No. 9 Maryland field hockey falls to No. 7 Boston College, 3-2.

With less than three minutes left in the game, the No. 9 Maryland field hockey had a golden opportunity to tie the game against the No. 7 Boston College Eagles. After the Terps drew the corner, forward Bibi Donraadt delivered a sensational insert to midfielder Juliana Tornetta that left the Terps scoreless on one of their last scoring opportunity of the game.

Forward/midfielder Anna Castaldo got the rebound with a chance to even the game with less than two minutes to go, but it was blocked by the Eagles as Maryland’s hopes at sending the game into overtime quickly diminished.

Although the Terps continued to fight and tied the game multiple times, they could not grab the lead resulting in their first loss of the season as they fell to the Eagles, 3-2.

Maryland and Boston College met in an early-season monumental showdown on Friday between two top 10 teams at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in the sixth annual Big Ten/ACC Cup at Duke University.

The No. 9 Terrapins were looking to defeat their second consecutive ranked opponent and their first victory over a top 10 opponent in No. 7 ranked Boston College.

These two teams immediately made it known why they are ranked in the top 10, as both offenses wasted no time putting each other’s goalie to work, by scoring three total goals in the first quarter.

Five minutes into the first quarter, Boston College’s Kendall Hanlon scored her first goal of the season after a dazzling assist by Elizabeth Warner from the top of the circle. It was a blistering start for the Eagles, but Maryland immediately fought back after conceding the opening goal of the match with a few solid opportunities.

The Terps turned a switch on the offensive end and generated three consecutive corners just over a minute after the Eagles’ goal. The corners quickly led to an equalizer from Maryland, as senior defenseman Riley Donnelly scored off the third penalty corner to tie the game at 1-1 about six minutes into the game.

And even though the Terps kept pouring on the offensive opportunities in the same quarter, it would be Boston College that got on the board once again to take a lead. Maryland controlled the play until about three minutes left in the quarter when the Eagles’ Sarah Johnson pounced on a rebound and beat graduate student goalie Noelle Frost to give Boston College a one-goal advantage heading into the next period.

Although the Terps started the second quarter behind, they were not down for long. Just four minutes into the second frame, Maryland intercepted the ball at the top of the circle, and as Tornetta set up the game-tying goal that forward Margot Lawn drove past goalkeeper Jonna Kennedy.

When Saint Joseph’s and Maryland played against each other on Aug. 29, the score was always either tied or the Terps were up by one. In Friday’s matchup, Maryland played the game how Saint Joseph’s did- from behind. Just less than two minutes after Lawn’s goal, Boston College’s Milagros Arteta took her first shot on goal and succeeded in putting the Eagles ahead, 3-2.

After a first half that saw both teams trade goals, the second half began with each team focusing on their defense to negate any possibility of their offenses consistently invading each other’s net.

Frost took it upon herself to reject any scoring opportunities from the Eagles after she surrendered an uncharacteristic three goals in the first half.

The Eagles consistently made countless attempts to extend their 3-2 lead in the second half, but the Terps converged their defense to make it incredibly difficult for Boston College to receive the same favorable looks they were able to capitalize on in the first half.

With about four minutes to go in the game, head coach Missy Meharg pulled Frost from the game to put an extra player in the field but it was not enough as the Terps missed on their opportunities to send the game into overtime.

Three things to know

1. The Eagles wasted no time breaking through Maryland’s defense. Boston College is the seventh-ranked team in the nation and their aggressive offense is one of the reasons why. Coming into this matchup, the Eagles were outshooting their opponents 44-15. Boston College came into the game against Maryland ready to infiltrate the defense with the two goals scored in an exhilarating first quarter.

2. Boston College capitalized on its penalty corners. Although the Eagles’ goals were not off the corners, their six trips directly against Maryland’s defense continued to pressure the unit. Boston College’s corners allowed it to keep the ball down on that end of the field and control the pace of the game. As a result, Boston College came away with the tight win against Maryland.

3. Maryland’s offense was unable to identify scoring opportunities after scoring at will in the first half. Although the opportunities presented themselves in the second half, such as when the Terps would have Boston College in transition, they were unable to sneak the ball past Kennedy. The Eagles’ goalie finished the day with five saves in the win.