Five penalty corners had gone awry in the first half. The majority of the game was played in Old Dominion’s defensive end. And the game wound down to the final stages still knotted at zero.

But with 10:38 remaining, Terrapin field hockey coach Missy Meharg bent down next to redshirt sophomore forward Kim Ziegler, said a few choice words and substituted her into the game as part of a planned forward rotation.

Two minutes later, Ziegler slammed a well-placed pass from freshman Nicole Murraco into a wide-open net, giving the No. 1-ranked Terps the 1-0 lead that would be enough to defeat the No. 4 Lady Monarchs.

Meharg told Ziegler she’d get the opportunity to make an impact.

“We were going to get our opportunities off the amount of pressure that we put on their backs,” Meharg said of the five players moving in and out of the three forward spots. “All of them came in and did their job.”

The job was a difficult one, as Old Dominion is one of three teams the Terps have played at least three times and have a losing record against. Last year, the season series was 2-1, with the Terps taking the rubber match in the NCAA semifinals.

The competitiveness carried over to yesterday’s game, and both coaches said the trend of hard-fought matches will continue.

“If you’re going to be in Division-I athletics, you want to play the best as much as you can,” said Old Dominion coach Beth Anders, whose nine national championships lead all current coaches. “It’s competition, and these are the games you have to show up for.”

Meharg agreed, adding that the old Old Dominion games serve to gauge her team’s success.

“It’s absolutely the most competitive game from an energy standpoint and fundamentally tactical standpoint,” Meharg said.

Strong defense again anchored the Terps’ victory. The team has now allowed only one goal in its first four games. Junior goalkeeper Kathryn Masson stopped all six Lady Monarch shots, and also abandoned the cage and dove to the top of the arc to thwart an early scoring opportunity.

“Kat has been working a tremendous amount on being a presence on the ball, and today that was evident,” said assistant coach Marybeth Freeman, who played goalie at Old Dominion. “I think that [early save] really set the tone and pace for the rest of the game.”

New players continued their solid contributions to the team, including Muracco’s assist, and Meharg singled out the “unmatched” athletic skills of Kristina Foster and Bri Davies.

The important win didn’t pan out perfectly, however. The missed opportunities on penalty corners and failure to receive passes in open positions are aspects of the game that Meharg said need work.

“We definitely had the better of the game,” Meharg said. “I’d like to see us be more dynamic in goal scoring opportunities, and we’ll work heavily on that. But whenever you can come out of Old Dominion with a ‘W,’ it’s a great game.”

Contact reporter Geremy Bass at geremybass@gmail.com.

TERPS vs ODU

SEPT. 4, 2006

Kim Ziegler scores with less than 10 minutes left and Kathryn Masson racked up six saves to shut out Old Dominion, 1-0.

NOV. 18, 2005

The Terps knock off Old Dominion 3-2 in the NCAA semifinals in Louisville, Ky. Two days later, they won the national title.

SEPT. 4, 2005

After the Lady Monarchs forced overtime with less .2 seconds left, then-junior midfielder Paula Infante scored 22 seconds into the extra session to give the Terps a 2-1 win.

YEAR-BY-YEAR RESULTS

The Terps and Lady Monarchs have met at least twice every season dating back to 1999. Each of the Terps wins the last two season have been by one goal.