In 2014, the Terrapins field hockey team played Penn State in the regular season and in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, with both meetings ending in one-point victories for the Terps.
Friday, the pattern continued in State College, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions once again brought a physical presence, but coach Missy Meharg’s team countered with a stout defensive effort.
A first-half goal from midfielder Alyssa Parker gave the No. 8 Terps a 1-0 lead they clung to for the remainder of the Friday afternoon match en route to extending their winning streak to nine games.
“It was just a blur — the game was so intense,” defender Kasey Tapman said. “From the beginning, Penn State came out there to kill us.”
Despite taking 11 shots in the first half, the Terps (11-3, 5-0 Big Ten) couldn’t capitalize on any looks besides Parker’s second goal of the season.
About two minutes after Tapman made one of her two defensive saves of the afternoon, Parker carried the ball into Nittany Lions territory. As she approached the scoring arc, she shoveled a pass to the middle of the circle and ran toward the left post.
Midfielder Lein Holsboer then flipped a pass toward the senior and Parker pushed it past Penn State goalkeeper Jenny Rizzo (seven saves) in the 19th minute.
“Staying patient, staying vigilant, staying on the course,” Meharg said. “If you focus on the score, you’ll probably find yourself losing.”
The Terps tried to build on their lead before the break. They attempted four shots — two wide of the cage and two blocked — in the final five minutes of the half but couldn’t penetrate Penn State’s back line.
Entering Friday averaging of 8.08 penalty corner attempts per game(eighth in the country), the Terps struggled to draw fouls in their shooting circle. They finished the game with two corner looks to Penn State’s four.
“We weren’t quite as effective in getting penalty corners,” Meharg said. “It kind of sets a little damper in our offensive outcome.”
The referees weren’t calling fouls as tightly as the Terps expected, so when they convened in the locker room at halftime, Meharg told her players they were “too weak on the ball,” Parker said.
“I don’t want to say it was a mindset that we were just letting them push us over, but we realized that the refs were allowing a lot more pushes,” Parker said. “When we realized that they were letting the pushes go, we just stood our ground more and gave it kind of back what they were giving us.”
That aggressive approach helped the Terps limit the Nittany Lions to one shot over the final 35 minutes.
Meharg credited defender Sarah Sprink and midfielder/defender Delaney Leathers with controlling the Terps defense and keeping Penn State out of scoring position. When the Nittany Lions did crack the Terps’ zone, though, goalkeeper Sarah Holliday was active.
The rookie netminder sealed her second shutout of the season — her first on the road — with three saves. And often before the Penn State attack could fire a shot, Holliday would get a touch on the ball.
“[Holliday] made a presence on the play a lot,” Meharg said. “Our team was really tough, I mean really tough.”
Holsboer and Penn State forward/midfielder Aurelia Meijer each drew green cards within the last 10 minutes of the match, but neither squad was able to take advantage of the calls.
And despite tying their lowest scoring output of the season, the Terps hung on for a victory.
“It always ends up being pretty physical,” Parker said. “We knew they were going to be tough, so coming out [Friday], we stepped it up.”
