Maryland field hockey advances to national title game with 1-0 OT win over Princeton

In the 78th minute of the national semifinal matchup between Maryland field hockey and Princeton, freshman Bibi Donraadt’s golden goal sent the No. 2-seed Terrapins to the national championship game.

A very tight game that was controlled by Princeton throughout ultimately ended in Maryland’s favor thanks to a dominant overtime period. The No. 3-seed Tigers held a 7-6 lead in shots and 9-2 in penalty corners, but the teams combined for just three shots on goal, with Donraadt’s 15th goal of the season enough to make the difference.

The first half was mostly spent with both teams going back and forth between the 25-yard lines. Each team was able to get attacks in the opposing circle, but Princeton ultimately held the majority of momentum thanks to three penalty corners compared to just one for the Terrapins late in the half.

Maryland was able to contain the Tigers for a 0-0 scoreline after 35 minutes of play. Princeton held a 4-2 lead in shots, but were only able to get one shot on target that Sarah Holliday saved with ease.

Princeton came out pressing Maryland to start the second half. In the first five minutes, the Tigers got a couple shots off and even earn a penalty corner, but Holliday was able to turn the chances away. A penalty stroke was awarded to Princeton in the 41st minute, but Maryland used its team referral and the call was ultimately changed. The officials decided to award a penalty corner instead, which the Terrapin defense was able to break up.

The Tigers remained in attack mode for the rest of the second half, as they continued forcing Maryland to retreat and held possession whenever they got the ball back. Princeton also had the closest chance in all of regular time, as a penalty corner chance with under three minutes remaining resulted in a deflected shot into the net that was waved off for being over 18 inches.

Maryland was able to keep pace in shots, as the Tigers led 7-5 after 70 minutes of play, but Princeton was able to earn nine corner chances in comparison to just one for the Terrapins.

The script flipped in the overtime period, as Maryland really took advantage of Princeton packing it in on defense. As time was winding down, Donraadt slid through the Tiger defense and scored the lone goal of the match in the 78th minute of play.

The Terrapins will play undefeated North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET for a chance at their ninth national championship.

Three things to know

1. Princeton controlled this game from the jump. Except for the last few minutes of each half, the Tigers held all momentum of this game. They kept forcing the Maryland attack to retreat, and were able to simply get more shots off, forcing the Terrapins to focus on defense.
2. Sarah Holliday and the defense played their roles. The defense allowed seven shots, but Holliday only needed to make one save to hold Princeton scoreless. With all the momentum and attack that the Tigers had and the Maryland offense being shut down, the defense was invaluable in lifting the Terrapins to the championship game.
3. The Terrapins’ offense found a way late. Similar to the stretch at the end of the regular season that ended with a loss at Virginia, the Maryland offense has been struggling to dominate. Until the overtime period began, the Terrapins were rather lackluster when trying to create chances. Maryland will need to return to its best offensive form against North Carolina on Sunday in order to compete.