No. 4 Maryland field hockey falls 1-0 to No. 5 Duke

Photo Courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins

With 3:40 left in the fourth quarter and down by a goal, Maryland pulled their goalkeeper — Alyssa Klebasko — to bring on an extra attacker and attempt to even the score at one. But Duke was able to control possession in the final minutes by keeping the ball in the corners to run out the clock, securing its second consecutive win against the Terps in the Big Ten/ACC Cup.

No. 4 Maryland (3-1) got shutout for the time this season as No.5 Duke (3-1) held on to beat the Terps 1-0 on Sunday in Evanston, Illinois.

Maryland had been prime to quick offensive starts in each of its first three games. While the scoreboard may not have reflected it until Ella Gaiton’s first-quarter goal on Friday, the Terps had been able to dominate possession in the offensive zone and generate a multitude of shots.

But in the opening minutes, Duke put Maryland on its heel. Alaina McVeigh started the opening minute by whipping a shot that was redirected just wide of the net. McVeigh continued her dominance in the early minutes by drawing a penalty corner that appeared to lead to the first goal of the game but, after video review, was overturned.

“I think what really defined the game was the way they came out,” coach Missy Meharg said. “We were on our heels, so there was a temperament of not being in control of the game.” 

After McVeigh’s flurry of offense in the opening minutes, the Terps switched up their defense, going to a man-based defense and matching McVeigh with Rayne Wright. The senior stifled McVeigh for the rest of the game, allowing Maryland’s offense to generate some chances.

After the video review, Hope Rose took it upon herself to generate chances for Maryland’s offense. 

The senior converted from forward to midfield in the offseason after playing three years at forward, but she did not lose her offensive touch. In the final minutes of the first quarter, the Terps secured their first penalty corner of the game, which created a point-blank chance for Rose but was denied by goalkeeper Frederique Wollaert.

Rose continued her strong offensive play into the second quarter, drawing an early penalty corner for the Terps and later rifling a shot redirected just high of the net by Fleur Knopert. Rose’s dominance seemed to ignite the rest of the Maryland offense as the Terps generated five shots and drew two green cards in the final five minutes of the second quarter. 

“We were a bit too impatient,” Meharg said on the offensive performance. “When we did have opportunities, we were a little bit desperate and didn’t take our time with the shots we did have.”

Despite being up a player four most of the final minutes of play, the Terps were unable to generate much on offense. Duke’s defense clogged the middle of the field, stacking all ten players in the center and clogging Maryland’s passing and shooting lanes.

Coming out of the halftime break, Duke found its offense. 

The Terps had been so good in the midfield, but a turnover allowed the Blue Devils to stretch the field on a cross-field pass to Josephine Palde. The senior took advantage of the space in front of her, weaving into the center of the field, flipping her stick over, and ripping a shot back against the grain past the left foot of Klebasko for her second goal of the season.

The Terps had a prime chance to even the score in the final quarter, drawing a yellow card to go up an extra attacker. But the Blue Devils’ defense continued its play from the end of the second quarter, limiting Maryland to just one shot in the fourth quarter.

“Today’s game was a hard loss, but I think this is a good time to have a hard loss,” Emma DeBerdine said. “We got a few big games coming up this weekend, so [it’s] time to move forward.”

Now the Terps will head home for the Terrapin Invitational, where they’ll look to get revenge against No. 3 Virginia, who eliminated them last year in the quarter-finals.