The Terrapins field hockey team took the field Friday night with a chance to dethrone Old Dominion from its perch as the top team in the nation and reassert itself as arguably the best in the game.
But when the clock struck zero, it was clear — again — who the best team on the field was.
The Lady Monarchs dominated the No. 3 Terps in just about every facet of the game at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex on Friday night, using a tireless attack and a stifling defense to upend the Terps, 5-2, for the second time this season.
“Old Dominion is an extremely fit team and is exceedingly tenacious in their counterattacks,” coach Missy Meharg said. “This is a very good team in Old Dominion and hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to play them again.”
Old Dominion (15-1) has outscored the Terps (12-2) by seven goals in the teams’ two contests this season, having already held the Terps scoreless in a four-goal victory in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 2. And as has been the case all season, the key to the Lady Monarchs’ stellar offensive play was do-it-all forward Emma Batten.
In two games against the Terps this season, Batten scored six of her team’s nine goals, notching a hat trick in each victory. Old Dominion is the only team to score more than three goals in a game this season against the Terps, accomplishing the feat twice due in large part to the 23-year-old’s efforts.
“Emma Batten is a world-class player, and she should be.” Meharg said. “She’s very tricky, she’s a goal scorer, she can manipulate a defense and I’m confident we can learn from this again, but we have to find a way to stop her.”
The Lady Monarchs’ ability to score at will was the Terps’ downfall Friday night. The Terps have given up just 25 goals so far this season, but 36 percent have come from the sticks of the Old Dominion offense, prompting Meharg to issue a challenge to her defense after the game.
“You have to be able to make it personal, and play them one on one in a way that is very smart,” Meharg said. “Taking defense more personally and making it more of a conviction … really understanding that battle.”
The Terps responded to their coach’s message with a strong defensive performance in their road contest yesterday at American (7-6), allowing just one goal in a decisive 5-1 victory. The Eagles managed just seven shots against a stingy Terps backfield, scoring their lone tally on a penalty stroke in the first half.
“I’m very happy with our outcome, as well as the way we adjusted as a group,” Meharg said. “I think everybody just wanted to step out and put [Friday’s game] behind us and I think we were able to do that.”
Their four-goal victory showed the Terps can still handle most tests, and putting Friday’s performance behind them will only be another. The defeat was an emotional one for the Terps, but one the team nonetheless said will be motivation for the rest of the season.
“It was a performance that we’re not going to be happy with,” midfielder Megan Frazer said after Friday’s game. “It’s going to drive us all day. I don’t want to feel like this ever again and I think the team feels the same way. … We’re not going to let this happen again.”
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