No. 7 Maryland field hockey advances to Big Ten Championship final

It wasn't pretty, but No. 7 Maryland field hockey is on to the Big Ten Championship game.

Sophomore Lein Holsboer juggled the ball over the Northwestern goalie Lindsay von der Luft two minutes into the second period of overtime to give Maryland (18-3) the 2-1 win over Northwestern (14-7).

Holsboer dribbled the ball down the left side of the field, before working a give-and-go with sophomore Carrie Hanks just inside the scoring circle. Hanks played the ball around the defender for Holsboer, who tipped the ball up to herself, then knocked it out of the air and into the goal.

Northwestern opened the scoring in the game, taking a 1-0 lead 19 minutes into the game. Junior Dominique Masters rocketed a shot towards the cage that Maryland goalie Sarah Holliday was unable to keep out. Masters leads Northwestern with 17 goals.

Maryland senior Welma Luus tied the game 10 minutes later. Holsboer brought the ball into the circle and found Luus, who got just enough of the ball to put it past von der Luft. Regulation would end in the 1-1 tie, forcing overtime.

Holliday came up huge for Maryland in the first overtime, sliding to stop a Northwestern breakaway. In the second overtime, Holsboer's heroics pushed Maryland into the Big Ten Championship, ending Northwestern's attempt to repeat as conference champions.

Maryland will play Sunday at noon for the Big Ten Championship, against the winner of Friday evening's Michigan-Penn State game. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.