Maryland and Northwestern are both elite field hockey programs. At least one of them has appeared in the national championship in five of the past seven years.
The Terps have maintained their illustrious status since joining the Big Ten, capturing six regular season titles since 2014. The Wildcats claimed a Big Ten title last year and an NCAA championship in 2021.
It’s a rivalry rooted in success, and it continues on Friday between a pair of top-five teams.
“We’re very even with them physically,” coach Missy Meharg said. “A lot of the players know them very, very well.”
Close results have been customary between the programs since the Terps made the move from the ACC. The 17 meetings over the past decade have been decided by just 22 goals, an average margin of victory narrowly under 1.3 goals. Maryland’s 5-1 loss in Evanston last year inflated that mark.
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Two goals has often been the required mark in the clash of Big Ten elites — seven of the last 10 games have finished with a 2-1 scoreline. During that time, last season’s six-goal outlier was the lone contest to feature more than four total goals.
The teams’ offensive outputs this season suggest a similar close and low-scoring affair on Friday.
The Terps are tied for the fourth-fewest goals per game in the Big Ten. They’ve exceeded three goals just once this season.
The Wildcats’ shooting percentage of 15.8 percent is second-worst in the conference, but goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz has excelled protecting the cage for Northwestern to make up for the lackluster offense.
Last season’s Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year currently holds an astounding .971 save percentage — nearly 10 percent higher than the next closest Division I shot-stopper. The graduate student allowed just one goal over the two meetings last season, which included a double-overtime battle in the conference title game.
[Josie Hollamon’s penalty stroke lifts No. 7 Maryland field hockey over No. 13 Rutgers, 3-2]
Despite that loss, Maryland has typically dominated in the matchups that exceed 60 minutes. The Terps’ last five wins over the Wildcats have occurred that way.
“We’ve all played many games that have gone into overtime, we’re always just ready,” goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko said. “I feel like I’m always locked in.”
Klebasko allowed an extra-period goal in Maryland’s loss last year in the Big Ten championship. That came in a top-10 matchup — a common theme in recent seasons for the conference’s premiere programs.
The Wildcats frequently dwelled in the teens of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll between 2014 and 2018, but the program has been a national heavyweight ever since. Friday’s meeting in College Park is the fifth top-five matchup between the two since 2019.
“I think we’re the best teams in the Big Ten,” defender Ericka Morris-Adams said. “It’s always going to be a battle and I think we both bring out the best in each other when we face each other.”
