No.5 Maryland field hockey ends its homestand against No.2 Northwestern

Photo courtesy of Samantha Osborne/Maryland Terrapins

No.5 Maryland field hockey (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) will end its four-game homestead against No.2 Northwestern (8-0, 2-0 Big Ten) on Friday following its first Big Ten win. 

The Terps entered its first conference matchup against Rutgers, having dropped back-to-back games against teams inside the NFCHA top-20 rankings. Additionally, they found themselves shorthanded, as senior Rayne Wright missed the first collegiate game of her career.

Wright’s absence was apparent in the first half as the Terps surrendered a first-quarter goal and failed to register a shot on net. But they regrouped in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals to improve to 3-2 on the season against teams ranked inside the top 20.

Head coach Missy Meharg provided an update on Thursday about Wright, saying she looks strong and will play on Friday against Northwestern. 

The win against Rutgers was emblematic of Maryland’s play all season. Meharg’s squad entered the matchup with 11 different goal scorers, one more than the team had all of last season. While the Terps didn’t add to that total, their depth still shined as all three goals came from different scorers.

They will need that depth to continue to produce against a Northwestern team that has allowed just one goal this season.

“Individually, they’re exceedingly talented, but I think that also is their weakness at times,” Meharg said.

The Wildcats have been led all season by their goalkeeper, Annabel Skubisz, who enters Friday’s matchup having not allowed a goal since Sept. 1. The graduate student has dominated through her first eight games, producing seven shutouts and leading the NCAA in save percentage. 

“I think their goalkeeper is exceedingly strong,” Meharg said. “She’s minimal in her movement, so we’ve got to be creative with our attack penalty quarters. [She’s] very, very beatable; we just have to make sure that we’re framing the goal cage.”

On offense, Northwestern features a balanced attack featuring nine different goal scorers, and North Carolina transfer Ashley Sessa leads the group. The sophomore started in every game for the Tarheels last season and was named second-team All-ACC. Sessa has adjusted well to her new team, scoring five goals and ranking sixth in the Big Ten in points.

Right behind Sessa is Maddie Zimmer, who took the 2023 season off as an Olympic redshirt. Zimmer was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten player and NFHCA First-Team All-American in her prior two seasons with Northwestern. Zimmer has picked right where she left off, ranking second on her team in goals — with four — and 11th in the Big Ten in points.

“If we can get her to run with the ball more than pass and get it back, I think that’s a good thing,” Meharg said of Zimmer. “So keeping them off our left baseline … (will) be a really big idea.”

Despite the Wildcats ranking third in the Big Ten in goals scored, the team features the second-lowest shooting percentage in the Big Ten.

However, Alyssa Klebasko and Ericka Morris-Adams both said that it is a misleading statistic as they have been able to consistently score and win games.

The Terps will look to capture their first win of the season against a top-5 ranked opponent as they prepare for the toughest game of the regular season on Friday.