Maryland field hockey coach Missy Meharg knows how high the expectation level is around her program. She’s coached the Terps to seven national championships in her 29-year career.
So this year, when Maryland started 1-2 for the first time since 1996 and was shut out for the first time in five seasons, she could sense what the response would be from those outside the team.
“People get wigged because Maryland field hockey’s lost a game,” Meharg said earlier this year. “You can feel it.”
But Meharg and the No. 6 Terps (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) didn’t panic after dropping games to No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Duke. In fact, they haven’t lost since, stringing together five straight wins entering this weekend’s road matchups against No. 15 Iowa (6-2, 0-1) and No. 11 Northwestern (6-2, 1-0).
“We’re getting into Big Ten play now, and we’ve got some great teams ahead of us,” Meharg said. “I think we’re as ready as we can be.”
The team started its winning streak a couple days after its loss to the Blue Devils. The Terps knocked off No. 8 Boston College to clinch their first win against a ranked opponent and won the Terrapin Invitational the next weekend by beating California and American.
After opening conference play with a 4-1 win over Indiana, they visited No. 13 Princeton and came away with a 2-1 victory.
“It was our toughest game so far,” forward Emma Rissinger said. “In terms of score … [it was] our closest [win] so far.”
Meharg, though, is adamant that she never dwelled on the outcomes of games early in the season. Part of that is due to the daunting schedule she put together for her team.
“I’m much more focused on playing the best of the best, and that’s what we’ve done,” Meharg said. “I think winning comes from playing the best.”
For the past five games, it appears her strategy is working.
“I’m happy to be in the position where we’ve been able to string some wins together right now,” Meharg said.
The Terps are used to building winning streaks. Last year’s team won 17 games in a row, and Meharg’s 2009 team won the first 23 games of its season.
If this year’s squad is to match those types of accomplishments, the players said they’ll do so by focusing on the next game instead of looking forward. They also try to spend a lot of time looking inward rather than worrying about their opponents.
“Predominantly we try to go in games focusing on ourselves,” defender Grace Balsdon said. “We don’t think too much and run away with ourselves. [We set] objectives for each game and then see what happens after that.”
Iowa and Northwestern represent formidable foes. Both have upset wins over teams that have been ranked in the top 10 this season. The Wildcats are the only team to have forced overtime against Duke, which is 8-0. The Hawkeyes lost to No. 4 Penn State by one goal, the closest any team has come to beating the Nittany Lions.
But Balsdon and the rest of the team think that what they’ve learned in the first quarter of their season has helped prepare them for this weekend and the rest of their schedule.
“We’ve played a few games together, so we’re getting into the flow of knowing where each other is going to be,” Balsdon said. “The consistency comes with communication and knowing your next pass and where your teammates are going to be.”
