Maryland field hockey’s issues against ranked foes lingered over the weekend at the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, as its typically sharp offense faltered.
It failed to score a goal in the first seven periods of the weekend, struggled to score on penalty corners and dropped both games — falling to No. 8 Boston College and No. 5 Duke.
Against Boston College on Sept. 5, the Terps matched the Eagles’ eight shot attempts. They also earned 10 penalty corners compared to the Eagles’ two, but still were unable to muster a goal.
Maryland outshot Duke on Sunday by four shots and earned three more penalty corners than the Blue Devils.
But Duke capitalized on its opportunities, while Maryland’s offense faltered in crucial spots.
Duke scored on both of its penalty corner opportunities. The first goal came in the opening period with the shot going over the entire Maryland back line for the score.
[Maryland field hockey falls to Duke, 2-1, on late penalty corner]
The game-winning goal was scored with only five minutes left in the last period. The Blue Devils’ 100 percent penalty corner conversion rate was the difference in the Terps’ second ranked loss of the weekend.
For a Maryland team with 11 new faces this season, facing two top-10 ranked opponents in the second weekend of the season was a difficult task.
With several players taking up new positions on the field, and the absence of sophomore forward Ella Gaitan from Sunday’s game, the Terps’ offensive strategy stalled.
“I think the mindset was to compete, the mindset wasn’t to win the game”, coach Missy Meharg said. “We’re still getting used to each other. We had players playing today that had positions that they had never even played before.”
Maryland also rotates players which occasionally leads to its corner personnel not being on the field for penalty shots, Meharg explained.
“It can be that all of a sudden you get a little unlucky and your top top players who really specialize in that one piece of a penalty corner aren’t on the field,” Meharg said.
The game marks the Terps’ fourth straight loss to Duke in the past three seasons — all by one goal — adding to their losing streak against top-five teams. Maryland’s last top-five win came in the 2023 Big Ten tournament against Rutgers.
“I hate to think that they’re in our head in any way,” Meharg said about Duke. “They’re certainly not in mine.”
[No. 4 Maryland field hockey’s offense falters in 2-0 loss to No. 8 Boston College]
With another nonconference slate at this weekend’s Terrapin Invitational against Pennsylvania and defending national champion runner-up No. 13 Saint Joseph’s, the Terps are emphasizing the importance of capitalizing on penalty corner opportunities.
“We were out this morning at 8:00 working on the tap penalty corners,” Meharg said Tuesday. “And we will tomorrow as well, and we’ll be ready to go.”
The Terps’ next four games after this weekend are against ranked opponents. As they head into Big Ten play, converting on penalty opportunities can help unlock their offensive struggles against top teams.
