No. 7 Maryland field hockey secures first conference win against No. 13 Rutgers

Photo courtesy of Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins

After clawing back into the game in the third quarter, Maryland was awarded a penalty stroke. The Terps elected to pick Josie Hollamon, and she rewarded their decision, rifling the ball past Sophia Howard’s left hand to take their first lead of the game late in the fourth quarter. 

“I think just trying to be calm and composed up there,” said Hollamon on her penalty stroke. “I had a lot of time to think before she got there, so I was just thinking, I need to nail this so we can get her momentum up and win the game.”

Backed by depth-scoring No. 7 Maryland (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) took down No. 13 Rutgers (3-3, 0-1 Big Ten) 3-1, securing its first Big Ten win of the season on Friday in College Park.

Depth scoring had been the Terps’ strength all season long, and after a sluggish first-half start, Maryland’s depth flourished.

Maryland’s offense was held without a shot on goal in the first half but came out of the halftime break and dominated possession. The Terps recorded three shots on goal, and the last one evened the score for the Terps.

“We used our fastest player on the team, [which] is Leah Horwitz,” coach Missy Mehard said on adjustments Maryland made at half time. “(Horwitz) was a track athlete high school, and we put her on the forward line, and the minute we got the ball out of the backfield, we had her run, and that really opened up the midfield for us more.”

Maryland had consistently struggled to find space in the middle of Rutgers’ defense, but Hope Rose found a soft spot in the defense, allowing her to redirect Alina Gerke’s shot into the bottom left corner of the net. The goal was Rose’s first since her overtime winner against Louisville in the Terps’ season opener.

After Holloman scored to put the Terps ahead, captain Kylee Niswonger scored her fourth goal in two games to put them ahead 3-1 and give them a needed insurance goal.

Despite no indication throughout the week, Maryland entered Friday’s matchup against Rutgers without its top defender, Rayne Wright. Wright’s absence from the lineup marks the first time in her collegiate career that she did not play in a game.

Meharh said after the game that Wright is “day-to-day.” She’s also mentioned that Wright has been out a few days but expects the team to have a better understanding of the injury tomorrow. 

Without Wright, Maryland’s early play suffered as the Terps could not make quick transitions through the midfield they had been accustomed to making in their prior five games.

“Rayne (is) a force [on defense] and we’re really comfortable when she’s back there,” Holloman said on Rayne’s abscense. “But I feel like we did a great job like adapting to her not being there and her on the sideline also helped

Meharg stated during media availability on Thursday that Maryland needed to limit Rutgers’ penalty corners because of the Scarlet Knight’s ability to capitalize.

However, the Terps could not do that in the first quarter as Rutgers produced two offensive penalty corners. The Scarlet Knights took advantage of their second corner as Bridy Molyneaux opened the scoring by redirecting the only shot of the first half off the leg of Annemijn Klijnhout.

After struggling in the first quarter, Maryland’s defense dominated, holding Rutgers without a shot until the waning seconds of the third quarter. The team’s strong defensive performance allowed Maryland’s offense to break its sluggish first-half start.

Maryland’s offense seemed as if it would bounce back to begin the second quarter as Emma DeBerdine used her speed, driving to her left side before throwing a crisp pass into the middle of the striking circle. DeBerdine’s pass left a yawning cage for the Terps to shoot at, but they could not record a shot on net as Puck Winter blocked it.

Winter was a staple on defense for Rutgers last season, as she was named to the 2023 First Team All-Big Ten list and led the nation in defensive saves with 12. The redshirt junior has continued her strong defensive play into this season, leading the Big Ten in defensive saves with three.

After Maryland’s two late goals, Anna Cogdell pulled Rutgers to within one with 24.8 seconds left in the final quarter, but Maryland held on in the final seconds to close out its first Big Ten win of the season.

Maryland will get a week off as they prepare for a home tilt against No.1 Northwestern. The wildcats have been one of few teams that have given Maryland trouble in recent years as the Terps have dropped seven of its past eight games against Northwestern.