No. 7 Maryland field hockey cruises past Penn State 4-2 behind two goals from Hope Rose

Photo courtesy of Dylan Davies/Maryland Athletics

After Annemijn Klijnhout gave the Terps a 2-1 lead, Maci Bradford found herself space to the right of Penn State’s net. The sophomore bolted up the right baseline before centering a pass to Hope Rose. The senior turned Bradford’s pass into a blistering one-time shot that sailed into the upper left half of the net.

Backed by three third-quarter goals, No. 7 Maryland field hockey (12-5, 6-2 Big Ten) cruises past Penn State (8-9, 2-6 Big Ten) 4-2, securing the second seed in the Big Ten playoffs and eliminating Penn State’s chances of making the conference tournament on Friday in University Park, Pa.

Maryland had dominated the third quarter all season. Entering Friday’s contest, the Terps had scored 14 goals in the third quarter — more than any other quarter.

The Terps scored quickly in the first quarter, and it took them just 37 seconds to break the 1-1 tie in the third quarter.

From just a couple of steps outside the shooting circle, Kylee Niswonger sent a pass into a mass of bodies in the middle of the circle. Goalkeeper Lauren Delgado dove to block the pass, but midfielder Klijnhout wedged herself between Delgado and defender Ella Jennes and redirected the ball into the lower right corner.

After Rose doubled Maryland’s lead, she added her second third-quarter goal. For the second time, Rose gathered her own rebound, but instead of delivering a pass — as she did on Maryland’s first goal — she batted a bouncing ankle-high ball into the upper right corner of the net. 

Head coach Missy Meharg said last weekend after the win against Richmond that the Terps didn’t do a good enough job passing the ball to generate goals in its loss to No. 13 Princeton. But Rose’s second goal of the game marked the only goal where Maryland did not record an assist on a goal.

In Maryland’s game last year against Penn State, it got off to a quick start, scoring the game’s first goal 3:17 into the game. On Friday, Maryland nearly produced a faster start, scoring 3:26 into the game.

Rose secured her 100th career point against Richmond last Sunday and the senior continued to add to that total on Maryland’s second penalty corner of the opening quarter. Rose’s initial shot was blocked by Madison Tambroni, but Rose gathered her shot and maneuvered around a defender before dishing a quick pass to her right near the penalty stroke dot. The pass found the stick of Ella Gaitan, who redirected the ball past Delgado, giving Maryland a 1-0 lead.

Sophia Gladieux scored Penn State’s first goal in last season’s matchup against Maryland and did the same on Friday. 

Gladieux spent her summer playing for Team USA in the Paris Olympics, becoming the third Olympian Maryland has played against in its past four games. The fifth-year senior entered the contest tied for first in the Big Ten with 19 goals and, despite her successful season, had not scored in her previous three games. 

On Penn State’s second penalty corner, Gladieux received a direct pass. She initially bobbled the pass but quickly regained control and ripped a shot into the lower left corner of the net, concluding her goalless drought and evening the score at one.

Sophia Mannino added a late fourth-quarter lead to cut Penn State’s deficit in half, but it was not enough, as the Terps were able to drain the remaining time on the clock.

The Terps will now head home to College Park, where they will play host to the Big Ten tournament. Maryland will likely play Iowa in the opening round of the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Terps beat Iowa 5-0 earlier this season in Iowa City.