Terrapins field hockey forward Moira Putsch wasn’t in the starting lineup for the first time in her short Terps career Sunday. That didn’t stop the freshman from making an impact on the offensive end, though.
After Miami (Ohio) held the Terps scoreless through the first 21 minutes of the contest, Putsch hustled to keep a ball inbounds down the right sideline. She gained possession, took the ball to the end line, beat two defenders around the corner and sent a cross in front of the net. Midfielder Anna Dessoye buried the pass into the left corner of the net.
Putsch played through a left hand injury but provided several offensive contributions to help the No. 1 Terps cruise to a 3-1 victory over the Redhawks at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
“Moira is very special,” coach Missy Meharg said. “She has the ability to rule. She reminds me very much of [former Terps forward] Jill Witmer when she was a freshman”
In 2010, Witmer scored 17 goals and added seven assists en route to being named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Four years later, Meharg is looking to fill the void left by Witmer’s departure, and Putsch seems to be playing a role in that.
Still, Meharg opted to open Saturday’s game with Putsch on the bench in hopes of sparking more offense after North Carolina held the Terps to one goal in Friday’s 3-1 loss. The Terps dominated possession early in the game, but like Friday, they failed to capitalize on their chances.
But then Putsch used her speed to generate the scoring chance that lead to Dessoye’s goal.
“Bottom line is: Moira Putsch can run by anybody,” Meharg said.
Five minutes after Putsch assisted on Dessoye’s goal, the Terps offense created its second penalty corner, something Meharg said the Terps needed to do more after their loss to the Tar Heels.
Forward Katie Gerzabek settled the ball to midfielder Maxine Fluharty off the corner, and Fluharty ripped a shot into the left side of the net past goalkeeper Alysa Xaiver to extend the Terps’ lead to two goals, which eased the tension after the Tar Heels nearly shut them out Friday.
“You try not to get too fired up about when you score goals and all that,” Meharg said, “but the reality is it always feels better when you get that pressure off.”
Putsch continued to make her presence known as the Terps held a 2-0 lead in the second half. Her ability to work the ball across the end line led to 10 penalty corners in the second half for the Terps.
The Terps executed one of the corners to perfection as midfielder Steffi Schneid passed to defender Sarah Sprink, who sent a rocket over Miami goalkeeper Alysa Xavier for the Terps’ third goal of the contest.
While the Terps didn’t score again, they continued to generate scoring chances and outshot the Redhawks 28-4. Xavier came up big in net for Miami in the second half, making 11 saves to prevent the game from getting out of hand.
Meharg said Xavier’s performance was the only thing keeping the Terps from posting six or seven goals on the afternoon.
Despite Xavier’s strong game in goal, the Terps bounced back after their first loss of the season for a commanding victory with the help of Putsch off the bench.
“[Putsch] definitely set us up for success today,” goalkeeper Brooke Cabrera said.
