Despite successful regular season, Maryland field hockey’s season ended on sour note in Final Four

In a season with high expectations, Maryland field hockey fell in the Final Four to Big Ten rival Northwestern, 2-1. 

“We all want to be national champions,” coach Missy Meharg said. “And for whatever reason, we weren’t good enough to be it. So we need to look at what that word really means.”

The season started strong for the Terps, beginning with seven consecutive wins.

In her first collegiate game, freshman midfielder Sophie Klautz immediately made an impact on the team, scoring two goals. Klautz ended the season with four.

After defeating Harvard on Sept. 9 to improve to 5-0, Meharg elected to sub goalkeeper Christina Calandra out of the cage in favor of sophomore Paige Kieft. Calandra had allowed four goals up to that point.

Maryland’s win streak ended with a 4-3 double-overtime loss to Princeton on Sept. 20, but the Terps bounced-back that weekend with wins over Michigan and Michigan State. Maryland defeated the Wolverines in overtime with a Leah Crouse goal after both teams were scoreless through 60 minutes of regulation. 

After transferring from Duke for her graduate season, the midfielder/forward recorded 10 goals for the Terps, including five game-winners, the team lead.

Brown transfer Dani van Rootselaar scored all four goals and both overtime game-winning goals the next weekend, which featured top ten wins over Iowa and Northwestern. The graduate student midfielder finished with 12 goals, second-most on the Terps.

On Oct. 11, Maryland destroyed Georgetown in a 11-0 offensive clinic. Both midfielder Bibi Donraadt and defender Riley Donnelly recorded hat tricks in the win — Maryland’s first double-digit victory since 2008. 

After returning for their fifth years in College Park, Donraadt and Donnelly proved to be pivotal pieces this season. Donraadt recorded 10 goals and a team-high 12 assists, while Donnelly added nine goals — including eight in the final 11 games of the season.

The Terps had a chance to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title on Senior Day, but trailed 1-0 at halftime against Rutgers. Maryland scored three unanswered goals to go ahead 3-1 with less than five minutes left, but Rutgers found an answer, scoring two goals in less than two minutes to tie the game with just over a minute to play. Crouse scored in the final minute of the game to win it for the Terps in regulation, 4-3. 

The momentum was short-lived for Maryland, falling 5-1 in its next game at Penn State. Maryland lost the chance to win the Big Ten outright and gave the Nittany Lions the No. 1-seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Terps made the switch back to Calandra after the loss. In her time in the cage, Kieft notched a 51.2% save percentage, recording 22 saves. Kieft remained the penalty stroke goalkeeper. 

Maryland rebounded off the loss and finished the season strong with ranked wins over Virginia and UConn. However, its offense seemed lackadaisical at times, recording only two goals in each match. 

Maryland received the No. 2-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and faced No. 7-seed Ohio State in the first round. The Terps secured a 5-2 win, as the offense showed out.

Senior midfielder Emma DeBerdine recorded two assists in the win over the Buckeyes. One of three captains this season, DeBerdine tallied seven goals and seven assists, scoring the sixth-most points on the team. 

Maryland fell in the next round to Northwestern, as the Terps didn’t have enough to comeback from a 2-0 deficit.

Despite the loss, Maryland received the No. 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted the first two rounds. 

The Terps faced a familiar foe in the first round, Liberty. The Flames knocked the Terps out of the NCAA Tournament just a year prior in the Final Four. 

This year was more favorable to the Terps, as they defeated Liberty 2-1. Donnelly scored the game-winning goal in overtime on a penalty stroke. 

Maryland again headed to overtime in its second round matchup against Syracuse. Neither team scored in two overtime periods, which sent it to a shootout. Kieft recorded four straight saves in the shootout and sophomore forward Hope Rose scored the winning goal on the sixth attempt, advancing the Terps to the Final Four.

“[Rose] works her butt off every day, and you know, if you want a good captain, a leader, that’s where it starts,” Meharg said. “I could see her being in that position if she wants it.”

Maryland faced Northwestern for the third time in the season in the Final Four. The game was scoreless at the end of the third quarter, but Northwestern pulled ahead minutes into the fourth. Maryland pulled Calandra with minutes remaining in the fourth and Northwestern capitalized, scoring on the empty net for its second goal of the game. 

DeBerdine put the Terps on the board with less than two minutes remaining but it was too late, as the Terps fell 2-1 in the Final Four. 

Over the course of the season, offensive production tailed off for the Terps, averaging 2.1 goals a game in their last six matches after averaging 4.2 in their first 15 — one of the biggest reasons for the Terps’ disappointing end to their 2022 campaign.

“When you’re going into the postseason, I think your goaltenders are better,” Meharg said. “I mean, I think that always plays a big role. I think people started picking off our key big plays.”