Just like Friday, Maryland forced overtime against a top-five team and came out on top with a familiar scorer knocking in the game-winner. 

“Everyone’s excited to get to overtime, and we know we are going to win,” midfielder Danielle van Rootselaar said. “We knew we were better, and we knew we’re going to put the ball in the cage.”

Early into overtime, midfielder Danielle van Rootselaar drove the ball into the circle from the right side and sent the ball past Wildcats goalie Annabel Skubisz for her second overtime goal of the weekend. 

With her two goals today, van Rootselaar scored all four of the Terps goals this weekend as No. 4 Maryland field hockey (11-1, B1G 5-0) upset No. 2 Northwestern (10-2, B1G 1-2), 2-1 in overtime. 

With the Terps’ third overtime win of the season, they remain undefeated and on top of the Big Ten standings. 

The game started off fast, with Northwestern earning a penalty corner three minutes into the game. 

The Wildcats got on the board with star forward Bente Baekers’ 18th goal of the season, but the Terps responded a minute later.

Maryland quickly earned a penalty corner of their own, and van Rootselaar’s shot took a deflection off a Wildcat into the goal. 

“She loves time and score,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “She loves outcome and she put us in position again in this game to beat a great team.”

Maryland and Northwestern battled from there. 

Late in the first quarter, a Northwestern shot snuck behind goalie Paige Kieft, but defender Riley Donnelly came into the cage, knocking the ball out before it crossed the white line, preserving the tie. 

“The game is absolutely in the hands of our defense,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “The rigorous defense by Rayne Wright, Nathalie Fiechter, Maura Verleg, and Donnelly really solidified ourselves. Our defense was a wall.”

From there, Maryland thoroughly dominated the defending National Champions on both sides of the ball. 

The Terps created many scoring opportunities but could not finish against a stout Northwestern defense and goalie. 

Skubisz single-handedly kept the Wildcats in the game, recording a season-high 13 saves and stopping the flurry of Terp shots. 

The Wildcats had difficulty containing van Rootselaar who was all over the field, dominating the stat sheet. In addition to scoring both goals, van Rootselaar took 13 shots, including eight on goal. 

The Terps outshot the Wildcats 24-9.

Each team had opportunities to win in the fourth quarter off penalty corners, but both defenses made plays thwarting those chances. 

The Terps’ defense was particularly strong, only allowing nine shots to one of the top offenses in the country. Goalie Paige Kieft recorded four saves in the win.

After taking down the number two and three teams in the country, the Terps will likely be the new second-ranked team.