Weekend preview: No. 9 Maryland field hockey vs. Michigan State and American

No. 9 Maryland field hockey (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) prepares for a pair of games this weekend. Its slate begins on Friday against Michigan State (3-7, 1-3 Big Ten) on Friday and continues at American (5-5, 2-0 Patriot League) on Sunday.

The Terps are on a high note following a dominant 4-2 victory over No. 16 Penn State last Sunday. They jumped to an early lead after Maci Bradford struck less than three minutes in, and goals by Josie Hollamon and Hope Rose in the second quarter put Maryland in cruise control.

Hollamon scored again in the second half, catapulting her way to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.

“It’s what we’re supposed to do,” Hollamon said about combining for three of the Terps’ four goals with Bradford, her cousin.  “It’s something I have always wanted to do and I’m glad we’re able to do it together.”

Maryland’s offense awakened in the contest, scoring more than three goals in a game for the first time in over a month. Its 2.9 goals-per-game average ranks fourth in the Big Ten.

Rose continued her place in the win as the Terps’ points (21) and goals (10) leader. The junior sits fourth in goals and sixth in points among all conference players.

Bradford kept her excellent freshman campaign going. She currently ranks second on the team in points (16) and goals (6) after a recent stretch that’s seen her strike four times in as many games.

Rose, Bradford, and the rest of the Maryland offense will look to keep pace against a Michigan State defense that’s allowed the second-most goals (22) among any Big Ten team. Its offense hasn’t fared much better, scoring the fewest goals (11). 

The Spartans started out conference play with a 1-0 win over Indiana, but have since been outscored 9-1 — including a 6-0 defeat to No. 2 Northwestern. Their most recent outing was a 3-1 loss to No. 3 Iowa.

The one bright spot in the defeat came from Ellie Rutherford, as the junior provided Michigan State’s lone goal. Rutherford is tied with Emma O’Neill for the team-lead in goals (6) and points (3) this season.

The Spartans average a woeful 1.1 goals per game on 11 shots a game. Still, Terps coach Missy Meharg doesn’t feel a win is an easy task.

“They’re disorganized, and that can be a very dangerous team,” Meharg said. “That gives us a great opportunity to focus more on ourselves and the need to stay organized.”

American represents a break in Maryland’s conference schedule, representing its final non-conference opponent of the regular season. The Eagles lost their lone contest against a Big Ten school earlier this season, 3-2 to Penn State in overtime.

Their most recent outing was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Delaware. They held a 1-0 lead at halftime thanks to Charllene Boshoff’s team-leading sixth goal of the season, but two fourth-quarter goals from the Blue Hens resulted in a disappointing loss.

American’s offense is more threatening than Michigan State’s, averaging 2.1 goals per game — a full goal more than the Spartans. The Eagles’ defense is holding opponents to an average of 1.4 goals per game.

The Terps’ game with Michigan State is set for a 5 p.m. start on Friday, while their matchup with American will begin at 3 p.m. two days later.