Forward Linnea Gonzales hits the ball out of the air during the Terps’ 6-2 win over St. Joseph’s at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on Aug. 30, 2015.
Last season, freshman forward Moira Putsch became an integral part of the Terps’ offense, starting in all but one of the Terps’ 23 games. She finished tied for third on the team with 12 goals and added nine assists en route to earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
While Putsch transferred to Penn State after her first year in College Park, forward Linnea Gonzales appears poised to become the next rookie to experience immediate success.
“She’s been on the sideline since she could hold a stick,” coach Missy Meharg said. “So it’s been a vision, I know, of mine … [for her] to be a Maryland Terrapin and to wear the uniform.”
In Conference Cup play against Temple and St. Joseph’s over the weekend, Gonzales notched four goals across her first two outings in a Terps’ uniform.
Gonzales led the No. 3 Terps with two goals in her debut Friday against the Owls, including the team’s first point of the season. She followed up her breakout performance by scoring twice Sunday against St. Joseph’s.
“What’s so special about [Linnea] is she’s going to frame the goal cage,” Meharg said. “The ability to do things separately with her hands and her stick from her footwork are world-class.”
Gonzales and Putsch have attempted to fine tune their skill sets as members of the U-21 U.S. women’s team during the past two years. And after two games with the Terps, Gonzales has outmatched her national squad teammate’s production.
In 2014, Putsch’s first goal came in her second game, and she didn’t lead the Terps in any statistical categories after the opening weekend. Putsch scored a career-high two goals twice last year, while Gonzales matched that total in 21 fewer contests.
“[It’s] pretty awesome,” Gonzales said of the whirlwind start to her college career. “It’s what I expected and more, so I loved it.”
