Maryland field hockey routs UC Davis, 6-1, to close opening weekend

After starting the season 2-0 and having a score differential of 8-0, Maryland field hockey continued its strong opening push against UC Davis in a 6-1 win.

Freshman Bibi Donraadt and senior Linnea Gonzales scored two goals each as the No. 4 Terps cruised to their third straight win. Maryland scored three goals in the first half and three in the second before allowing a score in the final minute.

It took the Terrapins 13 minutes to find the back of the net, but after Donraadt netted her first goal of the season, two more goals quickly followed. Gonzales scored her third goal of the season and first of this game just over four minutes later, and it was assisted by Bodil Keus, who added the third Maryland goal of the first half in the 22nd minute.

Maryland took 10 shots (four on goal) and gave up a season high of four shot attempts in the first half. All three Terrapin first-half goals came within a nine-minute span, continuing a trend of offensive blitzkriegs that were noticeable in prior games.

Nearly midway into the second half, Hannah Bond added her first goal of the season on an unassisted strike. Gonzales then followed that up with her second goal of the game (fourth of the season) and Donraadt would do the same to give Maryland a 6-0 lead.

The Terrapins’ streak of not giving up any goals came to an end when Carli Colyer scored on freshman Skye Joegriner with just eight seconds remaining on the clock. Maryland did manage to keep UC Davis down to five shots, matching their effort against California the previous afternoon.

The Terrapins return home next weekend for the Big Ten/ACC Cup, which features four ranked teams in No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Maryland, No. 12 Northwestern and No. 13 Boston College. Maryland will face off against Boston College on Friday and Duke on Sunday, both at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.

Three things to know

1. Defense has continued to hold strong. Despite allowing their first goal of the season in this loss, the Maryland defense and goal tending have been top-notch when needed. They’ve only allowed 12 shots in three games, and will need to keep this form up over the next weekend.
2. Linnea Gonzales is finding her groove. The lead forward for this team has scored four goals just three games in, with all of them actually coming in the last two matchups against California and UC Davis. Maryland will need her to continue this trend or at least take pressure away from the rest of the offense.
3. The senior was back in net. Sarah Holliday has put together 123 minutes of scoreless goalkeeping, and Noelle Frost added in a scoreless 70 minutes against California. Holliday is the returning starter and should see most of the time going forward, but the Terps at least know they have options.