With just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Maryland native Margot Lawn passed the ball off of a penalty corner to junior Hope Rose, who proceeded to power a shot past the keeper into the back of the net, logging her first points in three games and providing the Terps with a resurgence of confidence on the offensive end.
Coming into this Friday’s match, Maryland had scored within the first quarter in three of their first five games. The No. 4 Terps continued the trend today in their 3-1 win against the Miami (OH) Redhawks, which was eventually called due to inclement weather.
The Terps were quiet offensively in the first quarter leading up to Rose’s goal, as they felt out the pace of the game and made sure not to force anything. This type of play extended into the first half of the second quarter until Rose struck again in the 23rd minute of play.
The Pennsylvania native added to her goal count, single handedly putting the Terps up 2-0. Rose found the ball off of a deflection in the right corner and poured in another ground shot to the back of the net. It was the seventh goal of the season for the two-time All-Big Ten Second Team selection.
Four more missed shots on goal followed to close out the half for the Terps. However, the game was temporarily suspended at the beginning of the halftime break due to thunder and lightning warnings in the area. The weather eventually improved and both teams took the field 50 minutes later for the start of the third quarter.
Maryland had another great look at the goal late in the third, but a straight shot from freshman Maci Bradford was blocked. Twenty seconds later, a green card was issued on Miami (OH) midfielder Paula Navarro for a foul inside the shooting circle, providing an opportunity for a penalty stroke shot.
Head coach Missy Meharg chose to ride the hot hand as she selected Hope Rose to shoot the penalty shot. Right on cue, Rose capitalized on the one-on-one opportunity as she calmly powered the ball past Miami (OH) keeper Isabelle Perese to secure her third goal of the game and the first hat trick of her career.
However, just minutes later, disaster struck both on the ground and in the air. Junior Carly Servis scored a breakaway shot into the bottom left of the goal for the Redhawks just before the 49 minute mark. Almost simultaneously, a bolt of lightning struck in the sky just miles away. The game was suspended once more and fans were forced to evacuate the stands and both teams left the field.
The lightning picked up as it entered the vicinity and the game was eventually called in the second delay with 11 minutes to go in the fourth, moving the Terps to an impressive 5-1 season record.
Maryland’s final match of the Terrapin Invitational comes this Sunday at 12:00pm against the 1-1 Yale Bulldogs, as the Terps look to win their third straight game.
