No. 5 Maryland field hockey begins Big Ten Playoffs against familiar foe No. 16 Iowa

Photo courtesy of Dylan Davies/Maryland Athletics

No. 5 Maryland field hockey will begin Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday with a rematch against No. 16 Iowa in College Park.

The Terps ended their regular season on the road last weekend against then-No. 17 Penn State. The Terps had dominated in the third quarter all season, and three third-quarter goals not only secured the win for Maryland but eliminated Penn State from the Big Ten Tournament.

The win clinched Maryland as the second seed in the Big Ten Tournament, ensuring a matchup against Iowa, and moved the Terps up to No. 5 in the latest NFHCA poll rankings — Maryland’s highest ranking since the week 3 rankings.

“I think the biggest goal for us is to put quarters together,” head coach Missy Meharg said about Maryland heading into the Big Ten Tournament. “We’ve had some shady second quarters, our third quarters have been super strong and we’ve had some interesting fourth [quarters.]”

A season ago, the Terps also played Iowa to begin the Big Ten Tournament, winning that contest 2-0 en route to a Big Ten Finals appearance. 

The most recent matchup was on Oct. 6 at Iowa City, when Ella Gaitan scored twice to lead Maryland to a commanding 5-0 win.

With Maryland hosting the Big Ten Tournament, the Hawkeyes will travel to College Park to play the Terps for the second time in as many seasons. 

“It’s a great honor that we get to play the tournament on our home turf,” goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko said. “We’re really looking forward to it, but … we are just looking to have fun.”

Maryland will enter the tournament as one of the most prepared teams. The Terps have played 11 ranked teams this season, including five ranked games against non-conference opponents. Maryland sported a 6-5 record against ranked opponents, out-scoring them by a combined total of 20-10.

“It’s always my goal to play the best. To be the best, you have to play the best,” Meharg said about Maryland’s strength of schedule. “You have to learn from the lessons. If you don’t end up having the score on the scoreboard at the end that you don’t like, many times, you learn a ton more about that match than you do with one that you squeak out a win.”

All season long, whoever scores the first goal has determined the final result of every Hawkeyes game. In games where Iowa has scored first, the Hawkeyes are undefeated and have outscored opponents 23-1. But in games where Iowa has not scored first, the Hawkeyes are winless and have been outscored 24-6.

As a result of the first goal producing drastic swings in scoring, Iowa enters the tournament ranked last in goals scored in the Big Ten. Scoring likely won’t get easier for the Hawkeyes as Maryland’s defense finished the regular season allowing the second-fewest goals and the second-fewest shots on goal in the Big Ten.

When Iowa does score, it has often come from Dionne van Aalsum. The midfielder was selected as the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year last season and has carried that success into her sophomore campaign, leading her team in goals and points.

If Maryland can secure a win on Thursday afternoon, the Terps will play again on Friday afternoon against the winner of No. 9 Michigan and No. 19 Indiana — both of which Maryland has beaten this year. The winner of that game then gets a day of rest before regrouping for the Big Ten Finals on Sunday.

Maryland will aim to begin a second consecutive run to the Big Ten Finals when it faces Iowa on Thursday in College Park at 2 p.m.