No. 7 Maryland field hockey returns to College Park looking to continue their streak of six excellent hockey quarters. Those six quarters include the second half of their bout against Boston College that ended in a 3-2 loss and a dominant 4-0 shutout performance over Duke.
On Friday, Maryland will be hosting the 24th annual Terrapin Invitational, a tradition Head coach Missy Meharg started in 1995.
“I love the versatility,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “We always have different regions [participate].”
This year the Terps will face No. 21 UMass (4-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. and Cal (2-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Richmond and American will also be participating.
The Terps hope to remain unbeaten against both UMass and Cal, having won 17 and 11 straight matches against the two sides, respectively.
The Terps are just now finding their groove after their second week of practice with the entire team.
“[We have been working on] playing the ball on the floor,” Meharg said. “Playing good hockey on the ground will give you a good pass at your right leg and will be easy to field. We have also been working on one-on-one defense and making sure we are lined up properly.”
The Terps are already seeing the impact of Louisville transfer Margot Lawn in just three games. Lawn has already tallied two goals, one assist and four shots.
“It was really hard for me in the spring to watch them play,” Lawn said. “Actually being able to build the connections on the field this year has been very beneficial.”
Bibi Donraadt, the Terps sparkplug in the past few weeks, earned her first Big 10 Offensive Player of the Week and has also paced Maryland on both sides of the ball. Donraadt has scored three goals, recorded three assists and a game winning defensive save in the match against Saint Joseph’s.
The Terrapin Invitational will also welcome UMass’ head coach Barb Weinberg, a former coach under Meharg from 2010-2013 who helped Maryland win two National Championships, and American head coach Steve Jennings, a graduate from Maryland.
UMass entered the NFHCA poll for the first time this season. With their high-scoring offense, the Minutewomen have scored three goals in each of their first three games and two in their most recent contest against University of Albany.
UMass is led by midfielder Amalie Green, who already has four assists, forward Emilie Marchio and midfielder Georgie McTear, who lead the team with two goals each.
In their second matchup of the Invitational, Maryland welcomes a stingy California side. Cal’s defense has been strong, only allowing five penalty corners and 12 shots in three games. The Golden Bears are led by forward Maddie Cleat, who was the team’s spring 2021 goal scorer with four and has scored one this season.
As the Terps near conference play, the focus remains on Maryland and the team’s ability to continue to improve.
“We haven’t been focused on the competition, but have focused on being the best we can possibly be as a team,” Lawn said.
