Entering Maryland field hockey’s game Friday against No. 9 Michigan, goalkeeper Sarah Bates had never played more than 20 minutes in a college game.
The only time she appeared was in a one-point contest in the final four minutes and 58 seconds of the No. 8 Terps’ 3-2 loss to No. 11 Northwestern on Sept. 25.
Against the Wolverines, however, Bates played nearly 55 minutes of the team’s 3-2 overtime victory. While neither team led by more than a goal, the redshirt junior recorded a career-high six saves and limited Michigan to one score.
“I was nervous, obviously, because that’s the most I’ve ever played,” Bates said. “But I mean, it’s been a long time waiting.”
This season, coach Missy Meharg has maintained her team’s starting goalie position was an open and tight competition between Bates and Sarah Holliday. The lineups and playing time distribution, however, have tilted the battle in Holliday’s favor.
Holliday has been the starter in all 11 games this year. Bates’ action has been limited to the ends of games when the outcomes were already decided.
Friday’s win over Michigan, though, proved the position is still fluid. Holliday earned the start, but Bates replaced her earlier than usual.
“Our goalkeeping unit is really strong, and we’re going to make a decision on who’s going to play probably day-to-day,” Meharg said.
Last season, Holliday was the team’s primary netminder as a freshman, and Bates was ineligible after transferring from Penn State. Bates was also recovering from a cracked patella.
But in recent contests, the Terps defense has allowed opponents to take early leads.
Michigan scored against Holliday in the 18th minute, prompting the coaches to make the change. Northwestern had scored on Holliday in the second minute Sept. 25, while Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute two days before that.
“She’s been under a lot of pressure early in halves,” Meharg said. “It’s not good for a goalie to be scored on early in multiple games. It doesn’t make you feel good and [Holliday] certainly doesn’t want it. So to get a break would be a logical thing, and we made that decision.”
Meharg also said she thought Holliday looked off balance early against Michigan, and Bates entered the game about a minute after the Wolverines took the 1-0 lead.
“The coaches rely on both of us, so, I mean, it’s the same thoughts that I’ve always had when I go in,” Bates said. “I’m always mentally prepared.”
The Wolverines tested her with a low shot minutes later, and she kicked it away. Making saves early in games is crucial, Bates said, and helps ease the difficulty of entering games off the bench.
“It’s very tough. You don’t know as a goalie when you’re going to go in or if you’re going to go in,” Bates said. “So it’s just at all times watching the game. You’re a student of the game on the sidelines.”
Bates logged two saves in the waning minutes of regulation to help the Terps preserve their 2-2 tie and force overtime. Then forward Emma Rissinger netted a goal to clinch the victory.
The stops were perhaps the most important in Bates’ career, as the redshirt junior didn’t take the field during her first three years of college. Despite the wait, the team wasn’t surprised with her performance.
“Her and Sarah Holliday are so neck-and-neck, they’re both amazing goalies,” Rissinger said. “[Bates] came in and she really wasn’t timid ever. She was just showing how she can play and how we know she can play.
