No. 4 Maryland field hockey throttles Drexel, 7-1, to open the season

With No. 4 Maryland area hockey holding a cushty lead within the season opener in opposition to Drexel, sophomore attacker Hope Rose acquired the ball off a move from senior midfielder Nathalie Fiechter. Rose ripped a shot previous Drexel’s goalkeeper for her second aim of the day and prolonged the Terps’ result in 6-0.

The star sophomore poured it on all night to provide Maryland a dominant 7-1 victory over Drexel within the season opener on Friday in Faculty Park.

“She was one in every of our main scorers and she or he took the spring off. Hope performed with the nationwide staff and performed with the Professional League internationally,” Meharg stated. “So I’m not shocked. She likes to set folks up. She’s harmful. So she’s doing simply what it’s that she desires to do.”

Maryland and Drexel each used the primary couple of minutes to really feel one another’s methods out. Each golf equipment struggled to generate any offense to begin the competition.

The Terps wouldn’t enable their chilly streak to linger an excessive amount of longer. Rose took benefit of an early second-quarter penalty nook with a pleasant move to senior Emma DeBerdine. DeBerdine’s strike entered the suitable cage, giving the Terps a 1-0 lead.

Lower than two minutes after DeBerdine’s aim, Rose made her presence felt once more, scoring her first aim of the season on a robust shot that narrowly missed the outstretched palms of Drexel goalie Megan Hadfield.

With halftime on the horizon, freshman midfielder Sophie Klautz scored her first aim as a Terp with a low shot that squeezed into the left aspect of the cage. Maryland took a commanding 3-0 lead after half-hour in Faculty Park.

Maryland head coach Missy Meharg and her membership wouldn’t take their foot off the gasoline within the second half. With slightly below 12 minutes left within the third quarter, Klautz delivered a swift shot to the again of the cage to provide Maryland an awesome 4-0 lead. The aim gave the Netherlands native two targets on the night.

“I went to Eindhoven [Netherlands] throughout COVID and she or he was a U-17 Dutch participant and I watched the nationwide staff play for the Netherlands,” Meharg stated of Klautz. “I noticed that fiery, redheaded, younger, great athlete and I’m like I want her in [Maryland] purple.”

Rose received again within the scoring column later within the interval, as she fired a rocket into the suitable aspect of the cage to provide the Terps a 5-0 lead.

Maryland added on two extra targets, one from Rose and one other from graduate midfielder Dani Van Rootselaar to provide Maryland a convincing 7-0 lead.

Drexel did nonetheless get on board within the ultimate interval with a aim to chop the Terps’ result in six. Maryland had already constructed a monster lead that nothing within the ultimate couple of minutes mattered because the Terps secured a six-goal victory within the season opener.

Three issues to know

1. Maryland extends its opening day streak to a powerful 20 video games. The Terps didn’t enable a sluggish first quarter to derail their possibilities to safe a victory. With the victory over Drexel, Meharg and the Terps prolonged their season-opening win streak to twenty video games. Maryland’s offense took over within the second quarter and by no means appeared again en path to a dominant victory.

2. The Terps protection neutralized Drexel’s offense all the night time. Maryland began graduate goalkeeper Christina Calandra, and she or he defended the cage at a excessive degree all the night. In three quarters of enjoying time, Calandra held Drexel scoreless and allowed a mere two pictures. The Terps protection is based on velocity and forcing turnovers to ignite their explosive offense. Maryland junior defender Rayne Wright showcased excellent lateral agility by sliding her toes and leaping quite a few passing lanes, inflicting havoc on the defensive finish.

3. Freshman Sophie Klautz displayed a superb efficiency in her first sport as a Terp. Klautz got here to Maryland after a embellished profession within the Netherlands. The freshman scored two targets in consecutive quarters, displaying she will be able to contribute instantly to a Terps offense that ranked within the high 10 within the nation final season. With Klautz within the fold, Maryland’s offense may very well be troublesome to deal with this season.