No. 11 Maryland field hockey will hit the road to face off against No. 3 Virginia in a rare midweek contest in Charlottesville. The Terps will try to continue their momentum off a 1-0 overtime win against No. 17 Rutgers.
Maryland (9-6, 5-3 Big Ten) finished up conference play on Friday and will take on Virginia in its penultimate game of the regular season.
The Terps have a 25-6 all-time record against the Cavaliers, but Virginia has won the last two matchups.
Virginia Preview
Virginia (12-1, 6-1 ACC) is led by third-year head coach Ole Keusgen. Keusgen has a 30-8 record over those three years and is a perfect 2-0 against Maryland.
Virginia is riding a three-game winning streak coming into its matchup with the Terps. The Cavaliers have beaten Liberty, William & Mary and Louisville since their sole loss this year at the hands of No. 1 North Carolina.
The Cavaliers have five ranked wins this season, as well as three wins against teams inside the top 10.
Leading the offense for Virginia is junior Mia Abello. Abello has five goals and 12 points this year, both team leads. The rest of the attack for Virginia is very balanced, with five different players having either three goals or assists.
Anchoring the defense for Virginia is junior goalkeeper Nilou Lempers. Lempers has made 43 saves in 12 games for the Cavaliers, while only allowing six goals. Her 0.5 goals allowed per game ranks the best in the nation.
Despite being a member of the ACC, Virginia played three games against Big Ten teams earlier this year. The Cavaliers faced Penn State in their season opener, as well as Ohio State and Rutgers in the B1G/ACC challenge. Virginia won all three, dismantling Penn State en route to a 5-1 win, and taking home narrow 1-0 wins over both Ohio State and Rutgers.
Virginia will look to make it a fourth win as they take on the highest-ranked of the Big Ten teams they have played in Maryland.
Will Maryland Sustain Itself Throughout the Game?
In Maryland’s other matchup with a top-three team this season, the Terps got off to a blazing start against Northwestern.
Maryland took control early and looked like the better team for the first half, with the magnitude of the opponent seemingly propelling the Terps.
The second half was not the same story as Northwestern dominated the second half, ultimately winning the game, 2-1.
In a game against Virginia, an opponent of similar prominence to Northwestern, Maryland will need to be able to sustain a possible electric start. The Terps will try to claim one of the best wins any team will have all year.
