After No. 10 Maryland field hockey scored 21 seconds into its game against a porous Indiana team, the Terps looked poised for a blowout. Instead, Maryland allowed the game to head into two overtimes – then a shootout – and fell 1-0.
The same issues that have plagued the Terps all season returned in their contest on Friday. An offense that’s struggled to generate chances, a young frontline that has faltered and an inconsistent penalty attack continue to appear.
“It’s not an excuse, but we are really young,” coach Missy Meharg said. “But we need to not be young and set a standard and come to that standard every day.”
Maryland led for 50 minutes of game time after an opening-minute goal, but its offense was shut down the rest of the way. Indiana tied it with 8:59 to go in regulation, but neither team could score the remainder of regulation.
Even in the penalty shootout, the Terps failed to score. Meanwhile, two Hoosiers delivered a goal. It was a stunning collapse from the No. 10 team in the nation.
“You hope that our shootout people are ready to go,” Meharg said. “We’ll probably be in this situation again. I look at these situations like you’re one step more ready.”
Despite the lack of first-half offense this season, No. 10 Maryland (8-5, 4-2 Big Ten) took no time getting on the board. Maci Bradford scored an easy goal 21 seconds into the first-quarter after a bad Indiana (6-7, 1-3 Big Ten) pass gave the Terps the numbers advantage in the shooting zone.
[Maryland field hockey’s second half offense has been elite this season]
After that early goal, and with the Hoosiers’ struggles this season, it appeared as if the game could turn into a rout. Maryland also entered Friday 11-0 against Indiana in the all-time series, including a 3-0 shutout victory in 2024.
The Hoosiers were outscored 15-3 against conference opponents prior to Friday and entered as losers of five of their past six contests. But after surrendering the first-minute score, Indiana hung with the No. 10 team in the nation.
In a similar fashion to its matchup against Michigan State, Maryland dominated possessions and the shots on goal battle, but failed to capitalize. The Terps recorded seven of their first nine shots on goal, but Hoosiers’ goalie Sadie Canelli’s six saves kept the game locked at 1-0.
The Terps’ offensive consistency has plagued them all season long, as they failed to score more than one goal in any of their four losses. The Terps rank outside the top 50 in goals scored per game this season despite their top-10 ranking
Even against an Indiana team with a porous defense, the Terps failed to generate any offensive chances. The frontline attempted only nine shots in regulation and failed to score outside of the breakaway opportunity in the first minute. Maryland’s usually strong second-half offense only produced eight shots between the third quarter and the end of double overtime.
“[I’m] certainly concerned about our lack of passing and connection after we scored a goal,” Meharg said.
[Maryland field hockey secures first top-10 win, beats No. 10 Iowa 2-1]
One of the nation’s top defenses stifled Indiana’s 13th-ranked scoring offense for most of the evening. But in the fourth quarter, the offensive inconsistency finally hurt the Terps. Indiana’s offense broke through after Molly Stutte beat Maryland goalie Alyssa Klebasko to tie the game at one apiece.
Both teams struggled to generate good looks throughout the fourth quarter and two overtime periods, and the game eventually went to a penalty shootout.
This presented no changes, as the offense stayed in a rut and failed to score a goal in four tries, as they suffered their worst loss of the season.
Friday’s game had all the makings of a trap game. With a showdown against No. 1 Northwestern looming ahead on Sunday — the only team ahead of them in the Big Ten standings — the Terps let a struggling Indiana team hang around and eventually beat them.
It was the type of loss that could haunt them in their chase for a conference championship.
