No. 4 Maryland field hockey launches late comeback to defeat No. 10 Princeton 4-3 in OT

With seven seconds remaining in overtime, No. 4 Maryland field hockey was awarded a penalty corner to try to seal a victory against No. 10 Princeton.

Midfielder Linda Cobano took the initial shot and it was blocked by Princeton goalkeeper Grace Baylis. But with the clock winding down, defender Hannah Bond flicked the deflected ball into the back of the cage for a buzzer-beating victory.

The referees didn’t initially call it a goal, but once they overturned their decision after a replay review, the Terps swarmed Bond, screaming in excitement over the 4-3 win.

“[Bond] will do anything — she’ll die to put a ball over a goal line,” Maryland head coach Missy Meharg jokingly said. “She will put herself out there to score goals.”

It was the second time in the contest that the Terps took advantage of a corner rebound to score at a dire time.

With just four minutes remaining and Maryland trailing by one, Cobano laced a shot off the corner, but it was blocked by Baylis. But Emma DeBerdine corralled the rebound and passed it to forward Bibi Donraadt, who scored on a wide open shot to tie the game at three goals apiece and send it to overtime.

“Bibi is definitely a person that can decide the game in the end,” Cobano said. “What she told me is, that she sometimes [does] not need pressure, but she is plays very good when she has high pressure on her.”

From the start, it was clear that the top-ten matchup was going to be a a tightly-contested battle as both teams traded possessions, fighting for the first offensive strike.

One would expect nothing less from these two squads. Both of the matches played between them in 2018 had to be decided beyond regulation. They haven’t had a regular-season game decided by more than one goal since 2014, and they’ve played every year in that span.

“It’s even talent. I think the coaching staff is outstanding, for obvious reasons,” Meharg said with a laugh. “I think that the players are outstanding. And I think that our coaching staff is outstanding and I think our players are outstanding. So it’s gonna be a battle.”

The Terps had statistically outperformed the Tigers through 30 minutes of action but didn’t have anything to show for it, as the teams were tied at one goal apiece.

In a game where the ball spent most of the time in the midfield, Princeton was able to break down the Maryland defense first, scoring in the seventh minute of play.

While trailing, Maryland was able to draw a number of penalty corners, a medium that has led to success so far this season. The Terps used a corner chance to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period, as well as in the final minutes of regulation. And with time running out in overtime, the Terps once again took advantage.

“It’s really good for us to just like show that we can comeback from being goals down against tough teams,” Bond said. “Today was a hard game, but I really think, we like found a way.”

Three things to know

1. It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, it was a defensive battle, as both teams scored one goal apiece. Maryland totaled six shots in the first half, while Princeton registered just three shots. After the break, the offenses turned it up a notch. At the end of the game, Maryland tallied 22 total shots and 11 on goal, while Princeton had seven shots and five on goal.

2. Bibi Donraadt keeps coming up clutch against the Tigers. Donraadt left her impact on a Maryland-Princeton matchup once again, scoring an equalizing goal late in the fourth quarter. Last season in the NCAA semifinals, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year scored the lone goal in overtime to win it all.

This season, with just four minutes remaining, Donraadt scored the tying goal, which would send the game into overtime. The forward did the exact same thing to the Tigers in the 2018 regular season matchup, scoring in the 69th minute to even the match that would eventually be won by the Terps in overtime.

3. Linda Cobano is flourishing. The sophomore transfer from Germany made her impact on this game. In just her first season with the program, Cobano has been able to be a key part of Maryland’s offense.

Coming into this game, Cobano had just two goals on the year, which she was able to match in tonight’s contest for a new career high. Along with an impressive backhand goal, the sophomore was able to showcase that she can be a valuable option on penalty corners.

“I needed some time to get into the new system — get to know the players,” Cobano said. “That’s always a little challenging. But in the end, I feel like I’ve found my position somehow on the team and I’m so glad that it worked out pretty well for us today.”