No. 9 Maryland field hockey earns third straight win, defeats American, 2-1

The Terps had no shortage of penalty corner attempts with two minutes left to go in the third quarter, but they had failed to capitalize on all of them.

Perhaps this is what inspired the Terps to incorporate some ingenuity into their sixth penalty corner attempt of the game. Josie Hollamon faked the penalty corner shot and instead passed the ball back to Sammi Popper at the top of the shooting circle.

Popper put the ball in the back of the net to give the Terps the go-ahead goal it needed, as No. 9 Maryland field hockey (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) gained the 2-1 victory over American (6-6, 3-0 Patriot League).

Maryland wasted no time getting on the board. Graduate student Ashlyn Carr scored her second goal of the season from the top of the penalty box less than three minutes in to make it a 1-0 game.

American goalie Bryn Underwood looked sharp for the Eagles after Maryland’s opening goal, making four saves in the opening frame including one shot from the near right side from Popper with under five minutes to go.

Maryland’s two penalty corner attempts of the quarter were no good, as Hope Rose’s attempt with under a minute left went just wide of the net.

The Eagles knotted the game up at one with under two minutes left in the quarter. Federica Dellamaggiore scored with a backhand shot that was too high for Terps goalie Alyssa Klebasko to make it a 1-1 game.

Dellamaggiore forced a penalty corner with under five minutes to go in the third quarter, but her attempt went wide left.

Both defenses tightened up in the second quarter as both teams went the entire quarter without scoring.

The Terps had multiple chances to score with three penalty corner attempts in the quarter.

Hollamon shot off two hard shots on two of those attempts but both were blocked by American’s defense, with the last shot deflecting right off of Eagle defender Kaitlyn Bailey with seven and a half minutes to go in the half.

Maryland outshot the Eagles 11-to-5 in the first half, but failed to take advantage as the score remained a 1-1 game.

Although the Terps dominated time of possession early in the third quarter, just over eight minutes in, Eagles midfielder Kaleigh Missimer led a charge from the right, but Klebasko made the save for her fourth of the game.

Missimer had an opportunity to score point blank with a minute left in the frame, but Klebasko made an incredible diving save to preserve Maryland’s lead.

The Terps finally scored as a result of their sixth penalty corner, as Popper scored as a result of Hollamon’s fakeout to make it a 2-1 game. 

The goal was Popper’s fourth of the season. 

Maryland’s defense held strong throughout the fourth quarter, giving the Terps a chance to bring their lead up to two on a penalty corner.

Rose fired off a strong shot, but the shot was saved by defender Sarah Steinmann to hold the score at 2-1.

The Terps will look to build on the momentum from their third straight win as they take on Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday at 4 p.m.