Maryland field hockey beats Indiana, 3-1, in Big Ten opener

It was another weekend of 2017 firsts for Maryland field hockey, as the team marched into Bloomington and earned its first road win, and conference win, of the season thanks to an aggressive second half.

The first half went more according to plan for Indiana than Maryland. While the Terps continued their aggressive offense that had found its stride last weekend with possession dominance, the Hoosiers were able to stick to their gameplan with a backline that did not allow any clear shots on goal. The few passes that Indiana did allow inside the penalty circle were usually dealt with from an in-form senior goalkeeper Katie Johnson. The result yielded a scoreless draw going into halftime.

It was not an ideal start for Maryland, but the team has been positioned against stiff defenses before. The Terps’ past experiences certainly helped carry the energy they showed in the first half into the second half. Their penalty corners and shot totals both skyrocketed.

Junior forward Linnea Gonzales finally broke the seal for Maryland with a goal (her third of the season) on the team’s third consecutive penalty corner a little over 10 minutes into the second half.

The opening goal excitement almost became short-lived. when an Indiana four-on-two counterattack led by senior forward Maddie Latino caused Maryland to give up a penalty corner that forced a diving save from goalkeeper Sarah Holliday.

The Terps were able to double their lead five minutes after the scare off the stick of senior midfielder Lein Holsboer, her second of the season. The Hoosier goalkeeper was able to save two consecutive shots on goal, but could not stop the third.

Indiana briefly showed some life off of a goal from redshirt-senior defender Ellie Hempt off of a penalty corner. However, 25 seconds later, Holsboer was able to notch a second goal to bring the Terps’ lead back to two. While the Hoosiers started to push their line up further down the field for more pressure, it was not enough, as the final score saw a 3-1 Maryland victory.

The Terps now move to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Their next game will be on Sunday at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex against Bucknell at 1 p.m. est.

Three Things to Know

1. Maryland is certainly a second-half team. Over the last four games, the Terps have been able to turn up the offensive pressure against their opponents. In this game alone, their penalty corners jumped from two to 11, and their shots rose from four in the first half to over 20 for the game. Maryland also has scored all but two of its goals this season in the second half.
2. The backline held firm when the pressure was reciprocated. The story of the first half was that both teams’ defenses were able to do their job when called upon, leading to a scoreless draw. Maryland’s backline seemed almost impenetrable throughout the second half as nearly every attempted counter-attack was quickly snuffed out by Bodil Keus or Hannah Bond.
3. The Terps were able to beat the Hoosiers at their own game. So far this season, Indiana had specialized in earning more penalty corners than its opponents, thus keeping the Hoosiers in games against tougher teams. Maryland’s offensive pressure put an end to that strategy and tripled the Hoosiers’ penalty corner total for the afternoon.