Preview: No. 2 Maryland field hockey gets set for Final Four matchup against No. 3 Northwestern

No. 2 Maryland field hockey prepares for a Final Four bout against Big Ten foe No. 3 Northwestern.

“Northwestern, obviously we’re familiar with them, and it’s really important that we play our game,” defender Riley Donnelly said. 

The Terps have faced Northwestern twice this season already, splitting the series with the Wildcats.

The teams first met Oct. 2 in Evanston in the lone regular season affair. Both teams scored within the opening five minutes, thanks to Northwestern forward Bente Baekers and Maryland midfielder Dani van Rootselaar.

Baekers has scored 23 goals on the season, tied for the most in the Big Ten. Van Rootselaar’s 12 is tied for fifth.

Neither team got on the board again, sending the game to overtime. Just minutes in, van Rootselaar scored her second goal of the game to lift the Terps over the Wildcats. 

The second affair occurred Nov. 4 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, this time more fortunate for Northwestern. 

The Wildcats jumped ahead 2-0 at halftime after first half goals from midfielder/backer Alia Marshall and midfielder Peyton Halsey. 

Halsey ranks second on the Wildcats with 13 goals, fourth in the Big Ten.

Forward Hope Rose put the Terps on the board late in the third quarter, but the Terps failed to score again, falling 2-1. 

“I wouldn’t say we’ve changed that much,” midfielder Emma DeBerdine said. “We dug a little deeper and we definitely want to know that we want to play for championships and that really opened our eyes to that.”

The Wildcats lost to Michigan in the Big Ten Championship, but still earned the No. 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland received the No. 3-seed.

Both teams have had similar paths to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, having gone to overtime in both tournament games for each side.

The Terps defeated No. 13 Liberty 2-1 in double-overtime in the first round before dropping No. 8 Syracuse 3-2 in a shootout in the second round.

Against Liberty, the Terps trailed 1-0 early in the third after a scoreless first half. Forward Margot Lawn tied the game back even late in third with her sixth goal of the season.

Neither team scored again until Donnelly scored off a penalty stroke in double-overtime to lift the Terps over the Flames. 

After a slow offensive start to the season, Donnelly has become a key piece of the Maryland offense. Over the last ten games, Donnelly’s recorded eight goals after registering just one in the first 12 games.

The Terps again found themselves trailing 1-0 in the first half against Syracuse in the second round. DeBerdine and Sophie Klautz put the Terps ahead 2-1 going into the final minutes of the fourth before Syracuse tied the game.

Neither the Orange nor the Terps scored in two overtime periods, sending the game to a shootout. Rose won the game for the Terps on the sixth shootout attempt, as designated penalty stroke goalkeeper Paige Kieft recorded four saves during the sequence for Maryland. 

“Nothing surprises us,” coach Missy Meharg says. “We’ve got a lot of belief in each other. And we’re also very courageous with each other. So it’s not surprising that we just keep finding a way to dig in and get the outcome that we want.”

Despite having outshot Miami (Ohio) 27:9 in regulation and two overtime periods, Northwestern entered a shootout in the first round of the tournament.

The Wildcats pulled away in the shootout, 3-2, as midfielder Lauren Wadas converted the final attempt for Northwestern. Wadas enters with six goals and eight assists.

Against Iowa, neither side scored in the first three quarters. Iowa scored in the opening minute of the fourth and Northwestern responded minutes later, entering overtime tied at one.

Neither side scored in two overtimes, sending the game to a shootout, when midfielder Ana Medina Garcia won it on the sixth attempt for Northwestern. 

Averaging 3.63 goals per game, the high scoring Maryland offense’s biggest concern against Northwestern will be the Wildcats’ defense. Northwestern has allowed only 1.22 goals per game as goalkeeper Anabel Scubicz recorded 99 saves during the season, second-most in the Big Ten.

In the other goal cage, starter Christina Calandra allowed only .946 goals against average, the second-lowest in the Big Ten.

The winner of this game will face the winner of the No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Penn State game.

The game is set to start at 3 p.m. on Friday and will take place at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex in Storrs.