Preview: No. 7 Maryland field hockey finishes regular season at Penn State

Photo courtesy of Dylan Davies/Maryland Athletics

No. 7 Maryland field hockey will play its final game of the regular season, traveling to University Park, Pa., to face the Nittany Lions.

Maryland (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) dropped one spot in the latest NFHCA poll after going 1-1 last weekend. 

All year, the Terps had done an excellent job minimizing the effects of their opponent’s top players, but they could not contain No. 13 Prineton’s top player — Beth Yeager. The 2024 Paris Olympian scored twice for the Tigers, including the eventual game-winning goal on a penalty stroke. 

On Sunday, Maryland returned to College Park to host Richmond on senior day. Amongst the seven honored seniors, Hope Rose scored Maryland’s final goal in the contest, securing her 100th career point as a Terp and a 3-0 win.

“These types of statics only happen when you’re surrounded by greatness,” head coach Missy Meharg said on Rose reaching 100 career points. “I know we’re going to break out into a super, super level of play here in our last regular season [game], and hopefully create even more space for players like Hope Rose to really have more points as we head into the postseason.”

The Terps currently sit in second place in the Big Ten standings, and a win in their final regular season game guarantees them second place and a first-round matchup against the lowest-qualifying conference team. But a loss can potentially leave the Terps anywhere from second to fourth place in the standings, depending on the result of Ohio State and Michigan’s games.

Maryland will travel to Penn State (8-8, 2-5 Big Ten) in its final game of the regular season to take on a Nittany Lions team that has given the Terps trouble in recent years. Maryland won its lone matchup against Penn State last year in College Park, but the 4-2 win snapped a three-game losing skid against Penn State. 

Similar to Michigan and Princeton, Penn State’s offense is led by its team USA Olympian. Sophia Gladieux has dominated the scoresheet for the Nittany Lions, averaging 1.19 goals per game — second best in the nation — and totaling 19 on the season — tied for most in the Big Ten. 

Gladieux has been the most important part of the Nittany Lions’ offense, as the fifth-year senior is single-handedly responsible for over half of her team’s total shots. Penn State’s roster has Gladieux listed as a forward, making it likely that she will draw Maryland defender Rayne Wright in one-on-one coverage.

“It’s a matter of being able to play one-on-one defense like no other, and I think Rayne Wright is really something,” Meharg said. “I think Rayne has a certain amount of savvy with distance from players that she’s known over time [and] she’s managed in and around Sophia [Gladieux] before.”

Wright has been Maryland’s best defender this season in man coverage, often taking on each team’s top forward. Wright’s defensive efforts were highlighted against Michigan when the fifth-year senior went one-on-one against Team USA Olympian Abby Tamer. Wright matched up against Tamer for most of the game, limiting her to just two shots — one of which made it on net — and was a crucial reason Maryland secured a 2-0 defense.

Maryland enters Friday’s contest as one of the top defensive units in the Big Ten. The Terps have surrendered 48 shots on goal this season — the lowest of any Big Ten — and as a result, have allowed just 13 goals against.

“We just feel so connected back there. We trust each other massively, and I think we just play to our strength,” defender Ericka Morris-Adams said about Maryland’s defensive success. “I think we connect especially well with (Alyssa Klebasko) … She guides us well [and] she’s very verbal, which is helpful.”

Unlike Maryland, team defense has been problematic for Penn State, with 39 goals against it — the most of any Big Ten team. The Nittany Lions have not only struggled to limit the number of shots they allow on net — 128 in 16 games — but have been unable to get saves either, prompting Penn State to move from goalkeeper Aby Deverka to Lauren Delgado.

Maryland’s game against Penn State will be its final road game until the NCAA tournament, as the Terps are set to host the Big Ten tournament.