By Victoria Ebner
The No. 12 Maryland Terrapins overtook the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers 5-4 on Tuesday evening, stunning them with speed and relentless determination.
At the beginning, it took the Terps a little bit of time to get settled against their highly-ranked opponent. Maryland spent the start of the game on its end of the 50, struggling to catch up on defense.
An already confident UVA recognized these early jitters, racing straight towards the circle for a quick goal just before the five minute mark.
Little did the Cavaliers know, this would be their only opportunity for the rest of the half.
The comeback began with an unassisted goal from junior forward Linnea Gonzales, who dribbled down the field and slammed a reverse shot into the cage. Gonzales’ surge of energy electrified the rest of the team, making Maryland a non-stop offensive machine for the remainder of the first half.
Suddenly, the Terps darted to every 50-50 ball and quickly intercepted the Cavalier’s attempts to move down the field. After a penalty corner with 16 minutes left, freshman midfielder Kyler Greenwalt upped the score to 2-1, followed by two goals by senior midfielder Lein Holsboer and junior forward Melissa Wilken.
On defense, senior defender Carrie Hanks deflected ball after ball to prevent Virginia from coming near the cage.
The half ended with a count of 10 shots and four penalty corners for the Terps. The Cavaliers had four shots and two penalty corners.
Virginia began the second half strong, earning three consecutive penalty corners in the first 10 minutes. With a three goal cushion under their belts, the Terps remained calm. With 21 minutes left, Kyler Greenwalt scored her second goal of the game after an initial missed shot, bringing the score to a comfortable 5-1.
As the game came to a close, the Terps began to relax, and the Cavaliers finally saw a chance to make their comeback. Virginia’s first goal came in the 58th minute, with two more 10 minutes later. But, with less than two minutes left of regulation, Virginia had simply run out of time.
The game ended stuck at 5-4, with 21 shots and six corners for Maryland. Virginia totaled 13 shots and eight corners.
The Terps finish up their regular season with a home game against Rutgers on Sunday.
