In a high-speed back-and-forth battle, No. 2 Maryland field hockey found itself headed to a shootout with its undefeated record on the line.
After No. 10 Princeton came back to tie the game late, the Terps needed someone to step up. In the shootout, two players made key contributions.
Jordyn Holloman and Ella Fehr were prime contributors in the shootout, both notching goals to help the Terps take down No. 10 Princeton, 4-3.
For Holloman, it was her fourth goal of the season to hand Princeton its fourth shootout loss this season.
The Terps jumped on the board early in the game, but it proved not to stand as the Tigers came back late in the fourth to take the game into an eventual shootout.
Speed proved to be a constant factor, with each team playing their usual fast-paced game, not slowing down for anything
“Definitely the fastest team we’ve played all year,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “We really had to almost plug that [right] side to even just slow down.”
The acceleration up the sides proved to be a focus for the Terps, holding the third quarter to no shots taken by either team.
Maryland seemed to be the speedier team at the start, jumping on the Tigers to gain a 2-0 lead after the first with goals from Babs Van Hest and Francisca Eschoyez.
After allowing an early corner goal in the second, Maryland turned on the jets again in the third quarter to score their third goal of the game on a penalty stroke taken by Josie Holloman.
The last five minutes of the game were when the wheels started to fall off for the Terps.
After review, the goal by Tiger midfielder Anna Faulstich was upheld by the referees and brought Princeton within one goal of tying the game.
The comeback momentum would prove to work for the Tigers as they held on to tie and take the game into overtime with a stroke penalty goal of their own by defender Ottilie Sykes with 3:25 left to play
Just like the game against Wake Forest on the 20th, speed and defense were major factors in both games, and one factor has been the consistency behind it.
Goalie Alyssa Klebasco was again a strong force for Maryland, saving seven of the ten shots on goal she faced.
While it wasn’t another shutout win for Klebasco, she held on to the victory for the Terps, saving four of the five shootout attempts by Princeton.
Corners have been a major focus for this team and it continues to show as the Terps went one for two on corner shots.
It was previously mentioned to Meharg about the number of corners the team has converted, and they continue to improve every game.
In Tuesday afternoon’s win, the Terps also snapped a four-game losing streak to Princeton, having last beaten the Tigers in the 2021 season.
While Maryland enjoys this win, it looks to the next game on Sunday against Delaware, the school with many connections not just to Meharg but to multiple Delaware native players.
