No. 2 Maryland field hockey wins thriller over No. 20 Rutgers, 4-3

With less than a minute remaining, midfielder Danielle van Rootselaar found midfielder Bibi Donraadt in front of the goal. 

Donraadt fired a shot at Rutgers goalkeeper Sarah Howard, attempting to put the Terps ahead with the game tied at at three. 

With four minutes remaining, the Terps led 3-1 over their conference rival. But two goals within the final minutes by forward Rachel Houston tied the game back up with two minutes remaining. 

Donraadt’s shot deflected off the stick of forward Leah Crouse, into the goal, giving Maryland the lead with seconds remaining as head coach Missy Meharg danced down the sideline with her team with the tension disappearing from the Maryland sideline. 

“Having two goals scored against you in such a short amount of time, and then to go down and find a way to get a final goal, It’s just a testament to their character,” Meharg said.

No. 2 Maryland field hockey clinched the Big Ten regular season championship Sunday, defeating No. 20 Rutgers, 4-3, on the Terps’ senior day. 

The Terps were without forward Hope Rose and midfielder Emma DeBerdine. Rose missed her fifth straight game with a lower body injury, seen with a boot over her left foot. DeBerdine was missing her second straight game.

Rutgers received the first penalty corner of the game 4:21 into the first period. 

Defender Iris Langejans inserted the ball to Houston. Houston set up the shot for midfielder/forward Marique Dieudonne, who fired a slapshot past Maryland goalkeeper Paige Kieft into the left corner of the goal. Diedonne’s goal gave Rutgers the lead with just over ten minutes left in the first. 

Dieudonne entered the game with three goals, tied for the team lead with Langejans and midfielder/forward Indy van Ek. 

Maryland received its first penalty corner with 1:26 left in the first. Van Rootselaar took the shot, but it was saved by Rutgers goalkeeper Sophia Howard. 

At the end of the first period, Maryland outshot Rutgers 3:2, with both teams having a penalty corner attempt. Howard recorded two saves compared to none for Kieft’s.  

The Terps received the first penalty corner of the second quarter with just under three minutes in. Donraadt got an open look on the left side of the goal, but Howard registered a kicking save, thwarting the Maryland corner attempt. 

The Terps received their next attempt minutes later. Van Rootselaar and midfielder Sophie Klautz registered shots, but both came up short as the Rutgers defense again held strong. 

Their next attempt occurred with 3:37 left in the period, but Howard came up with another save off of defender Riley Donnelly’s shot. 

With over a minute left in the quarter, van Rootselaar exited the game with an injury but returned for the second half. 

Despite trailing 1-0 at the half, Maryland outshot Rutgers by five. Maryland held Rutgers to no shot attempts in the second quarter and registered four penalty corner attempts to Rutgers’ one in the first half. 

Howard recorded four saves at the half for the Scarlet Knights. 

Rutgers received the first penalty corner of the second half with just over a minute played. Dieudonne attempted the shot, but Maryland’s defense came up with the block.

Maryland received its first corner attempt with 8:49 left in the third. Donraadt sent the ball into midfielder Nathalie Fiechter, who flipped a pass back to van Rootselaar. Van Rootselaar’s shot was blocked by the defense, but the midfielder rebounded her shot, following with another that was saved by Howard. Van Rootselaar’s shot attempts were the first of the quarter for Maryland. 

Moments later Van Rootselaar attempted another penalty corner that was blocked by the Rutgers defense. 

Rutgers midfielder Vicky Jure received a yellow card with nine minutes left in the quarter, and the Terps would capitalize on the error. 

Donnelly drove down the right side of the field, finding Lawn in front of the goal. Lawn took the pass and snuck it past Howard’s left leg into the goal, tying the game at one.

The Terps received a penalty corner moments later, but two shots by Klautz were unsuccessful.

Entering the fourth quarter tied 1-1, Maryland outshot Rutgers by 10, including a seven shot third quarter. 

The Terps received the first penalty corner of the fourth with 11:11 left in the period, and Donraadt sent the ball into Crouse. Crouse took a few steps and fired a shot into the goal past Howard, giving Maryland its first lead of the game. 

Rutgers received a corner attempt of its own moments later but Fiechter registered a defensive save for the Terps, stalling the Scarlet Knights’ attempt. 

Maryland received another attempt with less than five minutes remaining. Donraadt sent the ball into van Rootselaar, whose shot was blocked by the defense. Donraadt picked up the missed shot on the left side and fired it past Howard into the cage, extending the lead to 3-1. 

“[Langejans] was very much a catalyst and I had Kylie Niswonger act kind of like almost like a box-and-one in basketball,” Meharg said. “And she actually took care of her at the very end, she did a great job.”

The lead would be short-lived, however. Rutgers pulled Howard from the game after the Donraadt goal, giving the Scarlet Knights a fielder advantage. The Knights then proceeded to score two goals off the stick of forward Rachel Houston to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. 

“Unfortunately we had some letdowns in our bottom left corner,” Meharg said.

The Terps answered back, with Crouse scoring her second goal of the game with less than two minutes remaining, giving the Terps the 4-3 victory over Rutgers. 

With the win, the Terps move to 14-1, clinching the Big Ten regular season championship.