No. 6 Maryland field hockey ends non-conference play vs. No. 13 Princeton and Richmond

Photo courtesy of Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins

No. 6 Maryland field hockey will finish its non-conference games this weekend when it plays No. 13 Princeton and Richmond.

The Terps (10-4, 5-2 Big Ten) are coming off a solid weekend, where they went 1-1 against Michigan and Ohio State — both ranked inside the top ten. The weekend split moved Maryland from eighth to sixth in the most recent Division I National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll.

The Terps nearly went to overtime against No. 3 Ohio State. But a penalty corner goal by Makenna Webster in the final 30 seconds earned the Buckeyes their first win in program history against Maryland.

With less than a 48-hour turnaround, the Terps played its seventh game against a top-ten opponent, facing then-No. 6 Michigan. Despite a crushing defeat against Ohio State, Maryland dominated most of the game as Hope Rose and Josie Hollamon scored on its only penalty corners.

“I love the way they responded,” head coach Missy Meharg said after the win. “Our corner defense was much better, and … we took both goals off penalty corners. So all things are looking very positive.”

The Terps will travel twice before the NCAA Tournament and will host the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament will take the top seven teams in the conference, with the first-placed team getting a first-round bye. 

The Terps currently sit third in the conference with a 10-4 overall, 5-2 Big Ten record. At worst, Maryland will finish fourth in the conference because it has just one Big Ten game left this season — No. 16 Penn State —and each team ranked fifth or below has at least four conference losses.

But Maryland has played more Big Ten games than any other team, so the Terps’ final ranking and first-round opponent may not be determined until after their final game against Penn State.

On Friday, the Terps will travel to Princeton, N.J., for its tenth match-up versus a ranked opponent this season against Princeton (9-4, 5-0 Ivy).

“Our coaches make such good schedules so that we are prepared for when the tournament time comes,” defender Ericka Morris-Adams said about playing another ranked opponent. “[When] we face teams like this [in the NCAA Tournamet], we’re ready, and we know how they play.”

Similar to Ohio State and Michigan, Princeton’s offense is primarily led by one player — Beth Yeager. The junior spent her summer in Paris, representing Team USA in the Olympics, becoming the second consecutive olympian Maryland will face. Yeager has been the key contributor to the Tigers’ offense, recording 36% of her team’s goals and over 39% of her team’s assists.

In Maryland’s game against Michigan, Olympian Abby Tamer lined up as a forward, allowing the Terps to match her one-on-one against defender Rayne Wright and minimize Tamer’s effect. But with Yeager consistently playing midfield, Maryland’s defense will be forced to provide a different look.

“The nice thing about where Beth Yeager plays [is] she’s hopefully going to be playing one against two,” Meharg said on Thursday. “Let’s say our central midfielder … [is] playing in a rounder, you [will] always have Emma that’s sitting right behind, so it’s a one-on-two.”

After Friday’s game against Princeton, the Terps will return to College Park for Sunday’s contest against Richmond (10-5, 4-1 Atlantic Ten).

The Spiders return to College Park for the first time since 2019. Maryland dominated in its last game against Richmond, scoring in three of the four quarters and out-cornering Richmond 11-1 en route to a 5-1 win.

Richmond has been primarily led by young talent as sophomores Valen Luna Paratore and Clara Larripa dominate the team in scoring. Each has double-digit goals and the two have combined for 23 of Richmond’s 37 goals.

Despite its young talent, Richmond has struggled against ranked opponents. The Spiders have played three ranked opponents and have lost by a combined score of 12-0.

Richmond has particularly struggled to limit penalty corners and produce shots on goal against ranked opponents. In its three games against ranked opponents, Richmond has been out-cornered by a combined 25-6 and outshot by a combined 52-13.

Maryland’s defense has been one of the team’s biggest strengths, producing the fewest shots and shots on goal in the Big Ten. On Sunday, the Terps’ defense may get another opportunity to showcase their talent.