Maryland field hockey upsets No. 4 Wake Forest in a nail-biting 1-0 victory

Photo by Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

No. 5 Maryland Field Hockey upset the No. 5 Wake Forest Deacon Demons in a close 1-0 match on Sunday. 

Coming into the game, Maryland had a streak of 8 straight wins against Wake Forest, and their history of once being in the ACC together set the stage for this top-five matchup. 

From the jump, these nationally ranked teams came ready to play. Deep runs into Maryland and Wake Forest territory kept both defenses on their toes, but no goals came in the first two quarters.

As the second quarter came to a close, Maryland’s Ella Beach and Erin Callahan and Wake Forest’s ACC Freshman of the Year, Reabetswe Phume, created scoring opportunities but were unable to finish them. 

The first half ended scoreless, but the match was far from boring. With Wake Forest leading the shot battle five to four, both the Terps and Demon Deacons would not let up offensively. 

Throughout the match, sophomore defenseman Erin Callahan anchored the Terps’ defense and was often the saving stick from Wake Forest’s transition offense.  

In the third quarter, two Terps received overlapping green card penalties, but the Demon Deacons were not able to capitalize. Moreover, neither team’s two corners turned into goals, and the game remained neck-and-neck without a score.  

It was not until 4:20 left in the game that the scoreless stalemate came to an end. 

The Terps lined up for their fifth corner of the match, and after senior Maci Bradford sent the ball in, she stepped right back in bounds to sling the ball into the bottom left corner for Maryland’s, and the match’s, first goal of the game. 

Continuing in the defensive nature of the match, Wake Forest was not able to score again before the clock expired, and the Terps were victorious. 

The Demon Deacons were fortunate to have sophomore goalkeeper Ruby Butterfield in net, as she had an outstanding performance. 

Maryland’s lone goal could have come earlier if it were not for the impressive saves by Butterfield, ending the match with six in total, but her defensive presence went far beyond the stat sheet. 

With the low-scoring game, it was a team effort for the Terrapins. Four Terps recorded two shots, highlighted by Maci Bradford’s game-winning goal. 

On top of the win, it was an exciting day for Terps’ field hockey as Maryland’s 2005 and 2006 National Champion Field Hockey teams were honored at halftime. 

Missy Meharg, Maryland’s Field Hockey coach in her 39th season, sees similarities between this year’s team and the 2005 and 2006 National Champion Terps in their ability to come together as a team. 

“They care for each other; they’re very kind to each other; they’re hard on each other, and they love to outwork each other every day.” 

Maryland’s team chemistry has definitely been evident in their now 8-0 undefeated season. 

Wake Forest continues to compete with talented teams, playing Duke and Syracuse at home in the upcoming week. 

Maryland gears up for Friday’s match against Rutgers before facing No. 3 Princeton on Tuesday, Sept. 29th.