No. 5 Maryland field hockey eliminated in first round of NCAA Tournament by No. 9 Duke

Photo courtesy of Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins

With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Maryland pulled its goalkeeper, Alyssa Klebasko, for an extra attacker. Just minutes later, the Terps drew a green card against Duke, putting Maryland up by two players for a two-minute span.

But the Terps could not produce a shot during the final minutes of play, falling to the Blue Devils for the second time this season by a score of 1-0.

Backed by strong defense and a lone penalty corner goal, No. 9 Duke (13-6, 6-2 ACC) eliminated No. 5 Maryland (13-6, 6-2 Big Ten) from the NCAA Tournament on Friday 1-0 at Karon Shelton Stadium in North Carolina.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our A-game in the first two quarters, which set us on our heels,” head coach Missy Meharg said about the loss. “I thought we played with more vibrance and more connectivity in the third and fourth [quarters].”

In Maryland’s Big Ten Semifinals loss to Michigan, the Terps could not stop Michigan’s penalty corner unit as the Wolverines scored three times. 

Maryland had blocked both of No. 9 Duke’s penalty corners in the first half, but with 7:28 left in the third quarter, Duke’s leading goal scorer — Alaina McVeigh — drew the Blue Devils’ third penalty corner of the game.

The Blue Devils attempted to set up a redirection in the center of the shooting circle and were successful, but the ball popped up in the air. The ball likely would’ve fallen wide of the left post, but Kira Curland stood there and batted a head-high shot out of the air and into the cage, giving Duke a 1-0 lead.

When Maryland and Duke last played each other on Sept. 8, the Blue Devils got off to a quick start in the game’s opening minutes. They did the same on Friday, drawing the first penalty corner 79 seconds into the game.

Maryland struggled with its defensive penalty corners in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan, as the Wolverines scored all three regulation goals on penalty corners. But Maryland’s first penalty corner was nearly flawless as Alina Gerke bolted out of the cage on the entry pass, blocked the shot and allowed Maryland to clear the ball from the striking circle.

The opening quarter was widely a defensive standoff between the former ACC rivals as Duke produced the only two shots of the quarter. But with roughly five and a half minutes left, a Maryland defensive breakdown led to Duke’s best chance of the quarter.

After some confusion between both teams about whether the whistle should’ve been blown, a pass from outside the striking circle put Duke just a couple of feet away from Maryland’s net by the right baseline. Josephine Palde then swung a pass from the baseline to a wide-open Barb Civitella by the penalty stroke dot. But the pass was off-target, forcing Civitella to attempt a diving shot, landing wide left of the cage.

While Maryland’s offense struggled to produce throughout the game, goalkeeper Klebasko shined in her third career NCAA Tournament game. The Second-Team All-Big Ten goalkeeper made two saves on three shots, but both saves came against McVeigh. 

Klebasko’s best save came in the fourth quarter with roughly ten minutes left. On Duke’s fifth penalty corner of the game, McVeigh found the loose ball after the original penalty corner attempt was blocked. McVeigh then rifled a quick shot on net, but Klebasko kicked it out with her right foot.

Duke entered the NCAA Tournament with a stellar defensive unit, surrendering just 11 goals across 18 games. Duke’s defense was on full display in the first half, stifling a Maryland midfield with exceptional speed and preventing the Terps from recording a shot in the first half.

“I think [it was] their relentless pressure in transition,” Meharg said on why Maryland struggled in the first half. “When we came up with the ball, we were kinda going right back at them … and then they were coming up with it. So it became a battle of transition and a battle of running.”

While Maryland’s offense was better in the second half, the Terps only mustered seven shots, with three reaching the net.

The Terps’ best chance of the game came in the third quarter on Maryland’s first penalty corner of the game. Defender Josie Hollamon received the ball off the hold and quickly cut to her left. The change of direction opened a hole in Duke’s defense, allowing Hollamon to place a shot on the net for a redirection by Hope Rose. Rose’s redirection made it cleanly on net, but goalkeeper Frederique Wollaert slid out to deny the shot and keep the game scoreless.

“Definitely not the game we wanted to end on, but definitely the team I wanted to end with,”  Emma DeBerdine said on the loss. “It’s really been a pleasure being able to come back and play the group of girls.”

DeBerdine spent her summer in Paris in the 2024 Olympics but had one more year of NCAA eligibility and decided to return to Maryland for her graduate year. DeBerdine was one of seven players honored on Oct. 27 when Maryland played its senior day game.

After the Blue Devils scored to take the lead, the Terps could not find the game-tying goal, marking the first time Maryland has failed to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2015.