Early into double overtime, forward Hope Rose found midfielder Danielle van Rootselaar on the counter, and Van Rootselaar raced into the circle along the baseline. Van Rootselaar earned Maryland’s second penalty stroke of the game.  

Defender Riley Donnelly came onto the field, replacing Rose at the penalty stroke spot, and buried it, sending No. 3 Maryland field hockey (18-3) to a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Liberty (12-8), and to the Quarterfinals on Sunday.

“Of course, we’re looking for revenge,” Donnelly said. “To win and move on to survive and advance, that’s what the postseason is all about. It just feels awesome.”

This was the second straight meeting between the two teams to head to double overtime and Maryland’s 17th overtime NCAA tournament win. 

Maryland thoroughly dominated Liberty, outshooting the Flames 23-6 but found themselves in a tight, back-and-forth defensive battle for much of the game. 

The Flames remained in the game courtesy of goalie Azul Iritxity Irigoyen’s stellar play. Irigoyen made big save after big save for the entire 72-minute contest.  

Irigoyen was rock solid, making four saves in the first half, and came off her line a few times to make a big save.

“Today was really about making sure you had open goal cages,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “This goalkeeper plays a little further out than most, so to frame it means you almost got to be two or three stick lengths outside the pipe.”

The teams entered halftime in a scoreless tie, but Liberty temporarily flipped the script in the opening minutes of the third quarter. 

Defender Jodie Conolly fired a rocket past Terps goalie Christina Calandra to take the lead off a penalty corner. It was just the Flames’ second shot of the game and the only shot on goal.

Maryland countered, earning two penalty corners, but the Flames’ penalty corner defense deflected both Terps’ shots.

The Terps did not panic. 

“It comes down to staying vigilant, staying consistent, never worrying about the score, and letting the outcome take care of itself,” Meharg said. 

Late in the third quarter, Rootselaar fired a shot that Irigoyen saved, pushing the ball to her left as she fell to the ground. Forward Margot Lawn picked up the rebound and fired it past Irigoyen, tying the game at 1-1 as the teams entered the final frame.

Maryland had a chance to score the game-winner late in the fourth quarter. A Flames player took down midfielder Leah Crouse in the circle, and the Terps were awarded a penalty stroke. 

Forward Hope Rose lined up to take the shot and fired the ball to her left. Irigoyen moved to her right and knocked the ball out of the air with her stick, preserving the tie and sending the game to overtime. 

Maryland had a chance to end the game midway through the first overtime period. Lawn inserted the ball on a penalty corner, and her teammates passed around before passing back to her. Lawn weaved around Irigoyen and had a wide open look but could not finish. 

Irigoyen made two big overtime saves, allowing Liberty to try to find the winner, and finished the game with 12. 

In her last year and final homestand of her Maryland career, Donnelly delivered the game-winner in double overtime giving the Terps new life. 

“These are the moments where you hit the highest highs and the lowest lows and today we came out on top,” Donnelly said.  

The Terps will play the winner of the Princeton-Syracuse game on Sunday at 1 p.m. where they look to secure the program’s 20th Final Four berth.