The Terrapins have won five straight games, including three straight over ranked opponents.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The 12th-ranked Maryland field hockey team (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) handled No. 3 Virginia (12-3) for 68 of 70 minutes to capture a 5-4 win in Charlottesville Tuesday evening. The Terrapins led 5-1 in the second half, but late goals by the Cavaliers in the final two minutes cut into Maryland’s lead.
The Terrapins have won five straight games, including three straight over ranked teams after beating No. 25 Ohio State Friday, No. 6 Penn State Sunday and the third-ranked Cavaliers Tuesday.
"This is an outstanding outcome on the road," Maryland coach Missy Meharg said. "Three games in five days and we couldn't be more proud of the women's physical and mental stamina over this tough stretch. Our attack penalty corner unit is working so well and that's a credit to Marvin Bam and Katie Bam with scoring. To get five goals against a team like Virginia is quite a feat. It's a tribute to the work our forwards have been doing every day."
FINAL: No. 12 #Terps 5, No. 3 Virginia 4.
— Terps Field Hockey (@TerpFieldHockey) October 17, 2017
Goals by Gonzales, Greenwalt (2), Holsboer, Wilken. Holliday with 5 saves. #GoTerps #FTT pic.twitter.com/HWdkj6Fxsl
Virginia got on the board first with a score by Izzy McDonough off the rebound on a penalty corner 4:46 into the match.
Sophomore Linnea Gonzales tied it for Maryland just over three minutes later when she cracked a hard shot from the top of the circle.
Freshman Kyler Greenwalt scored her first of two goals on the day in the 17th minute to give the Terps the lead. She put back a rebounded shot off a penalty corner.
In the 31st minute, Maryland leading scorer senior Lein Holsboer scored off a shot from the left post after inserting on a penalty corner. Less than three minutes later, junior Melissa Wilken deflected in a shot from sophomore Kelee Lepage to give the Terps a 4-1 lead at halftime.
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Greenwalt added her second goal in the 49th minute when she tapped in a loose ball in the circle for a four-goal lead with 21 minutes to play.
Virginia scored three straight goals to end the match. Greta Ell made it a 5-2 game with just over 11 minutes left when she pushed in a pass from Pien Dicke. With 1:46 to play, the Cavaliers were awarded a penalty corner. Dominique van Slooten scored off the corner to make it 5-3. Just 38 seconds later, Ell scored off another penalty corner to make it 5-4 with 1:04 to go.
Maryland outshot Virginia 21-13. Junior goalkeeper Sarah Holliday made five saves in the win. The Terrapins held the nation’s leading scorer Tara Vittese without a goal.
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The Terrapins will close out the regular season with a matchup at No. 21 Rutgers (9-6, 3-3) Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The matchup will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
