No. 2 Maryland field hockey drops first conference game of season to No. 5 Penn State, 5-1

Minutes into the second quarter, Mackenzie Allesie weaved through the Maryland defense towards the goal, flipping a shot past Kieft to put the Nittany Lions ahead 2-1. 

It was the senior midfielder’s 11th goal of the season, an important insurance goal as  the Nittany Lions looked to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title Friday.

That’s exactly what they did. 

No. 5 Penn State added on three more goals, defeating No. 2 Maryland field hockey in comfortable fashion, 5-1.

“We had a hard time stepping up and playing defense,” coach Missy Meharg said. “I think Maryland’s energy at the beginning and going forward passing the ball forward was very high, when we fell off that they were very dangerous against our backs.”

Penn State opened the game aggressively, but Maryland had the early answer with goalkeeper Paige Kieft coming up with saves on shots by forwards Sophia Gladieux and Grace Wallis.

Maryland received the first penalty corner with just under five minutes into the first. 

Midfielder Bibi Donraadt inserted the ball into midfielder Nathalie Fiechter, who set up a shot for midfielder Dani van Rootselaar. Van Rootselaar’s shot rocketed past Nittany Lions’ goalkeeper Brie Barracco to give Maryland the 1-0 lead. 

It was Van Rootselaar’s 11th goal of the season, as the Brown transfer entered the game tied for fifth in the Big Ten with ten goals. 

Penn State’s first penalty corner came with 4:59 left in the first quarter. Gladieux made up for the saved goal earlier in the quarter, firing a shot over the diving Kieft to tie the game at one. It was Gladieux’s 19th goal of the season — the most in the Big Ten. 

Penn State outshot Maryland 4:2 in the first quarter.

Minutes into the second quarter, Allesie  flipped a shot past Kieft to put the Nittany Lions ahead 2-1.

Moments later, Penn State received its second penalty corner of the game. Allessie inserted the ball to midfielder/backer Elena Vos, who set up the shot for midfielder Anna Simon. Simon’s shot deflected off the leg of Maryland defender Rayne Wright into the goal, extending the lead to 3-1.

The scoring continued for the Nittany Lions moments later. Guarded by Wright, Gladieux fired a backhanded shot into the left corner of the goal past Kieft, bringing the Penn State lead to 4-1 with her second score of the game. 

Maryland couldn’t match Penn State’s scoring for the remainder of the second quarter, entering the half down by three. 

Maryland was outshot 9:3 in the first half, with six of Penn State’s shots on goal.

With Maryland trailing by three heading into the third, the Terps made a switch at goalkeeper, sending in senior Christina Calandra in place of Paige Kieft. 

“It just seemed like the good time to do it,” Meharg said. “Christina had been playing, had a good week, she had a good warm up. I just felt for Paige, she needed a break.”

After an eventful second quarter, the third quarter saw little action from both sides. The only shot attempt of the period came from Gladieux with 4:06 left. 

Van Rootselaar got a good look at the goal early in the fourth, but her shot was blocked by Barracco. It was Barracco’s third save of the game after allowing the van Rootselaar goal early in the first. 

Barracco entered the match with a 77.6% save percentage, the second-highest in the Big Ten. 

Penn State received its first penalty corner of the second half with 10:39 left in the fourth, but Vos’ shot was blocked by the Maryland defense. 

The rest of the fourth quarter remained slow until 3:13 left in the game. Simon delivered a pass to forward Jemma Punch in front of the goal. Punch spun past Wright and fired a shot into the backboard from the top of the circle to extend the lead to the final score, 5-1. 

“I think we got 12 or 13 shots and that’s a good amount of shots,” Meharg said. “I think a lot of the players would say, you know, I should have put it in. So we’ll continue working on it. But all I can say is that we did take advantage of our opportunities.”

Maryland will look for better luck next time out when the Terps travel back to College Park to face No. 7 Virginia on Wednesday.