No. 10 Maryland field hockey prevails over No. 12 Michigan, 1-0

With just over five minutes left in the third quarter, No. 10 Maryland field hockey’s Maci Bradford intercepted a No. 12 Michigan ball, juggling it through a sea of blue and yellow jerseys down the middle of the shooting circle.

The midfielder passed through the center, and as the Wolverine goalkeeper attempted to save it, forward Ella Gaitan dove for the ball herself, knocking it around the goalie to the left wall of the net.

The Wolverines never got another successful look toward the goal, giving Maryland its second Big Ten victory in as many games, 1-0.

“These are *women*,” head coach Missy Meharg said. “Those kinds of stats are the nature of the way the game is going to be played at the top level.”

The Terps earned their first penalty corner opportunity with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, where Josie Hollamon’s shot at the top of the shooting circle was blocked by Wolverine goalkeeper Hala Silverstein.

Both the Terps and Wolverines spent the first quarter challenging each other’s defensive lines, and testing their opponent’s offensive strength.

The Terps used their first touch to drive towards Michigan’s goal, though they did not find any success initially. They earned yet another penalty corner two minutes into the second quarter, but the ball skipped Josie Hollamon’s stick, leaving Ella Fehr to recover possession.

With just over seven minutes to halftime,the Terps drove the ball back down to the Wolverines’ 25-yard-shooting area. After an aerial ball, a chorus of whistles and lots of motion left to right, the Terps still were not able to push all the way to the goal.

Maryland earned two penalty corners in a row with a minute left until halftime. On the first attempt, midfielder Djuna Eikelboom passed to Annemijn Klijnhout, but Klijnhout was not able to gain any clear looks towards the goal.

On the second attempt, Eikelboom inserted again. She found captain Josie Hollamon again, who took the attempt herself. Hollamon’s shot veered to the wide right, and missed the goal to close the quarter.

The Wolverines opened with two back-to-back penalty corners of their own. Alyssa Klebasko slid to the splits to block their first attempt, while Michigan was not able to press as close to the goal on the second.

The third quarter saw much more aggressive offensive action. Both Maci Bradford and Michigan’s Kelsey Reviello both received green cards within ten minutes.

Only minutes after Gaitan’s goal, Michigan took a turn driving to the shooting circle, with a crowd of Maryland defenders on its tail. A Wolverine took an aggressive stroke towards Klebasko, but the junior goalkeeper swatted it completely away, denying them any opportunity for a goal in response.

Eight minutes later, Michigan pulled its goalkeeper from the cage in exchange for more boots on the ground towards Klebasko and the Maryland goal.

“I think our press and then our defense back there is just a brick wall and nobody’s getting by them,” said Maci Bradford.

Maryland’s defense — led by captain Josie Hollamon — surrounded the shooting circle. The Terps only allowed two shots on goal for the entire game, both of which Klebasko swatted away.

The Wolverines failed to claw them down, leaving the Terps undefeated at home.

“We’re growing in every single quarter we play,” Meharg said.

1. Gaitan’s clutch gene. With her goal on Friday, Gaitan now leads the Terps in game-winning scores with three.

2. Tradition of excellence. In regular season games, Maryland has beaten Michigan every year since 2021.

3. Spreading the wealth. Sixteen Terps took the field today and played an average of 37 minutes. Only Alyssa Klebasko and Josie Hollamon played for the entire game.