Maryland field hockey shot stopper Alyssa Klebasko made a dazzling kick save against Michigan on a penalty corner shot in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The sophomore immediately looked to goalkeeping coordinator and assistant coach Jenny Rizzo afterward.
To make the save, Klebasko used her logging instincts — a technique where the goalkeeper lays out to cover as much of the lower goal as possible. She works on logging in nearly every practice with Rizzo.
“I don’t think without her coaching, and us working on corners so much, that I would have made that save,” Klebasko said. “Specifically, I don’t think I would have made that save last year.”
Rizzo’s field hockey career has led her to several colleges as a coach, and nearly every continent as a player. She’s leaned on those experiences to bring a diverse trove of knowledge to College Park in her first season with the Terps.
“To be at a top-10, top-five program and be able to work with those goalkeepers [at Maryland], it was a pretty easy yes, because of the challenge it imposed and the ability to take that next step forward in my career,” Rizzo said.
The Long Island, New York, native moved to Pennsylvania when she was in middle school. Rizzo was a multi-sport athlete throughout her childhood, but first started field hockey after her relocation.
Before she began coaching goalkeepers, Rizzo played the position herself in high school. She cited transferable skills from other sports — particularly the hand-eye coordination she developed as a softball catcher — as crucial pieces in her transition to goalkeeper.
Rizzo’s switch to the position propelled her to a collegiate career at Penn State. She boasted a career 74.9 save percentage with the Nittany Lions from 2015 to 2018.
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Her consistent performances in front of the cage sent Penn State to the 2016 Big Ten tournament title and a trio of NCAA tournament appearances between her sophomore and senior seasons.
While she continued playing, Rizzo also chose a coaching career after graduation. Then-Nittany Lion assistant coach Stuart Smith played a key role in her decision, Rizzo said.
“[He was] an incredible mentor as well, not just a coach on the field but a really valuable person in my life still,” Rizzo said. “I really valued that relationship and wanted to make the same impact on others.”
Rizzo moved to England in 2019 to play for Beeston Hockey Club while working toward her masters degree in public health at Nottingham Trent University. Other international stops included Chile in 2016, New Zealand in 2023 and India in 2024.
She also began assisting remotely at Davidson College in North Carolina during her time in the United Kingdom.
Rizzo returned to the United States in 2020 before she started coaching at Pennsylvania’s Lafayette College in spring 2021. That summer, Rizzo was selected to the U.S. field hockey team.
Her playing most recently led her to Paris this summer as part of Team USA’s Olympics squad. She trained with the team but didn’t play, and was instead selected as a traveling reserve.
Rizzo admitted that being tantalizingly close but not participating in Olympic action came with its challenges. But she also acknowledged that she gained a different perspective from the experience — one that she’s instilled this season.
“I feel like I’ve been able to relate quite well with Paige [Kieft] and Reagen [Beall], our second and third keepers,” Rizzo said. “I have a lot of respect for goalkeepers now that I’ve been in this reserve position of just needing to be ready to play at any given time.”
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Rizzo’s camaraderie with the goalkeeping unit proved crucial in Maryland’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal win over Iowa. Before taking the field for a penalty shootout, Kieft recalled a conversation she’d had on a walk with Rizzo earlier in the year.
“I kind of thought back to that conversation, and I knew that she had that confidence instilled in me,” Kieft said. “I had a bit of a superstitious moment before going into the shootouts, I just gave her a handshake, and to me, that was just giving her all of my stress, all of my doubt, so going into the shootouts I could just have complete confidence.”
Kieft had featured just twice all season at that point. She made three shootout stops against the Hawkeyes in Maryland’s victory.
Rizzo’s split as a coach and player helps her empathize with Maryland’s shot stopper trio. She writes a note on Klebasko’s left hand blocker before every game. That message typically reads along the lines of ‘stay ready,’ or ‘take one step out.’
“It really just helps me calm down and release my nerves leading up to the game,” Klebasko said.“She really made an effort to get to know us — all three of us goalies — as people first, to then know how she can help us best.”
Rizzo’s modern approach has helped coach Missy Meharg, who has led the Terps for the past 37 seasons, adjust to the ever-changing collegiate field hockey landscape. Rizzo became an obvious choice to fill the Terps’ goalkeeping coordinator role once the position opened in the offseason.
“I’ve always believed that if I can get the best coaches, I’ll keep learning,” Meharg said. “I can only get the best athletes when I’m staying as current with the game as I can, so I would put Jenny in that space.”
