No. 10 Maryland field hockey falls in shootout 2-1 to Indiana

Photo by Rose Fernandes/ Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Down by two goals in the shootout with two shots remaining, No. 10 Maryland field hockey had to score.

Callie Rogers slowly waded towards the goal before cutting to her left. But her shot was stopped by goalkeeper Sadie Canelli, sending a wave of Indiana players towards its goalkeeper and sealing the game.

Plagued by offensive difficulties and stout Indiana defense, Maryland (8-5, 4-2 Big Ten) fell 2-1 to Indiana (6-7, 1-3 Big Ten) in a shootout at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park on Friday. The loss was the Terps’ first to the Hoosiers in program history.

After two scoreless overtime periods, Maryland and Indiana headed to a shootout. While the Hoosiers kept the same goalkeeper in the net, the Terps elected to substitute junior Alyssa Klebasko for freshman Ryleigh Osborne.

The decision was not uncommon for the Terps, as the Terps substituted Klebasko for goalkeeper Paige Kieft in their two games that went to shootouts last season.

While Osborne was solid, stopping two of Indiana’s four shootout attempts, Maryland’s offensive woes carried into the shootout as the Terps were unable to solve Canelli. 

“Riley’s been taking shootouts, and she’s really good at it,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “She made two great saves. [We’ll] keep working on it and keep preparing for this situation.”

Just 23 seconds into the game, the Terps hustled the ball down to the scoring area. A quick look from freshman midfielder and defender Jordyn Hollamon to junior forward Maci Bradford gave Maryland its first goal of the game.

Despite Maryland’s quick start, the Hoosiers shut down the Terps for the remainder of the game. Indiana slowed the game down by generating turnovers once Maryland entered the scoring circle, preventing the Terps from gaining momentum.

With 35 seconds left in the first quarter, Maryland earned its second corner opportunity. The penalty corner awarded the Terps a chance to double their lead, but too many passes slowed down the corner and allowed Indiana to thwart the corner.

Part of the reason for Maryland’s offensive struggles was the performance of Canelli. The sophomore entered the game with the lowest save percentage in the Big Ten among goalkeepers with at least nine appearances. But Canelli shined on Friday, finishing the contest with seven saves and was perfect in the shootout.

As the game progressed, Indiana gained confidence and composure, and it showed in their team defense. The Hoosiers became more aggressive, pressing Maryland’s offense and hindering many of its offensive chances.

After Maryland held a lead for three quarters, Indiana broke through. With 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, freshman forward/midfielder Molly Stutte was assisted by fellow freshman midfielder Georgia Rottinghaus, evening the score at one. 

“[I’m] certainly exceedingly concerned about a lack of passing connections in the second quarter,” Meharg said. “In the fourth quarter, we broke down and they scored a goal.”

In overtime, Maryland had an opportunity to win the game as sophomore midfielder Annemijn Klijnhout hit the turf after what appeared to be a shove by Indiana. The foul ended up creating consecutive penalty corners for the Terps, but their shots were rejected by Canelli.

With neither team scoring in either of the overtime periods, the game progressed to a shootout. In the shootout, Indiana capitalized on two of its four opportunities while Maryland failed to score on all of its opportunities.

The Terps will now have a quick turnaround as they prepare to face the defending national champions and No. 1 Northwestern on Sunday.