Defender Sarah Sprink looks to pass during the Terps’ 5-2 win over New Hampshire at home on Sept. 20, 2015.
In their game against Albany on Sept. 11, the Terrapins field hockey team changed its approach for offensive penalty corners.
Instead of using two players as options to receive the entry pass, the Terps only designated one person to be what coach Missy Meharg calls the “stick stopper.” The Terps fell to the Great Danes but have won their three contests since.
Sunday afternoon, the No. 10 Terps scored their first three goals off penalty corners en route to a 5-2 win over New Hampshire at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
“It’s definitely easier to consistently have the same spot where the ball is probably going to go to,” defender Sarah Sprink said. “We hadn’t been that successful prior to the change, and it definitely switched it up a lot.”
Sprink led the Terps’ corner charge against the Wildcats (2-5) with all five of her points – two goals and one assist – coming on the set pieces. The senior’s production moved her to 98 career points.
The Terps (5-3) earned two corners in the opening five minutes of the game, but the Wildcats defense cleared both opportunities.
But with about 18 minutes left in the half, forward Floor Paanakker dribbled along the goal line, tried to flip a pass to forward Julie Duncan in the circle and drew another foul from New Hampshire’s defense.
On the corner, midfielder Lein Holsboer entered the ball to forward Emma Rissinger, who was the team’s lone stopper. Sprink took the feed from Rissinger and weaved into the circle to hammer a drive off Wildcats goalkeeper Melissa Rize’s hand and into the cage.
Rize couldn’t stop the Terps’ next corner opportunity about three minutes later, either. Off midfielder Delaney Leathers’ stop, Sprink faked a drive and sent it to defender Carrie Hanks, who rocketed a shot into the cage for her first goal of the season.
And with about 11 minutes left in the period, the Terps built a three-goal gap after earning three consecutive corners. Sprink dribbled toward the left side of the circle and chipped in her second goal of the day.
“That seems to have more clarity and angles for the players,” Meharg said of her team’s strategy switch. “We’ve got a lot of weapons.”
Wildcats forward Meg Flatley trimmed the Terps’ lead to 4-1 when she deflected a rebound past goalkeeper Sarah Holliday (three saves), who earned her third straight start after backing up goalkeeper Jill Genovese to start the season.
“I’m very grateful I have the opportunity every day to go to practice and push myself really hard and continue to be a starter,” Holliday said after combining to make seven stops in two games this weekend.
Genovese, however, took over for the rookie after halftime. New Hampshire came out of the locker room with a renewed energy, and in turn, opened the period’s scoring about six minutes into the action. Forward Meg Carroll placed a bouncing drive past Genovese (four saves) from about 5 yards out.
“The pace and the energy actually was in favor of New Hampshire given periods of time,” Meharg said. “Obviously, it’s not like us to give up so many shots.”
Still, the Terps outshot the Wildcats 22-14. And before New Hampshire’s strike, Genovese made three of her four saves in a 5-second span on a Northwestern corner.
Northwestern didn’t convert on any of their five corner chances, while the Terps’ new approach resulted in three scores off their nine opportunities. That improved efficiency was a welcomed changed for Meharg’s squad.
“Obviously, those numbers are great,” Meharg said. “But whether you have 10 shots, or 20 or 30 shots, you’ve got to find a way to win.”
