Hannah Boss looked across the shooting circle and aimed a pass at her four teammates two minutes into overtime. Josie Hollamon received the insert at the top of the arc and arrowed a shot into the back of the net, ending the Terps’ frustrating match against the Eagles.
The freshman was one of the seven players chosen to compete in the 10 minute overtime and used the opportunity to score her first career goal, the decisive one in No. 3 Maryland field hockey’s 1-0 overtime win on Sunday against No. 17 Boston College.
“It’s very exciting for her,” graduate student Nathalie Fiechter said. “I think it’s so fun to work with her and then see her get this moment that we all get to celebrate with her, so it’s awesome.”
The Terps returned to their home turf for the second game of the Big Ten/ACC Cup after a penalty corner in the last minute of the match against No. 20 Duke condemned Maryland to its first loss of the season.
[Sign up for our weekly sports newsletter, The Diamondback Sports Digest]
In repeated diving attempts to cut off passes, Boston College worked tirelessly to shut down the Terps (4-1) in hopes of achieving a similar result. The even-paced match kept the teams competitive — the Terps finished the match with 13 shots to the Eagles’ eight.
Alyssa Kelbasko received her first collegiate start, replacing goalie Paige Kieft, who had started the last four games. The freshman accumulated 75 minutes in the first three games but did not appear in the match against No. 20 Duke on Friday.
Kelbasko was a dominant force in the backline, swatting away three shots on goal and remaining in net the entire game.
“We have two goalkeepers that are super strong, and we all have the confidence in each of them in any setting and we talked to the captains and we’ve spoken to the goalies and right now they just alternate games and have a go and service the teams,” coach Missy Meharg said.
Maryland started to take shots farther out in response to the defensive pressure and athleticism of Boston College (2-2). Even with six shots in the first half, deflections off of the Eagles’ defensive sticks kept the Terps attempts out of the net.
[No. 3 Maryland field hockey suffers first loss of the season to No. 20 Duke, 2-1]
Long push passes along the sidelines created movement in Maryland’s midfield, but the Eagles pressed deep into the Terps defense. Boston College consistently swiped the ball from Maryland sticks, shutting down the Terps’ midfield and preventing Maryland from creating clear cut scoring opportunities.
Margot Lawn swiftly inserted the ball to the top of the shooting circle from a penalty corner in the 49th minute. The ball rebounded back out to Hope Rose after a save by the Eagles’ goalie, and Rose fed the ball right to Lawn.
The Terps thought they found a winner when a hard drive by Lawn landed in the top right corner, but the goal was chalked off because of an illegal interaction before the shot.
Maryland eventually found its breakthrough via Hollamon’s first career goal, which ensured the Terps didn’t slump to their second straight defeat.
“We have had a lot of success with overtime so we are used to that. We like the pressure, we find it a privilege. I’m really happy with the way we came out in the fourth quarter,” Meharg said.
