No. 5 Maryland field hockey downs No. 6 Virginia, 2-1

The Terps were operating with confidence in the winding seconds of the first half as they looked to protect their slim lead.

But Maryland was determined to do more than protect its lead as Hannah Boss fired off a rocket of a shot with 35 seconds to go to give the Terps an insurance goal before halftime.

No. 5 Maryland field hockey (7-2) cruised in the second half, downing No. 6 Virginia (5-3), 2-1, for a massive road victory. The win was the Terps’ first over a top-ten opponent this season.

“We played super good one-on-one defense and took advantage of our opportunities,” coach Missy Meharg said. “I couldn’t be more pleased against a great team on the road.”

Both defenses stifled each other’s offensive attacks early on. Through the first 11 minutes, the only shot came from Maryland’s Sammy Popper, which the Cavaliers blocked.

The Terps received their best scoring opportunity of the first quarter on the first penalty corner of the night. Popper used the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net, but the shot was taken off the board because it was ruled to be too high.

Virginia had a penalty corner of its own in the closing seconds of the quarter, but its shot missed wide of the net as both sides failed to score in the opening quarter. The Cavaliers had no shortage of opportunities shortly after, getting two penalty corners in as many minutes to open up the second quarter. 

It seemed like the second corner resulted in a score, but the refs waved it off as the shot sailed too high.

Maryland took advantage of Virginia’s lapses to get on the board first as Margot Lawn struck for the Terps on a point blank shot just over three minutes into the quarter to make it a 1-0 game.

Virginia was awarded its fourth penalty corner of the contest eight minutes later and had two shot attempts on goal, but Alyssa Klebasko stepped up to make two dynamic saves to preserve Maryland’s lead.

Klebasko’s efforts were rewarded with just under 35 seconds to go in the half as Boss’s hot shot goal, assisted by Ashlyn Carr from the top of the circle, put her club up 2-0 at halftime.

“Hannah typically finishes on that backhand shot, it’s a specialty of hers,” Meharg said. “It’s hard to play defense on her with that shot.”

Virginia outshot Maryland by one over the first two quarters. Still, the Cavaliers failed to capitalize as Klebasko piled up five saves by the end of the half.

The third quarter proved to be a stalemate for both sides as there were only four registered shots combined as the score remained 2-0 heading into the final frame.

Maryland’s defense continued to be stifling in the fourth quarter as its offensive attack snapped back to life. Boss had a golden opportunity to make it a 3-0 game in the period as the Terps had a two-on-one setup within the shooting circle, but her shot missed high of the goal.

A Virginia penalty corner with 90 seconds left failed to amount to anything as the Cavaliers couldn’t get off a shot. 

Virginia refused to back down despite the slim odds and with just 22 seconds to go, it received a penalty stroke. Noa Boterman took advantage to cut Maryland’s lead in half, but the goal came too late for the Cavaliers as their offense struggles were too much to overcome.

Despite being outshot by three, the Terps took advantage of the opportunities they received. Klebasko backed up their defense with seven saves on the night.

“She’s a winner and she’s gonna make big saves,” Meharg said about Klebasko’s big night. “She had that one stick save that would have put them on the board so I couldn’t be more proud of her performance.”

Maryland will look to form a multi-game win streak when it takes the field next at Rutgers next week.