Late in the third quarter, Maryland passed the ball across the pitch to forward/midfielder Leah Crouse. Crouse weaved through a few defenders and fired a shot into the back of the net.  

Crouse jumped emphatically, throwing her arm into the air, celebrating her second goal. Crouse’s two unassisted goals were enough for No. 3 Maryland field hockey (5-0) to outlast No. 12 Harvard (1-2), 2-1. 

“Leah got herself a point-blank shot,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “She’s a very special player.”

Maryland has now won three straight games against ranked opponents. 

Many of Maryland’s games featured an offensive onslaught of shots and goals, but this one was more of a defensive battle. 

The first quarter featured only two Maryland shots as Harvard’s slower pace dominated the game.  

“It was a matter of being able to take the restarts really fast, and it took us a while to get into flavor with that,” Meharg said. 

Harvard goalie Ellie Shahbo kept her team in the game and finished with seven saves. 

Shahbo’s biggest save came early in the second quarter. Terps forward Hope Rose drove the ball in the circle, finding Sophie Klautz, who fired a shot. Shahbo knocked down the blast, and Klautz attempted to punch in the rebound, but Shahbo slapped the ball outside the circle.

After a Terps penalty corner, Harvard drove the ball down the field, earning two consecutive penalty corners midway through the second quarter. 

On their first shot of the game, Harvard midfielder Sofia Murdoch fires the ball into the net off a corner to grab Harvard their first lead of the 2022 regular season. 

Harvard only held the lead for three minutes when Crouse fired a shot from the left side of the cage into the opposite end to tie the game. 

Maryland entered halftime tied with only five shots against Harvard’s stingy defense.

The Terps entered the Terrapin Invitational averaging 21.8 shots a game, but against Harvard, they finished 12 shots, their lowest total of the season. 

“I think we have to be more selfless in framing the goal cage so that we don’t crowd the ball on the ball side,” Meharg said. “We’ll continue to work on that.”

The Terps’ defense again was solid for the team’s fifth straight game holding the Crimsons without a shot for the entire second half. Ultimately Maryland outshot Harvard 12-2, while goalie Christina Calandra still has yet to be tested this season. 

The Terps will close out the Terrapin Invitational against New Hampshire on Sunday at 2 p.m.