Maryland field hockey shuts down New Hampshire in 5-0 victory

Forward Bibi Donraadt set up defender Bodil Keus for an opportunity on the penalty corner in the 25th minute of Maryland field hockey’s contest against New Hampshire. Keus’ shot deflected off of Wildcat goalie Rachel Simkevich, but Donraadt managed to grab the rebound and tap it into the net to extend Terps’ lead to three goals.

Donraadt, the 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had a hand in each of Maryland’s first three scores of the contest to give the team a secure 3-0 lead at the half. Her efforts in the first half, along with two more Terp goals in the fourth quarter, carried Maryland to a 5-0 victory over the Wildcats Sunday — marking an undefeated start to the 2019 season.

“Bibi’s natural, she is so fit too,” coach Missy Meharg said. “She can run up and down those sides, midfield, and really create a problem for defenses because she has the physio to play defense in the shell at this end of the field, and in pre passes she’ll be inside the circle. She’s very aerobic and she’s getting stronger physically.”

Maryland started its attack early against New Hampshire, forcing the Wildcats to give up a penalty corner under pressure. Donraadt got the corner unit going, feeding the ball to midfielder Madison Maguire, which set up a slap shot from Keus to take a 1-0 lead a little over two minutes into the game.

The Terps continued to attack, but wouldn’t score again in the first quarter due to a couple great saves in cage from Wildcat goalie Rachel Simkevich.

Nearly 20 minutes after the first goal, Donraadt once again worked some magic for Maryland. The sophomore went streaking down the left sideline, dribbling left to right to get past her defender before chipping it into the top part of the cage over the goalie to extend Maryland’s lead to 2-0.

“I just saw that the goalie was a little short,” Donraadt said. “I love lifting the ball up, so this [was] the perfect opportunity to use this skill.”

“That’s Bibi,” Meharg added. “She’s really tricky, we call it ‘three D skills’ too. If you watch she can pick a ball up off a pass and just pick it up in the air and knock it.”

While a New Hampshire goalie change kept Maryland from scoring in the third quarter, the Terps struck again in the fourth. Maguire went sprinting into the circle, dribbling left to right and slapping a rocket into the back of the cage. Less than a minute later, Maguire led another offensive charge, this time assisting on a Jen Bleakney goal to give the Terps a 5-0 lead.

“It is my senior season, so I mean you gotta go out with a bang,” Maguire said. “I'm just trying to do whatever I can for the team, to help get back to where we were and finish what we started.”

And Maryland continued with its stellar defense throughout. The Wildcats had an open shot on their first penalty corner in the 40th minute, but Maguire made a great save with her stick in the cage to preserve the Terps’ shutout. With its lead secure and a win on the horizon, the Terps also made a goalie change, putting sophomore Skye Joegriner in the game in the fourth quarter for senior Noelle Frost.

Three things to know

1. Maryland’s attack never ceased. The ball seemed to always be in New Hampshire’s half in this one. The Terps were constantly getting scoring opportunities, leading to Maryland’s five goals. Maryland totaled 25 shots, forcing the Wildcats’ goalies to make 13 saves.

2. The Terps kept it locked down on defense. On the other side of the field, the Terps didn’t allow many opportunities for the Wildcats, allowing just six total shots. In the first half, Maryland seemed to shut down any kind of attack for New Hampshire, limiting the Wildcats to zero shots. One of the standouts for the Maryland defense was Keus, who seemed to be everywhere on the field, always limiting any New Hampshire chance.

“My main goal is not to step in and just wait for the attacker to make a decision on what they’re going to do,” Keus said. “And I react on that, so I’m just keeping calm as soon as we get the ball, just trying to find the outside to get it out of the way.”

3. Maryland was fully in control. Similar to the season opener, Maryland’s defense put its discipline on display. The Terps were able to dominate and limit their mistakes, allowing just four penalty corners in the game. Not only was their discipline impressive in this game, but Maryland only allowed five corners for the entire weekend.