No. 5 Maryland field hockey found itself tied heading into the fourth quarter in its Big Ten opener on Thursday.
Then, the Terps rallied.
Maryland scored three goals in the final frame to earn a commanding 4-1 win over Penn State.
Maryland’s offense woke up after failing to score for more than 40 minutes. It started with Babs van Hest recording her fifth goal of the season with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Ella Beach scored three minutes later to take a multi-goal lead before Maci Bradford added the dagger when the Nittany Lions pulled their goalkeeper.
Maryland’s offense started hot before its long goalless stretch. It scored five minutes into the opening quarter. Brinkley Eyre finished her first career goal with a top-of-the-circle shot to take the lead.
The first half ended with the Terps up one, holding Penn State to three total shots.
The second half would pick up, though, when the Nittany Lions controlled possession for most of the third quarter. Former Terp Ella Gaitin would score Penn State’s only goal on its only corner.
The Nittany Lions finally took some shots on goal and earned their first and only corner of the game. Gaitin, the team’s leading scorer, put up her fifth goal of the season and the only goal they would have all game.
Penn State kept the ball in their offensive end for a bit, poking holes in the Maryland defense before the Terps took it back and earned their third penalty corner. The rest of the third quarter brought no Maryland shots and a much stronger Penn State team.
The fourth quarter, however, would be a big one for Maryland. Just over a minute in, van Hest stole the ball from Penn State’s defense and took on Deverka by herself, scoring on a beautiful reverse hit.
Beach scored her goal next. Then, after a brief pause to check in about the rain, Penn State pulled Deverka and saw what their offense could do. Maryland took full advantage of the lack of a goalkeeper, though, and Maci Bradford scored her first goal of the season with assists from Beach and Kendall Gilmore.
Maryland’s 7-0 start is its best since its last Final Four appearance in 2022. The Terps’ offense has stepped up in crucial moments much better than last season, which is crucial to finding late-season success in conference play and the postseason.
