No. 2 Maryland field hockey annihilates Georgetown, 11-0

Defender Riley Donnelly opened up the scoring for the Terps, when her penalty corner shot deflected off a Hoyas defender into the goal less than four minutes into the game. 

Midfielder Bibi Donraadt added another goal for Maryland moments later, flicking a shot over diving Hoyas goalie Ciara Weets, putting the Terps ahead 2-0 just over four minutes into the game. 

It was that kind of day for the Terps, putting on an offensive clinic against the Hoyas despite missing three of their top five scorers. Hat tricks from Donnelly and Donraadt helped lead No. 2 Maryland field hockey to a dominant 11-0 win over Georgetown.

Maryland received its first penalty corner less than four minutes into the game, receiving three straight attempts. The first two attempts were halted by Weets, registering saves on shots by midfielder Dani van Rootselaar and Donnelly. 

However, the third attempt was the charm, with Donnelly’s shot deflecting off a defender past Weets to put the Terps on the board. The goal was Donnelly’s third of the season. 

Moments later, Donraadt added to the scoring with a goal of her own. Van Rootselaar flipped a pass to Donraadt who flicked a shot past the diving Weets into the right side of the goal. 

Maryland received its fourth penalty corner of the affair with 7:20 left in the quarter. Van Rootselaar received the insertion and drilled a shot past Weets into the backboard, putting the Terps ahead 3-0. Van Rootselaar’s goal was her ninth of the season, second most on the team.

The Terps received a penalty stroke with 3:12 left in the first quarter. It was just the second penalty stroke of the season for the Terps, with forward Hope Rose converting on the first attempt for Maryland against Ohio State. Rose missed her fourth straight game with a lower body injury.

Donnelly took the shot for Maryland, firing a shot into the left corner of the goal past Weets, extending the Maryland lead to 4-0 with her second score of the game.

Maryland attempted 13 shots in the first quarter and held Georgetown to none. The Hoyas entered the game averaging a measly 9.5 shots per game and 1.38 goals per game, the fewest in the Big East. 

Maryland continued its offensive clinic in the second quarter, when Belle Bressler popped a shot over a diving Weets into the right side of the goal. The score was the midfielder’s third of the season. 

Moments later, midfielder Kylee Niswonger added another for the Terps. This goal came off a cross-pitch pass from Bressler to Niswonger, who notched a tap-in goal to give the Terps a 6-0 lead entering halftime.

The Terps were missing forwards Rose, forward Leah Crouse and midfielder Emma DeBerdine against Georgetown. The trio combined for 44% of the Terps’ goals through 13 games, yet that didn’t seem to matter much as Maryland outshot Georgetown 22:0 in the first half. 

“The girls were really sharp through warm up and all that sort of stuff,” assistant coach Scott Tupper said. “Just really proud kind of overall the way that girls stay sharp, stay professional and yeah, played a good 60 minutes.”

With Maryland leading 6-0 at the start of the third, the Terps rested starter Paige Kieft and inserted senior Christina Calandra into goal. 

Forward Sam Zywna continued scoring for the Terps early in the third on a penalty corner. Zywna tapped the ball in a pass from Donnelly in front of the right corner of the goal, extending the Terps lead to 7-0. The score was the second of the senior’s collegiate career. The other came her sophomore year against Michigan State.

Donraadt added another for the Terps moments later, firing it from the left side into the goal off the rebound of a van Rootselaar shot. 

Maryland received its second penalty stroke of the game with less than six minutes left in the third. Again, Donnelly attempted the shot and converted for the Terps, this time firing it into the right side past Weets. It was her third goal of the game, giving her the hat trick. 

“Obviously it’s a nice stat to have but overall I’m just really happy about the quality of play and minutes and my fitness being back and just feeling myself,” Donnelly said.

It was the first hat trick for the Terps since 2019, when Madison Maguire scored three goals against Michigan State. 

Maryland led 9-0 at the end of the third.

With just over 5 minutes left, Donraadt added her third goal of the game, firing the ball into the upper right corner of the cage past Weets.

Late in the fourth, defender Maura Verleg added another goal for the Terps, adding on to the lead even further, 11-0 — the final score of the game.

Maryland held Georgetown to zero shot attempts the whole game, while the Terps attempted 40 themselves. It was the first time the Terps held their opponent to no shot attempts since a 5-0 victory at Towson in 2019. 

“Every opportunity that Georgetown did get to attack, the girls were kind of stuffing it,” Tupper said. “I do think we are one of the best defensive teams in the country and the girls are really showing it.”

It was the first double digit win for Maryland since 2008 against VCU, when the Terps won 10-0. Maryland went 22-2 that year, going on to win the NCAA Championship against Wake Forest.

Maryland will stay in College Park before its next time out against No. 20 Rutgers on Sunday.