No. 6 Maryland field hockey was on the verge of a one-goal deficit entering the fourth quarter. Then, in just under two minutes, Ella Gaitan gave the Terps the lead.
A penalty corner was played directly to Hope Rose, who lined a shot at the goal. Michigan State goal keeper Lyra Gavino saved the initial attempt, but Gaitan collected the loose ball and scored an equalizer.
Soon after, Gaitan got a slight deflection on an Emma DeBerdine long-shot to sneak a shot past Gavino. The two-goal surge from Gaitan proved monumental for Maryland. It topped Michigan State 3-1 in East Lansing on Friday.
The Terps (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) attacked patiently against a low-lying Michigan State (6-6, 0-3 Big Ten) defense in the first quarter. They eventually found a slight opening in the defense halfway through the frame, leading to a string of penalty corners.
The entry pass on the initial corner went awry after a Maryland miscontrol, but the Terps quickly regained possession to regenerate the opportunity. But a pair of ensuing shots from Rose and Maci Bradford were both blocked.
[Freshmen Annemijn Klijnhout, Ella Gaitan play pivotal roles for Maryland field hockey]
Nothing resulted from Maryland’s two follow-up corners. Annemijn Klijnhout had a shot blocked and Rose missed an attempt wide of the goal.
Gaitan added another penalty corner shot in the 10th minute. It was halted before reaching the goal as the early offensive woes remained.
Less than a minute later, the Terps implemented a fake shot into their penalty corner routine. The creativity cleared enough space for Rose to get an open look at the cage. She fired a shot on target — Maryland’s first of the game — but Gavino saved it.
The missed opportunities proved costly as the opening quarter ended.
Largely against the run of play, the Spartans’ Maddie Lawlor pushed toward Maryland’s cage while dribbling along the left baseline.
Terps goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko was positioned at her near post, making sure Lawlor didn’t have any opening for a tight-angle shot. The rest of Maryland’s cage was virtually uncovered as a result.
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An unmarked Lawlor used the abundance of space ahead of her to carefully swing a pass in front of the goal. Lilian Knorr then snuck past two Terp defenders, getting a stick on the ball to touch it past Klebasko for the game’s opening goal.
Michigan State’s defense remained strong in the second quarter, sitting back and absorbing Maryland’s offensive pressure as the Spartans led 1-0 at halftime. The Terps’ offense remained sluggish until late in the third period.
Maryland finally got a non-penalty corner look on goal with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. It worked the ball from the right flank to the left, where Rose was isolated with a single defender at the edge of the penalty circle, but the senior fired a shot off the post.
Gaitan’s goals soon followed Rose’s narrow miss. The freshman was once again crucial in a Maryland victory, scoring her third game winning goal of the season. Gaitan tallied her second straight multi-goal game.
A score from Fleur Knopert in the early minutes of the final quarter made the score 3-1, virtually sealing victory for the Terps — their third consecutive Big Ten road win as they remained strong in conference play.
