Preview: No. 5 Maryland field hockey seeks revenge against No. 3 Virginia

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins

No. 5 Maryland field hockey returns to College Park for the Terrapin Invitational after playing two top-20 teams in the Big 10/ACC Cup.

Since moving conferences in 2014, Maryland (3-1) has played Boston College and Duke in the Big 10/ACC Cup every season except for 2020 due to COVID-19. Last year, the Terps went 1-1, beating B.C. and falling to Duke. Maryland did the same thing this year, beating the Eagles and falling to the Blue Devils.

“I don’t really look at the game as a loss,” coach Missy Meharg said on the Duke game. “I’ll play the best every single opportunity we get to step on the field, and I think you learn more from it.”

Meharg emphasized that the Terps have played in many different situations, such as overtime, being a player up, being a player down and having to pull the goalie. Due to the various situations in the early season, Meharg believes it will help her team come October and November, as they will likely see similar situations.

The Terps entered the Big 10/ACC Cup ranked fourth in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and left with a marginal drop. Maryland swapped places with Duke, slipping from fourth to fifth.

Now, Maryland prepares for its third consecutive game against a top-20 opponent. The Terps get ready to host No. 3 Virginia (3-0) — the team that ended their 2023 season.

“I’m fired up to play Virginia,” Meharg said. “We know these players super well. We don’t need to worry as much about Virginia as cleaning up things that put us in precarious situations.”

The Terps had made the Final Four in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and with College Park as the regional host site, Maryland seemed poised to make another deep run last season. But Virginia stunned the Terps, shutting them out for just the second time all season and scoring four goals against a stifling Maryland unit, allowing just 1.26 goals per game.

This season, Maryland doesn’t have to wait long to enact revenge, playing the Cavaliers in just the fifth game of the season.

“For sure [the Virginia game] was circled on my calendar,” Alyssa Klebasko said. “The game against Virginia was not how we wanted our season to end … and I think we’re all ready to step up and face them.”

On offense, the Cavaliers are led by upperclassmen Suze Leemans and Emily Field. Leemans is a graduate student who transferred to Virginia from Utrecht University in Utrecht, Netherlands, and leads her team goalscoring — with three — through the first three games. While Field hasn’t scored yet this season, she’s continuing to rack up assists and has produced three this season.

In Maryland’s prior game against Duke, the Terps matched Rayne Wright against the Blue Devils’ top goal scorer — Alaina McVeigh. The matchup saw huge dividends for the Maryland defense, as the Terps slowed down a Blue Devils offense that came out with a much faster pace. Wright’s success makes it likely that she will draw Leemans in coverage on Friday.

“I think [Wright] thought … that matchup would be very comfortable,” Meharg said on Wright’s matchup against McVeigh. “She’s one of the best one-on-one defenders at the collegiate level and maybe in our country when it comes to being able to keep up and understanding distance.”

Maryland finishes the Terrapin Invitational on Sunday against Lock Haven (1-3). The Terps should have no troubles against the Bald Eagles, who have allowed 20 goals through the first four games of the season. 

The game provides a brief halt in Maryland’s grueling September schedule. It could also be an excellent opportunity for Maryland to continue to showcase its depth scoring, as all six goals the Terps have scored this season have come from different players.

Maryland kicks off the Terrapin Invitational on Friday at 7 p.m. against Virginia followed by its matchup with Lock Haven on Sunday at 2 p.m.