No. 6 Maryland strikes late to beat No. 8 Boston College

LANCASTER, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Maryland field hockey team (2-2) scored twice late to beat No. 8 Boston College 3-1 Sunday in the Big Ten/ACC Cup at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

With 18 minutes to play, the Terrapins and the Eagles (1-2) were knotted at one. Redshirt senior Emma Rissinger sealed the win for the Terps with 5:19 to play when she tapped in a shot behind the Boston College keeper. Less than four minutes later, senior Welma Luus scored her second goal of the day to make it 3-1 with 90 seconds left in the match.

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“We grew together tremendously over the weekend,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “We had an incredible growth mindset from playing a super game Friday night with a very high-level Duke team and owning the statistics and then today, letting BC back in the game. Then, we dug deep, found a way to score to goals. I couldn’t be more pleased with our leadership, our captains. We were not on our skillset early in the game, but we found a way to dig deep and get there. Our captains Lein Holsboer, Brooke Adler and Welma Luus — we just couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Maryland took its first lead when Luus cracked a backhanded shot into the lower part of the cage 16 minutes in. Junior Carrie Hanks sent her the ball from outside the circle.

The Terrapins took eight shots to the Eagles’ four in the first period to lead 1-0 at the break.

Boston College’s Brittney Sheenan tied it up in the 52nd minute when she finished off a loose ball in front of the goal. The Eagles called timeout with 10:33 to go in the game, then Rissinger gave the Terps the victory a minute and a half later. Freshmen Kelee Lepage assisted on the play.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Holliday notched six saves, including four in the first half. Her six stops tied a career-high.

Maryland outshot Boston College 23-10 and had six penalty corners to one.

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Head coach Missy Meharg is in her 29th season as head coach of the Terrapins. She’s led them to a record of 511-125-9 (.799), seven NCAA titles, 22 conference titles and 16 Final Fours. She has been named NFHCA National Coach of the Year an unprecedented nine times in her career.

Next, the Terrapins will host California in their home opener Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. in the Terrapin Invitational at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. American will play Fairfield at 1 p.m. The winning teams will play Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. and the other two teams will play at noon on Sept. 11.