Several Maryland field hockey players crashed Richmond’s goal in the 57th minute on Sunday.
Spiders goalkeeper Kristen Rake deflected an initial shot from sophomore Josie Hollamon, but the ball continued rolling in front of the goal. With no Richmond defenders between her and the cage, senior midfielder Hope Rose flipped in a score to give Maryland (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) a three-goal lead.
Rose fittingly capped off Maryland’s comprehensive senior day performance. The Terps cruised to a 3-0 victory over Richmond (10-6) in their final home game of the regular season, bouncing back from a tough 2-1 loss on Friday.
“Today was going to be a reset and we were going to play our hearts out for our seniors,” Hollamon said.
Maryland’s offense controlled all four quarters on Sunday. It outshot the Spiders, 20-1.
Richmond pushed forward during the opening minutes before the Terps followed up with a rapid counterattack.
Rose sprinted up the center of the field and passed off to fellow senior Carly Hynd at the top of the shooting circle. Hynd fired a back-handed shot toward the far post but Rake got a slight touch to deny the look.
[No. 6 Maryland field hockey drops close battle to No. 13 Princeton, 2-1]
Rake continued thwarting Maryland attacks in the first quarter.
A long pass from Rose sent forward Fleur Knopert through on goal in the sixth minute, creating a one-on-one opportunity against Rake. The Spiders shot-stopper rushed out of goal, clearing Maryland’s chance as she dispossessed Knopert.
Rake made another save to deny Rose from scoring a penalty corner in the ninth minute. But Maryland broke through just three minutes later.
Graduate student Emma DeBerdine played Maryland’s second penalty corner of the game to a setting Ericka Morris-Adams. Freshman Ella Gaitan waxed a low shot toward Rake, who dove early as she tried to make a sprawling save. She was unable to do so.
Knopert deflected Gaitan’s shot over Rake, giving the Terps an early 1-0 lead.
Richmond’s defense became more compact following the score. The Spiders’ tactical change gave Rake more support, as they efficiently closed Maryland’s attacking space in the second quarter.
Rake and Richmond’s defense combined for five saves between the 20th and 27th minute. Maryland found the cage on its sixth shot of the second quarter.
After assisting on the first score, Gaitan turned in Maryland’s second goal of the afternoon — again from a penalty corner.
[Maryland field hockey’s tenacious defense guided it to a win against Michigan]Hollamon corralled an entry pass and dribbled to the right side of the shooting circle. She drew the Richmond defense toward her dribble before playing the ball back to Gaitan. The freshman took advantage of her open space, lofting a shot over Rake to double Maryland’s advantage.
“When you have an opportunity to pass versus dribble, there’s no question the ball is faster than a person dribbling, so those were the comments [after Friday’s loss],” coach Missy Meharg said.”I was super happy to see us come out and pass the ball first.”
The Terps carried that 2-0 lead into halftime. They registered 12 shots with 10 on target in a dominant opening half.
Maryland’s attacking control persisted following the break.
Richmond didn’t record a shot in the second half, largely due to turnovers and its lack of possession.
“We’re a pretty solid backline, and we were very connected today,” Hollamon said. “We all played really good one-v-one defense in the backfield.”
The Terps continued hounding the Spiders’ shooting circle until Rose’s game-sealing score.
Maryland’s 20-shot performance was an encouraging sign for an offense that was held to its season-low shot total in its previous game against Princeton.
