The Terps had a strong showing in the Big Ten tournament, which took place from Nov. 1 to Nov. 5. Maryland cruised past their opponents and found themselves in the final against a familiar foe, the Northwestern Wildcats. A win in the final would give the team an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, the Terps again fell to the Wildcats, but they put up a much more impressive fight this time, sending the game to double overtime. Since the Terps lost, it was unclear if they would secure a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Only 18 teams are selected for the tournament: ten slots are given to conference winners, and the rest of the slots are awarded to teams based on record and performance. On Monday, Nov. 6, at 10:00 p.m. the selection show began. Only four Big Ten teams — Maryland, Northwestern, Iowa and Rutgers — made the NCAA tournament. The Terps secured the fourth seed in the tournament, giving the team a first-round home game.
First Round
On Friday, November 10, the Terps faced the #17-ranked Old Dominion Monarchs (14–6). Since the Terps had the higher seed, Maryland hosted Old Dominion at College Park. The Terps started off quickly, with graduate student forward/midfielder Sammy Popper scoring off a corner in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Popper got the ball in the net once again, and in the third quarter, fifth-year forward Margot Lawn tallied up another goal for the Terps to give Maryland a solid lead. This was the final goal scored for the Terps, and Maryland put up a rock-solid defense, shutting the Monarchs out 3–0 to advance to the Elite Eight.
Elite Eight
On Sunday, November 12th, the Terps faced a familiar opponent, the University of Virginia Cavaliers (13–6). Maryland faced UVA in the beginning of the regular season and beat them 2–1. When the two teams met again in the final tournament, the outcome was very different. The Cavaliers scored a goal in each quarter, and they outplayed the Terps throughout the whole game. The Terps walked out of the game with only six shots, only one of which was on goal. Unfortunately, with this 4–0 loss, the Terp’s season came to an end.
Season Recap
The Terps had an impressive season, finishing 17–6 overall and 6–2 in the Big Ten conference. Maryland also had several players who received Big Ten awards and recognition this season. The first and second-team All-Big Ten awards were posted, and several Maryland players received accolades. Two Terps made the first-team: senior defender Rayne Wright, a captain, and junior forward Hope Rose. Wright was a brick wall on defense as well as a leader and starting defender throughout her final season at Maryland. Junior Hope Rose tallied twelve goals and three assists this season and notched her first career hat trick against Miami of Ohio.
Four Terps were named to the All-Big Ten second-team: fifth-year forward Margot Lawn, graduate student forward/midfielder Sammy Popper, freshman goal-keeper Alyssa Klebasko and fifth-year defender Maura Verleg, a captain. Lawn had seven goals, nine assists and three game-winning goals this season. Popper had seven goals and one assist, and Klebasko is ranked second in the conference for save percentage (.844). Verleg helped lead the defense to five shutouts this season.
Finally, senior forward Logan Anderson was awarded the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. This is the second time Anderson has received this award in her career.
While it is unfortunate that the Terps’ post-season run ended in the Elite Eight, they still had a very successful season. They’ll be losing some strong forces this year, but have a lot of promising young prospects coming in. It will be exciting to see what this new roster can bring to the table in the next season of Maryland field hockey.
