The clock showed all zeros as the Terrapin field hockey team set up for its 13th penalty corner of the evening. Even with the game all but finished, the Terps looked more focused than they had been all evening.
But when senior midfielder Danielle Keeley sent a Susie Rowe pass into the net, the determination turned to elation as the Terps hugged and cheered.
The goal gave the Terps the ending they were looking for as all five seniors found the net on Senior Night last night. The No. 1 Terps cruised to a 10-0 win over Virginia Commonwealth (4-14) and finished the regular season at 16-2.
“That was the game-winning goal for me,” Rowe said of Keeley’s last-second deflection. “At halftime that was our plan, to make sure by the end [all the seniors] had a goal.”
It was the final regular season home game for seniors Keeley, Rowe, Ellen Ott, Sarah Scholl and Emma Thomas. Rowe got the party started with a goal less than two minutes into the game off an assist from Ott.
But it wasn’t just the seniors scoring. While Rowe led the way with two goals and two assists, the Terps got help from all around.
Forwards Meghan Dean, Nicole Muracco, Katie O’Donnell and Brigitte Strother all scored, showing the Terps will be in good hands after the current senior class graduates. Midfielder Ameliet Rischen added two assists.
But for now, the future is confined to the postseason.
“We’ve come a great deal throughout the season, [and] we still have places to go,” Scholl said. “It’s exciting to look into the next couple weeks. This is the period of time where we can really grow.”
Last night was quite a tune-up for the ACC tournament, which begins next weekend in Durham, N.C. The Terps jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first half, scoring too fast for the announcer to keep up at one point.
The Rams, who finished the season on a 12-game losing streak, were overmatched from the start. And though the Terps will face stiffer competition in the league tournament, the game serves as fair warning for the rest of the conference.
“The style and the tempo of the game that we played was championship level,” coach Missy Meharg said. “We’re in a really good place.”
Even when the execution wasn’t perfect, the results tended to be.
Scholl scored the second goal of the game from just inside the scoring circle off an odd redirection of a hard pass from Rischen. Less than two minutes later, Muracco scored when another pass from Rischen appeared to hit her, only to skip in.
The lead afforded the Terps a chance to work in many of their younger players. Nineteen Terps saw the field with plenty of minutes to go around in the second half.
Goalie Melissa Vassalotti played the second half and made one athletic save, turning away the Rams’ only shot on goal.
Still, all four four-year seniors – Thomas is a transfer – remained on the field until the final horn. They were among the first to greet Keeley after the final tally.
Unfazed by the wintry weather, the Terps spent the final minutes trying unsuccessfully to get a goal for Keeley, who had a score called back in the early going.
When the Elkton native finally connected for her second goal of the season, the seniors knew they could go out properly.
“It was quite fitting,” Scholl said. “Our class, we’ve been here together working every day for so long. It’s nice to end it on that note.”
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