For the first time since 1994, Maryland field hockey will miss the NCAA tournament.
It is only the third time in Missy Meharg’s head coaching tenure that the Terps have not been included in the field, excluding 2020.
Up until this season, Maryland had never missed the tournament since joining the Big Ten.
Maryland came into the Big Ten Tournament with a great chance to advance. As the No. 2-seed in the Big Ten tournament, it would’ve taken a lot for the Terps to be left out of the field.
But a 2-1 loss to No. 7-seed Ohio State proved to be detrimental.
After going into the final weekend ranked ahead of Yale and UConn, both teams jumped the Terps to take the final two at-large bids.
The shocking end to the season makes it back-to-back disappointing years for the Terps. The 2024 campaign ended after a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite starting the year reasonably strong, a late-season collapse, including losing four of six to end the season, was too much for the selection committee to overlook.
Maryland was also unable to come away with any signature wins to build their resume. The Terps had chances against multiple top-five teams in Northwestern, Princeton and Virginia, but they lost all three matchups.
The Terps’ lack of quality wins was compounded by multiple bad losses, especially down the stretch of the season.
Maryland had a dismal performance at home against Indiana, getting shut down by a Hoosiers team that ended the season with a .500 record. The Terps also had two losses to Ohio State, one of the worst teams in the Big Ten.
Despite a couple of good wins over Iowa and Michigan. The lack of any wins against a time in the upper echelon meant Maryland was unable to make up for the several bad losses.
Adding on to the Terps’ struggles to rack up quality wins, some of the Terps non-conference matchups did not age well as the season went on.
Maryland’s loss to then No. 8 Boston College aged incredibly poorly, with the Eagles losing 10 of their final 13 games to end the season 6-10 and unranked.
The Terps’ win over then No. 13 St. Joseph’s turned out to be an unranked win over a team that went just 9-9 in the regular season.
The Terps faced off against four teams that ended up in the field of 18, winning once and losing the other three games.
With the NCAA tournament starting Wednesday, Maryland will be watching from home for the first time in nearly 30 years.
