Northwestern’s Ashley Sessa and Lauren Hunter entered Friday tied for the team’s assist leaders this season. The duo has had regular contributions on penalty corners. In a game that was defined by those penalty corners, the pair added to that tally.

Sessa played an entry pass to a setting Hunter in the 11th minute. With the ball sitting still, Ilse Tromp laced a shot past several Maryland defenders to give Northwestern an early lead.

That score was the lone on Friday. No. 2 Northwestern survived a late push from No. 5 Maryland field hockey, defeating the Terps 1-0 at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. Maryland dropped its first Big Ten game of the season.

“We’re a little tired of losing 1-0,” coach Missy Meharg said. “I think Maryland played a really nice brand of hockey. We just need to figure out that goal line area.”

Junior defender Ericka Morris-Adams was penalized with a green card in the first few minutes of the contest. That let Northwestern (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten) control possession in the early going. The 11-10 passage of play aided the game’s first penalty corner in the sixth minute.

Katie Jones sent the entry pass directly to Tromp. The sophomore fired an attempt on target but defender Rayne Wright got her stick on the shot to deflect it off the line. Wright returned after missing Maryland’s (5-3, 1-1 Big Ten) previous contest.

The Terps cleared the early chance but Tromp got another penalty corner chance. This time she converted for the game’s only goal. Tromp finished with over half of Northwestern’s shots. The sophomore also had all six of her team’s shots on target.

[Maryland field hockey’s rivalry with Northwestern stems from success]

Northwestern continued forcing the issue after netting the opener. It finished the opening quarter with a 3-1 advantage in both shots and penalty corners. An Alyssa Klebasko save kept the deficit at one.

Maryland regrouped ahead of the following period. It’s offense was more cohesive, connecting on more passes, shifting the play to Northwestern’s half of the field and winning several penalty corners.

The Terps disguised a clever penalty corner setup in the 25th minute. Midfielder Emma DeBerdine played an entry pass to senior midfielder Hope Rose, but instead of sending a shot goalward, Rose passed back to DeBerdine. The graduate student was left unmarked after playing the initial ball.

DeBerdine — still near the baseline — attempted a shot from the tight angle, but goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz lunged toward her near post to make a sprawling save.

[Kylee Niswonger, Maryland field hockey’s ‘catalyst,’ has been electric offensively]

Maryland entered halftime with a one-shot advantage. But just one of its five looks was on target, resulting in a deficit at the break. The Wildcats remained in control in the second half.

While possession throughout the third quarter was split evenly, Northwestern created far more opportunities. The Wildcats held Maryland shotless while taking five of their own. An overhaul of penalty corners also created several opportunities, but Klebasko and the Terps’ defense halted each chance.

After a fast-reaction save in the 49th minute, the Maryland shot stopper parried a penalty corner shot away from her cage just minutes later. The Terps’ offense still searched for an equalizer.

An urgent Maryland attack won a trio of penalty corners between the 53rd and 55th minutes. Northwestern played several of those minutes with a numerical disadvantage after Laura Salmanca was yellow-carded. Meharg pulled Klebasko from the cage.

But Skubisz and the Wildcats’ defense shut down every open look the Terps had. They couldn’t score, ultimately dropping their fifth straight contest to Northwestern.

“I’m really proud of where we’re going,” Meharg said. “We got to fix up that front and get ourselves some good, quality looks.”