Preview: No. 7 Maryland field hockey vs. No. 1 Northwestern

No. 7 Maryland field hockey (14-3, 6-1 Big Ten) goes back on the road on Thursday for its regular season finale, taking on No. 1 Northwestern (15-1, 7-0 Big Ten). 

The game holds high stakes for the Terps as a win over the Wildcats could clinch them a share of the Big Ten regular season title. They shared that achievement with Penn State last season.

“I think it’s a focus thing,” assistant coach Scott Tupper said. “If we can stay focused we’ll put ourselves in a really good position to have some fun come November.”

Maryland come into Evanston with momentum after a weekend where it put on a show in its final home games against No. 8 Iowa and Indiana.

The Terps used two goals from Hannah Boss to power a 4-1 win over the Hawkeyes. They looked less dominant against the Hoosiers, but still managed to secure a 2-1 victory after Maci Bradford broke a 1-1 tie in the third quarter.

“They (Indiana) made it difficult for us,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “Rayne Wright and Alyssa Klebasko were solid brick walls and really put us in a position to hold on and win the match.”

Klebasko and Wright have been critical pieces in a defense that has only allowed 18 goals in 17 games. Maryland hasn’t allowed multiple goals in an outing since Oct. 1.

Klebasko held Iowa’s offense, which averages just under 3.2 goals per game — the most in the Big Ten — to only one goal on Friday. She made four saves on the night. The freshman has registered five goals or more in seven of her last eight outings.

Wright played a large part in the Terps’ success against the Hawkeyes as well, as she went one-on-one for the majority of the game against Dionne van Aalsum, the Big Ten’s leader in goals (25) and points (55). Wright not only forced numerous turnovers on the night, but also kept van Aalsum off the scoreboard, only allowing her to garner an assist on the night.

“We’re really confident when we meet up with top strikers that when Rayne gets that assignment she’s going to do really well,” Tupper said.

Maryland is going to need its defense to be strong in order to match Northwestern’s. The Wildcats have only allowed eight goals in 16 games this year, the fewest in the conference. Northwestern’s goalkeeper, senior Annabel Skubisz, has the best goals-against-average in the league as she only allows under .5 goals per game on average.

The Wildcats proved that their defense didn’t only prey on weaker teams in a 2-1 shootout win over No. 3 Rutgers, coming back from a 1-0 deficit as Ilse Tromp sent the two teams to overtime and Peyton Halsey put Northwestern ahead 4-3 in penalty strokes for the victory.

Halsey leads the team in goals (10) and points (29), but she isn’t alone as a threat for the Wildcats’ offense. Maja Zivojnovic ranks second in goals (9), with Olivia Bent-Cole (8) shortly behind. Yet it’s Lauren Wadas who’s taken the most shots of any player on the team with 54.

The Terps must key in defensively on a multitude of options to secure the win. The matchup is set for a 4 p.m. start.