Midfielder Maxine Fluharty notched two goals and an assist in the Terps’ 5-2 win at Old Dominion on Friday. She also had two assists in the team’s 7-0 win vs. UC Davis yesterday.
In its final year in the ACC, the Terrapins field hockey team posted an undefeated regular season in the conference, won the league tournament and boasted the top offensive player, defensive player and coach in the postseason awards.
So when the No. 1-seed Terps take on unseeded American tomorrow in the NCAA tournament first round, their goals move beyond the ACC and onto the national landscape. And the Terps do so on a five-game winning streak, sustaining a high level of play entering the tournament.
“We’ve had some great hockey. We’ve had some good hockey,” coach Missy Meharg said. “But fortunately, right now it looks like they’re playing their best hockey.”
After the Terps’ only loss of the season against Old Dominion on Oct. 20, the team had a string of dominant performances in its next three games. The Terps outscored their opponents, 18-2, in that span, playing with their usual speed in fluidity on attack while also solidifying their defense.
The team has had lapses, however, like in its ACC semifinal against Duke. The Terps were dominant in the first half, mounting a 2-0 lead, but the Blue Devils clawed back into the game to tie it and send it into overtime.
Duke’s comeback put the Terps in a rare position of vulnerability, but midfielder Maxine Fluharty scored the game-winning goal four minutes into overtime. Though the team won the game, it was still critical when evaluating the result.
“You can’t rest on being good in the past,” Fluharty said Wednesday. “And you have to be able to be very critical of the games that even when you are winning, of things that you could improve.”
The Terps have emphasized that type of mentality throughout the season. They had a better defensive showing in their 2-0 win against North Carolina in the conference title game, making adjustments from their past showing.
American (15-5) was the third team to hold the Terps (20-1) to two goals when the teams first faced each other Oct. 13. The Terps started slowly on offense, taking three shots in the first period. They would improve in the second period to win 2-0, but the team suffered a string of slow starts after that game, eventually culminating in their loss to Old Dominion.
The Eagles started a strong run after their loss to the Terps, winning seven of their next eight games, including a 4-3 upset over nationally ranked Connecticut. American now has another chance at an upset, but the Terps have focused on learning from their past encounter with the Eagles.
“They probably will try and obviously switch things up when they play us again,” midfielder Hayley Turner said. “That’s not too much of a worry for us because we’ll just stay focusing on what we’re doing and try and handle whatever they throw at us.”
The Terps’ versatility will help them handle however American chooses to play them tomorrow. This season, the Terps have shown they can play a variety of styles without experiencing a letdown, which has been key to their winning streak. Now, the team enters the NCAA tournament looking to build on its successful season.
“It’s so exciting,” Turner said. “We’ve had such a big win and we’re just ready to go back out again and play together as a team and keep going forward.”