On a night where both sides struggled to create chances, a rebound conveniently led to the game-winning goal.
Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Maryland goalie Alyssa Klebasko pushed a long ball away from her cage. Her clearance unintentionally fell to Virginia’s Suze Leemans, who sent a low shot past an attempted kick save from Klebasko.
Leemans’ score proved to be the difference in No. 3 Virginia’s 1-0 win over No. 5 Maryland field hockey on Friday.
“We’re going to run with the best in the country,” coach Missy Meharg said. “So it’s now cleaning up the critical area, and that’s the red zone.”
It was a cagey start to the top-five rivalry matchup.
After trading minor chances with Virginia (4-0) to open the first quarter, Maryland (3-2) had the first clear chance of the night with back-to-back penalty corners in the ninth minute.
Both entry passes went directly to Hope Rose, but the senior technically didn’t register a shot from either. Both of her attempts were blocked before reaching the goal.
Neither team registered a shot in the opening quarter.
Maryland forward Fleur Knopert was issued a green card two minutes into the second quarter. The Cavaliers took quick advantage of their 11-10 opportunity by collecting consecutive penalty corners.
[Maryland field hockey’s attack has good depth, but no go-to scorer]
A collection of Maryland defenders helped Klebasko trap Virginia’s first penalty corner shot. Klebasko used her left shoulder to deflect Daniela Mendez-Trendler’s shot on the Cavaliers second attempt.
The two shots on target from Virginia’s pair of penalty corners were the only shots that either side put on the cage in the first half.
Virginia and Maryland went into the break scoreless after a dull opening 30 minutes.
Freshman Ellie Goldstein provided a creative spark in the middle of Maryland’s forward line. She dribbled into the box to create Maryland’s first chance of the game, and just minutes later she stole a pass to help initiate another.
Sophomore Maci Bradford received a diagonal through pass from Goldstein following the steal. Bradford had a decent look at goal after spinning her defender, but her shot flashed across the face of goal as the chance fizzled out.
Despite the early miss, Maryland continued placing persistent pressure on Virginia’s defense. The Terps collected another pair of penalty corners but once again couldn’t put a shot on target from either set.
Maryland had the better scoring chances in the third quarter but went into the final 15 minutes without a shot on target.
[A position switch finally gave Isaac Bunyun his shot with Maryland football]
The Terps frantically fought to pull a goal back in a scene that looked eerily similar to Sunday’s second half against Duke. Even with all of the late-game pressure, it took Maryland almost the entire sixty minutes to put a shot on target.
Maryland was awarded a last-second penalty corner, its eighth of the night. With as many attackers forward as possible, the shooting chance fell to Rose, but the senior’s shot was blocked off of the line by Virginia’s Noa Botterman.
“Their post player had more saves than their goalie,” Meharg said. “So I give Noa a lot of credit.”
A lengthy review followed, but the referees ultimately concluded that there weren’t any obstructions as the Cavaliers frantically cleared the chance to end the game.
The Terps aim to rebound on Sunday as they host Lock Haven (1-4) to close out the Terrapin Invitational.
“I feel like we’re just still gelling,” Meharg said. “We know that we have an amazing, amazing schedule, and [we want] to go into the game on Sunday with an opportunity to really work on the details like penalty corners and get them right.”
