After dominating the first half, Maryland field hockey’s two-score lead looked to be in jeopardy. Villanova raced down the field with only one defender to beat a minute into the third period.

Maryland’s defense recovered, forcing a contested shot attempt from senior Barrett Trigg to keep the comfortable lead.

This was one of the few scares for Maryland’s defense on Sunday. Sisters Josie and Jordyn Hollamon added fourth-quarter scores to extend the Terps’ lead en route to a 4-0 win over Villanova in the final match of the Conference Cup.

“You can dominate play and that is a win. The key is to not get bored,” Maryland coach Missy Meharg said. “Stay entertained and keep people entertained. It’s hard to score goals.” 

For the second straight match, Maryland’s (2-0) offense got to work early. The Terps methodically passed the ball around Villanova’s defense, resulting in three shots and two penalty corner opportunities.

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The Terps failed the first two, using sophomore Ella Fehr to tap it to Josie Hollamon lightly, but were awarded a third opportunity. The Terps used the same strategy, as junior Maci Bradford sent it into Fehr. Sophomore Ella Gaitan’s shot bounced in front of the goalie and into the right corner to put the Terps up 1-0 less than four minutes in.

“We talked about having penalty corners a lot,” Bradford said. “It’s a really important part of the game where we need to score goals … it was really hard to score in the field of play, so executing on corners today was really important.” 

Villanova earned a penalty corner of its own, but a sweeping shot from junior Gemma Lysaght missed to the left.

Maryland attacked down the right side with Fehr’s pass from the midfield. Sophomore Annemijn Klijnhout dribbled into the corner and passed through two defenders to Bradford, who perfectly placed a forehand pass to freshman Jordyn Hollamon for her first career goal — putting the Terps up 2-0 in the first period.

Maryland dominated possession in the first half. The Terps rarely let the ball leave their side of the field, dominating with 11 total shots and six on goal to just three for Villanova and two on goal.

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The third quarter was a different story. The Wildcats created more offensive opportunities while limiting the Terps on offense. Villanova prevented any penalty corners while limiting Maryland to just two shots, with one coming in the final 10 seconds.

But Maryland’s defense continued to apply pressure, allowing just two Wildcat shots in the period to maintain its two-goal lead.

In the fourth, Maryland’s offense returned to its previous form.

After not earning a penalty corner in the third, the Terps attempted three quick shots and took advantage of their first two penalty opportunities in the fourth.

First, older sister Josie Hollamon scored the goal. Three minutes later, younger sister Jordyn Hollamon added her second score of the game to extend the Terps’ lead to 4-0.

“Jordyn’s brute,” Meharg said. “She loves the pressure of goal scoring … and her defense and understanding of pressing is coming on.”

With the Terps’ lead, the bench depth that Meharg has raved about had more opportunities to earn some in the fourth, as 22 different players entered the game for Maryland.

Maryland’s play didn’t get sloppy. It held the Wildcats scoreless and stopped a final penalty corner opportunity as time expired.