No. 8 Maryland field hockey uses outstanding first half to defeat No. 16 Penn State, 4-2

Maryland looked to double an early lead on its second penalty corner of the game.

Hope Rose’s shot rebounded off Penn State goalkeeper Brie Barraco, straight to the stick of Josie Hollamon.

Hollamon wasted no time, firing off a rocket from just inside the left side of the shooting circle goal to push the Terps’ advantage to two.

They cruised after that.

“Today was a special game,” Hollamon said. “We wanted to come out and make a statement especially after our Rutgers game.”

No. 8 Maryland field hockey (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) refused to step off the pedal to defeat conference foe No. 16 Penn State (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten), 4-2. 

The Terps wasted no time getting off to a hot start, scoring under four minutes into the game as Maci Bradford notched her sixth goal of the season to make it a 1-0 game.

The score continued the freshman’s tear. She registered her fourth goal in as many outings, bringing her season point total up to 16 on the year, second-best on the team.

Maryland’s offense started quick in its last game against No. 6 Rutgers on Thursday before falling into a lull. The Terps kept their momentum this time. Their offense continued to barrel forward, as Holllamon’s penalty corner goal pushed the lead to 2-0.

Penn State’s only shot-on-goal up to that point was an attempt by Carly Gannon, but Maryland’s goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko stepped up to make a masterful stick save in the waning minutes of the first quarter.

The Terps continued to pile up penalty corner attempts. On their third penalty corner of the second quarter, Rose made it a 3-0 game on a shot assisted by Margot Lawn and Maura Verleg for her 10th goal of the season.

Rose also broke an uncharacteristic three-game point drought with the score.

“Hope’s serious, she’s gonna get on the board and attack penalty corner shots,” coach Missy Meharg said. “She can run a show.”

Hollamon followed up Rose as her shot from just inside the right side of the shooting circle snuck past Barraco to make it 4-0 Terps to extend an excellent offensive showing.

Maryland’s defense continued to stifle Penn State, as its offense was unable to contribute until the second half as the Terps built a four-goal lead.

The Nittany Lions had a lack of quality scoring attempts through the first three quarters as all three of their penalty corner attempts resulted in Klebasko saves.

It took Penn State until the end of the third frame to score as a point blank shot by Sophia Gladieux passed a split Klebasko made it a 4-1 game with less than a second to go before the end of the quarter.

The Nittany Lions had a lack of quality scoring attempts throughout the day thanks to the Terps’ defense, but the offense was spurred by Gladieux’s late goal to make a comeback attempt in the fourth.

Carly Gannon scored off a shot on a tricky angle from the right side of the goal to trim the deficit to 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining.

“It’s very hard to read it,” Meharg said on Gannon’s shot. “It was a great shot and [Klebasko] couldn’t have touched it.”

Maryland attempted to stall Penn State’s surging offense. With four minutes to go the Nittany Lions received a penalty corner attempt, but their shot was blocked by the Terps’ defense.

Penn State remained in search of a goal to put it within one with under a minute left, but another blocked shot resulted in an empty attempt. And its final shot with 29 seconds remaining resulted in a Klebasko save to seal Maryland’s 4-1 win.

“This is still easy,” Meharg said. “Every single day of training and every single match is gonna get harder and harder and we have to really love being uncomfortable.”