get through Maryland’s defense, goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko prevented American from securing the first goal. Klebasko was named to the 2023 Big Ten All-Second Team last season and has continued her strong play into her sophomore year. While Klebasko has seen a dip in her save percentage, she has produced a higher goals-against-average, recording a 0.75 goals-against-average this year as opposed to 1.02 last season.

Despite Klebasko not facing many shots on goal — just four — she made two crucial saves in the first quarter on penalty corner chances to keep the game even a zero.

Maryland’s first offensive penalty corner didn’t come until just under the mid-way mark of the second quarter. Emma DeBerdine centered the ball to Ericka Morris-Adams, who set the shot for Rose. Instead of shooting, Rose swung a pass to her left for Hollamon, who riffled a shot on net that was redirected by Fleur Knopert into the top left corner.

Maryland took the 1-0 lead heading into halftime, and as they’ve done throughout most of the season, the Terps dominated the second half, scoring three times from three different players and putting the game out of reach.

Maryland will stay in College Park as it prepares for back-to-back ranked games against No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Michigan in its next two games.