Ashlyn Carr sprinted down the field and took a shot just more than a minute into the match, driving the ball at the goalie’s feet. Maci Bradford attacked and took advantage of the rebound, giving Maryland field hockey an early advantage it would never surrender.
Bradford’s quick attack set the tone for the match, as the Terps dominated UC Davis in a 6-0 victory. The Terps finished their time in California with three wins and a cumulative total of 14 goals.
The Terps will head home to compete in the B1G/ACC Cup and face off against Duke on their home turf on Friday.
Hope Rose blew down the field, controlling the ball from the left wing to the center of the circle before slotting home the Terps second goal of the game less than four minutes after Bradford’s opener. A pull around the defender and a quick pass angled above the goalkeeper’s foot was all she needed to double Maryland’s lead.
[Hope Rose’s two goals push Maryland field hockey past Cal, 4-1]
That goal was her first of two on Monday. She created multiple scoring opportunities two more times late in the second quarter and managed to extend the distance between the Terps and Aggies just before halftime, giving Maryland a 5-0 advantage at the break.
Rose, coming off a game-winning goal in the Terps’ last game against Cal, was a consistent force in their first three games of the season. She notched five goals and an assist in Maryland’s first three games of 2023.
Maryland converted penalty corners throughout their first two matches and did so again on Monday. Set up for a penalty corner, Sammy Popper received the insert from Bradford, faked out a defender and rocketed a shot over the goalie and into the back of the net. Popper notched her third score of 2023 on Monday, with one goal in every game so far this season.
[Maryland field hockey cruises to 4-0 win over Stanford in season opener]
The Terps came out of halftime with the same urgency despite holding a five-goal advantage. Freshman Maddie Vasilios dribbled her way to her first collegiate goal and celebrated with her teammates afterward. Vasilios notched 50 goals and 18 assists during her senior season of high school at River Hill, accumulating 118 points in 2022 before joining the Terps.
Coach Missy Meharg switched goalkeepers at halftime each of the past two games, opening up with Paige Kieft who made way for freshman Alyssa Klebasko, and did so again on Monday. Klebasko came in and made three saves to close out the game.
The Aggies shut out the Terps in the fourth quarter but couldn’t find a goal of their own, as Maryland limited the amount of opportunities UC Davis created. The Terps outshot the Aggies 19-8, more than doubling their opponents on the way to their third straight win and first shutout of 2023.
