No. 4 Maryland field hockey falls to No. 5 Virginia, 4-0, in NCAA quarterfinals

Already down by a goal, Maryland couldn’t afford to give up yet another penalty corner. But midway through the second quarter, the Terps did just that.

Madison Orsi capitalized for Virginia, firing a shot from close range on the left side of the cage for a goal. Maryland was put in a two-goal deficit it couldn’t claw out of.

No. 4 Maryland field hockey fell to Virginia, 4-0, in the NCAA quarterfinals, as the Terps’ campaign ended in a dismal showing. None of their six shots found the back of the cage, while their defense allowed their second-most goals in any game of the season.

Maryland struck first en route to a win in its NCAA tournament first round game. That didn’t happen against the Cavaliers.

Daniela Mendez-Trendler put the ball into the back of the net on a point blank rebound of a penalty corner attempt with just under six minutes to go in the first frame to give Virginia a 1-0 lead. Then Orsi’s score before halftime put the Cavaliers up 2-0.

“We knew the penalty corners were going to be dangerous and they were,” coach Missy Meharg said. “Just a huge congratulations to a very well coached team.”

Virginia’s offense was a force to be reckoned with in the first half. It outshot Maryland by four and managed to put five of those shots on goal, hitting home on two.

The Cavaliers just kept the offensive pressure going in the second half, with freshman striker Minnie Pollock rifling a shot from the right-middle of the shooting circle past goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko just over six minutes into the third frame to make it 3-0.

The Terps’ dreadful day continued in the fourth frame as Adele Iacobucci rifled a shot from the middle of the shooting circle to extend Virginia’s lead to 4-0.

“Scoring that goal, I looked up to my mom and I was just so happy,” Iacobucci said. “It was an amazing play, you can’t really recreate it.”

Maryland’s defensive front faltered massively. The Terps allowed 16 shots throughout the course of the game, with a whopping 11 of those shots coming on goal. Klebasko only saved seven of the looks against her.

The Terps’ offense’s best chance to leave their imprint in the game came in the first quarter, when both sides traded early penalty corners. But none of Maryland’s attempts connected — Sammy Popper and Josie Hollamon failed to convert on any of the Terps’ three first-frame chances. 

The second quarter proved to be more of a stalemate for the Maryland offense — the Terps couldn’t register a single shot in the frame. Maryland’s offensive attack was completely neutralized by the Cavaliers after the first quarter, as it failed to get another shot on goal during the entirety of the game. 

Hollaman, Popper and Hope Rose were the lone Terps to record a shot as their offense was non-existent in Maryland’s biggest game of its season. It failed to reach the Final Four with the loss for the first time since 2020.

“The youth on this team is so exciting,” Meharg said, looking towards the program’s future. “I’m just super excited about the generations of great field hockey student athletes that come to Maryland and choose us.”