Madison Maguire’s hat trick leads No. 2 Maryland field hockey past Michigan State, 5-1

Senior midfielder Madison Maguire kicked off Maryland field hockey’s senior night with a bang. In the sixth minute, she secured a pass inside the circle from sophomore Bibi Donraadt and slapped a back handed shot past Michigan State keeper Jade Arundell.

But Maguire wasn’t done yet. In the opening minutes of the second half, fellow senior Kelee Lepage found Maguire on the far side of the circle, where Maguire had an open shot on goal to make it 3-0.

To cap off a memorable senior day for Maguire, the ball found her in the 53rd minute of the game. Maguire controlled the pass, turned and slapped a shot past Arundell for her first hat trick of the season, capping off a 5-1 Terps victory.

“We’ve just been like super pumped all day,” Lepage said. “Senior day is a nice day to get recognized and like rather than being said, we’re extremely happy and grateful for our entire team.”

Maguire’s three-goal performance gave her 12 on the season, which is now a team-high and the most goals she’s scored in her four-year career.

With two goals in the first half and three in the second, the Terps were able to secure their 15th win of the season after overpowering the Spartans. The win also secured Maryland’s 7-1 record in the Big Ten, which earned the Terps at least a share of the Big Ten title.

“It’s just another game,” Maguire said. “Yes, it is senior day and is our last regular time here on this turf, but we just gotta play our field hockey. We've gotta play Maryland hockey and we gotta show Michigan State how we play, the Big Ten how we play, and we capitalized on that.”

Right from the beginning, Maryland came out firing and played suffocating defense on the opposite end. The Terps poured on eight shots in the first quarter while holding the Spartans to a single shot of their own.

Despite the huge difference in shots, Maryland only held a 1-0 lead with time running out in the first half. That changed with just three minutes remaining. Arundell came out of goal to make a diving save, but the deflected shot dropped right in front of freshman Emma DeBerdine. With a wide-open goal in front of the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, DeBerdine laced a shot into the back of the cage to take a 2-0 lead.

The first half was all Maryland. The Terps outshot the Spartans 17-2 and recorded five penalty corners. Despite the multitude of offensive opportunities for Maryland, though, the game wasn’t quite out of reach for Michigan State.

“[I] would’ve like to have gotten on the board a little bit earlier with some of the shot opportunities we had,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “But boy, really the third quarter and again the fourth quarter were just a super brand of hockey. And the outcome puts us in first place. I’m really proud of our staff and our team.”

Beginning the second half, the Terps came out attacking looking for insurance goals. They tacked on two quick scores in the first 5:24 of the third quarter to take a 4-0 lead. Maryland then allowed the Spartans to answer right back with a goal of their own, but the Terps still owned a three-goal cushion entering the fourth.

In the final quarter, with a 5-1 lead, Maryland was able to bring in sophomore goalkeeper Skye Joegriner. The sophomore didn’t allow a goal in her short time in goal as the Terps capped off Big Ten play with a dominant win.

“Moving forward, [Michigan State] taught us like really good lessons throughout the game,” Lepage said. “So, we’re just going to bring that from here on.”

Three things to know

1. Maryland has won at least a share of another Big Ten title. In 2018, Maryland finished the regular season atop the Big Ten conference, earning the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament. With this victory, the Terps finish at the top once again with a 7-1 record in the conference. The Iowa Hawkeyes has a chance to finish 7-1 as well on Sunday as they face off against Michigan.
2. The Terps’ offense picked up where it left off. Coming off a 6-3 comeback victory where the Terps’ offense exploded for 16 shots and 10 on goal. Maryland’s offense looked to replicate its efforts in its last Big Ten game of the season. Against Michigan State, the Terps poured on 27 shots and 15 on goal.
3. Maryland goes perfect at home once again. In 2018, the Terps went 9-0 at home. With this win, they finish one game better, going 10-0 in College Park in the regular season. Not only have the Terps been dominant at home all year long, but prior to this game, they had not conceded a goal in their last four home games.