As the clock ticked down, Maryland field hockey coach Missy Meharg lifted her fist into the air and hugged forward Welma Luus, the team’s sixth-year senior captain.
Their team had just knocked off then-No. 1 Connecticut, 2-1, giving the Huskies their first loss of the season and the Terps their sixth straight win.
“This was an incredible amount of energy to find a way to win the game,” Meharg said.
Connecticut (16-1) dominated possession in the game’s early stages and opened the scoring in the fifth minute, which Meharg said was a sign of the Huskies’ experience. UConn has reached three consecutive final fours and won two of the last three national championships.
“UConn’s mature,” Meharg said. “When you look at that many seniors that have that type of experience right at the end, they come out and play championship level. We have maybe one or two players that have been to the final four, so it’s been a little while.”
The Huskies had the first penalty corner, shot and goal of the game. Forward Anna Middendorf delivered that score off the penalty corner with a shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
“Looking back at the season, we’ve been there a few times. It’s not the first time we’ve been scored on first,” Luus said. “In that sense, it was good for us to know … we can come back from it. We’ve done it so many times before.”
The Huskies had a 6-2 shot advantage more than halfway through the first half, but Maryland took control in the half’s latter stages.
Off a penalty corner in the 23rd minute, defender Grace Balsdon placed a drag flick into the top-right corner for her 12th goal of the season. A few minutes later, goalkeeper Sarah Bates fully extended to make a diving stick save and prevent the Huskies from retaking the lead on another penalty corner.
Then, with about five minutes left in the half, forward Welma Luus scored her 13th goal of the year to give her team a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
After beating her defender in the circle, Luus aimed her shot toward the top-right corner but hit the post. The ball came right back to her on one bounce, and she backhanded her second effort into the other side of the net.
The defense tightened up after intermission. After combining for 12 shots in the first half, the teams took just nine in the second. Overall, Connecticut outshot the Terps, 12-9.
“We actually did change up some shapes [in the second half],” Meharg said. “We forced them to give us space behind [us], which I thought [was why] our midfield was much more effective in the second half.”
Huskies forward Charlotte Veitner, the nation’s leading scorer, had the best chance of the second period in the 50th minute. Defender Courtney Deena lost track of Veitner, giving her a one-on-one chance with Bates, who charged off her line to thwart the shot.
“She got a step on me,” Deena said. “I just remember thinking, I hope [defender Carrie Hanks] is there.”
Hanks was also behind Veitner, but Bates stepped up to make the play.
Defensive efforts like those erased the Terps’ early-game struggles and let Meharg, Luus and the rest of the team celebrate on the field after handing the Huskies their first loss of the year.
“We played well enough to win,” Meharg said. “UConn took our whole level this year to another level.”
