No. 5 Maryland field hockey demolishes No. 10 Iowa, 5-0

No. 5 Maryland comprehensively beat No. 10 Iowa, 5-0, on the road Sunday, heavily leaning on its young core.

Missy Meharg said Thursday that her team was nearly there and just needed the final pieces to click offensively. The Terps responded to their coach’s challenge in style.

Maryland got off to a strong start, sustaining offensive pressure and refusing Iowa the opportunity to advance the ball. For a moment, it appeared it had found a breakthrough: Maci Bradford looped a ball in toward goalkeeper Mia Magnotta, where Fleur Knopert arrived out of nowhere to turn it home. A whistle from the referee pulled back the chance, though, leaving the Terps frustrated.

After a long review, the Hawkeyes won a penalty corner with just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter. The ball fell to Iowa’s Dionne van Aalsum, last season’s top goal scorer in the nation, but a strong knee from Alyssa Klebasko kept the ball away from goal.

At first, it appeared the game would be a defensive slugfest — each team had just one penalty corner, with one shot on goal coming from the penalty corner. It was unclear where the quality chances would come from, if they would come at all.

But early in the second quarter, the Terps found paydirt. Maryland won its second penalty corner of the game, which Deberdine slid in to Hope Rose. Rose took a quick shot on net, but before it could reach Magnotta, freshman Ella Gaitan shot out her stick. The sound of the ball crashing against the back of the net rang.

After the goal, the Terps slowed their game down considerably. Maryland allowed itself the time to be methodical, winning four penalty corners in quick succession. Shots from Josie Hollamon gave the Terps chances, but Iowa’s defense smothered those opportunities.

The Iowa offense, on the other hand, had trouble its their way through the Terps’ midfield, only making occasional forays toward the net throughout the first half. It only mustered one shot in the first half.

Then the Terps suddenly doubled their lead. Maryland won the ball high up the field, forcing a turnover more than 4 minutes into the third quarter. The ball was sent into Annemijn Klijnhout just inches from the gaping goalmouth, and the Dutch freshman made no mistake scoring her first goal for Maryland.

Iowa searched for a response on offense but did not find one, although van Aalsum came close, having picked up the ball with her back to the net just five feet away from Klebasko. van Aalsum spun and pump faked, sending the goalkeeper to the ground and unsettling the sticks of two defenders before rifling in a low drive that Klebasko reached out for and stopped with her glove.

The Terps continued to fully control of the game, highlighted late in the third quarter.

Maryland won its sixth penalty corner of the game, as Deberdine sent the ball in for Hollamon, who stopped it and sized up a shot before surprising the Iowa defense by sending the ball left to an unmarked Gaitan. Gaitan took the shot, lifting the ball into the top corner and pushing the Maryland lead to three.

As Maryland’s fourth consecutive win over Iowa looked all but confirmed, the Terps scored their fourth goal. Leah Horwitz sent in a low cross from along the baseline, and Bradford redirected it into the far corner for her second goal of the season.

And with the game all but over, Rose provided the cherry on top. With a smooth spin in the penalty circle, she set up a laser that sliced right between the legs of Magnotta and into the back of the net for the fifth and final goal of the game.

Three things to know

1. Maryland defense reigns supreme. In what all involved thought would be a defensive battle, Maryland came out comprehensively on top. Iowa spent nearly its entire offensive time possessing the ball in its own half. The Terps only allowed two shots on goal, all of which cam from van Aalsum.

2. Offensive explosion. The Terps scored nine goals over two games this weekend, the most they’ve managed over a single two-game weekend since September 2022. The last time they managed as many in a weekend without giving up a single goal was in October of 2019 — coincidentally, in games against Iowa and Indiana.

3. Big Ten play continues next week. The Terps will play their fifth conference game on Friday against Michigan State, with the game kicking off in East Lansing, Michigan, at 3 p.m. The Spartans have yet to win a conference game this year.