College field hockey: No. 4 Maryland off to best start since 2013 after holding off No. 3 Duke 4-3

The fourth-ranked Maryland field hockey team (5-0) held off a second half push by No. 3 Duke (3-1) Sunday for a 4-3 victory in the B1G/ACC Cup at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. With the win, the Terrapins are off to their best start since 2013.
 
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Holliday made 10 saves to preserve Maryland's top five win, and four different Terrapins scored.
 
"We're just feeling total excitement, and we're very proud," head coach Missy Meharg said. "These women, for the first time this season, for 70 minutes, played totally in sync with each other. Our energy, our counter-defense and counter-attack was connected with early communication. Our leadership was phenomenal. The hearts and the physical status of Linnea Gonzales, Brooke DeBerdine and Kelee Lepage in the midfield, I mean, that's what we worked on in the summer."

Another great save by Sarah Holliday!#FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/YdpsUqAzgd

— Maryland Field Hockey (@TerpsFH) September 2, 2018

 
Maryland scored in the 14^th minute of the match when two rookies connected for the opening score. Redshirt freshman Mayv Clune sent in a hard shot from the right side of the circle and fellow freshman Bibi Donraadt deflected it in for a 1-0 lead.
 
A minute and 37 seconds later, sophomore Bodil Keus made it a two-goal lead for the Terps when she banged in a shot off a penalty corner. Senior Sabrina Rhodes and sophomore Hannah Bond set up the play. The Terrapins led 2-0 at halftime.

MORE: Penn State's Gini Bramley scores only goal in Nittany Lions' 1-0 win over No. 7 Virginia
 
The Blue Devils got on the board 10 minutes into the second half when they were awarded a penalty stroke. Haley Schleicher sent it in to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Eleven minutes later, Melissa Wilken, who celebrated her 22^nd birthday Sunday, pushed it back to a two-goal lead for the Terrapins when she finished off Kelee Lepage's hard shot from the right side of the circle in the 56^th minute.
 
Three minutes after Wilken's goal, Duke's Olivia Sahaydak scored off Leah Crouse's shot to cut into the Terps' lead once more at 3-2 with 12 minutes to play.

RELATED: No. 14 Wake Forest upsets No. 5 Michigan behind Jule Grashoff's two goals
 
In the 63^rd minute, junior Nike Lorenz flung in a shot off a penalty corner for Maryland's fourth and final goal. Duke's Lily Posternak scored its final goal with 5:51 to play.
 
Maryland took 11 shots to Duke's 15 and both teams had four penalty corners.

FINAL l A battle to the end, but the Blue Devils come up just short in a top-five battle with the Terps, 4-3#GoDuke pic.twitter.com/iKBbLr1lXd

— Duke Field Hockey (@DukeFH) September 2, 2018

No. 12 Northwestern beat No. 13 Boston College, 2-1, in double overtime in Sunday's first game. Maryland and Northwestern combined to go 3-1 in the B1G/ACC Cup on the weekend.
 
Lorenz was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Monday after scoring five goals in her first two games as a Terrapin.

ALSO: Overtime length reduced in NCAA field hockey
 
Maryland was tabbed as the No. 4 team in the country in the Penn Monto/Division I Coaches Preseason poll released Aug. 21. The Terrapins have started the year in the top 10 in each of the last 20 years, since 1999.
 
Maryland will host No. 9 Delaware, No.15 Harvard and American in the Terrapin Invitational next weekend. The Terps take on the Blue Hens at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by Harvard vs. American at 1:30 p.m. ET. Maryland plays Harvard at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, then American takes on Delaware after.