No. 5 Maryland field hockey had a statement of adversity Sunday afternoon against No. 4 Wake Forest. 

Neither team scored in the game’s first 55 minutes, which is uncharacteristic for Maryland. Then, the Terps broke through. 

Maci Bradford delivered the game-winning goal with under five minutes to play to send the Terps to 8-0 for the first time since 2018. Ella Fehr set up Bradford’s second goal of the season on a corner attempt from the right side. 

Starting goalkeeper Alyssia Klebasko recorded a shutout facing six shots, her second of the season. 

Head coach Missy Meharg briefly mentioned Klebaskos’ performance when mentioning how difficult it was to choose a player of the game.

“We always pick a player of the game, and it really wasn’t possible today with her performance, with Josie’s performance, with Maci’s performance,” Meharg said

The Terps struggled to find their footing in the first quarter, surrendering many offensive chances to the Demon Deacons.

Opposing goalie Ruby Butterfield made a huge save early on a deflected pass to move into the circle to keep the game tied.

Wake Forest continued their heavy offensive pressure with huge lifts over the midfield to avoid the one-on-one battles for possession, forcing Maryland to play a defensive game.

The second quarter did not prove any easier for the Terps, as they struggled to finish their chances offensively, with disconnected passes leading to more offensive zone for Wake Forest.

The battle continued for Maryland midway through the third quarter as it received two overlapping green cards against Francisca Eschoyez and Babs Van Hest.

Despite the green cards, Maryland maintained the majority of possession in the third, creating more chances, applying more pressure, and finding the speed to keep up with Wake Forest.

The Terps kept up the pressure late in the game, breaking a long-standing 0-0 tie to put up a win in front of the 2005 and 2006 National Championship teams, who were being celebrated by the school this weekend.

When asked about the similarities she sees between the current team and those championship teams, Meharg couldn’t help but compare the freshman classes.

“I think one of the most amazing things are, there were four freshmen on that team that remind me so much of our four freshmen, and Ellie too, but four of them that are significantly impacting the play right now,” Meharg said. “Those guys are all on the field. They’re incredible energy.”

Meharg continued to praise her younger players, talking about the constant momentum shifts during the game and the heavy pressure from Wake Forest at the start.

“We’ve got the Freshmen out there … it’s gonna take them a little while to feel into it.”

She made sure to bring up the game in the spring against Wake Forest in North Carolina, stating, “We were down at Winston-Salem, and we beat them three to nothing, but two of their players weren’t there… so we knew they were going to be a much improved team” 

It wasn’t just head coach Meharg getting the National Championship spirit from Sunday’s game.

Defender Josie Hollamon was very happy with the team’s defensive performance.

“We had to keep going, keep being patient, move the ball, wait for our opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net, and we played really good defense today. I think defense wins championships, and defense hope has won this game,” said Hollamon.

The Terps have continued to come together and play hard no matter the situation, building a 3-0 record against ACC teams this season.

Maryland looks to continue its dominance Friday afternoon as it takes on Rutgers at home in its second Big Ten conference game of the season.