This marks the first time the Terps haven’t won an NCAA Tournament match since 2015.
Before Maryland field hockey took on Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, head coach Missy Meharg was frank in analyzing the Terps’ 1-0 September loss to the Blue Devils.
“It’s not tactics,” said Meharg. “We let a player for Duke have a great shot, and we just need to clean things up when it comes to having a free player on defense.”
On Friday, it was deja vu for Maryland, as a fortunate deflection on a penalty corner was turned in by the Blue Devils’ inserter for a 1-0 Duke win in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Terps’ 50th anniversary season has come to an end.
Through 30 minutes, the matchup between the third and fourth-ranked defenses in the country in goals allowed went about as expected.
Duke controlled proceedings to open the game, with the Terps forced into a shell for large parts of the opening quarter. Threatening balls flashed through Alyssa Klebasko’s circle, and Duke had a golden opportunity to connect on one 10 minutes into the game.
The Terps were forced to defend low, and as they crashed toward the ball to Klebasko’s left, a slip pass from Josephine Palde found Barb Civitella unmarked for Duke. The graduate forward was unable to direct a shot on target, though, offering some respite for the Terps.
As the second quarter went on, the game began to stretch. Both teams took a few more risks in possession, although Duke retained the upper hand.
Maryland’s attacking gameplan was seriously disrupted throughout the contest by a Duke team willing to clog the middle of the field, with two defenders constantly crashing on Emma DeBerdine and Ella Gaitan in midfield. The Terps couldn’t turn upfield and string transition breaks together, particularly in the first half.
Thirty-four minutes into the game, Maryland finally found a shred of attacking momentum. Maci Bradford earned a penalty corner that made its way from DeBerdine’s entry to Josie Hollamon and into Hope Rose. The attacker, free in front of the net, took a touch but couldn’t direct her shot above the onrushing Duke goalkeeper, Frederique Wollaert.
Blocked shots soon after from DeBerdine and Bradford offered promise for Maryland, but right as the Terps finally began to enter their groove, the Blue Devils dealt a gut punch.
Duke won its third corner of the game halfway through the third quarter, and Kira Curland sent it deep for Maci Szukics. The midfielder rifled a shot in, only for the ball to take a wicked deflection off Palde’s stick, soaring up and away from the goal. But the ball’s arc took it near the head of Curland, who swatted the ball down into an empty net.
The goal floored Maryland, and two minutes later, Duke was nearly on the hook for another. Palde sent a shot into the back of the net, but it was called off for obstruction by a Duke player.
Maryland won another penalty corner with seven minutes left, but couldn’t do anything with it.
With their backs against the wall, the Terps grew desperate in their attempts to get the ball down the field. The defense, which had held strong for much of the game, began lofting balls forward with little success.
With five minutes remaining, Klebasko got pulled from her net. With 2:30 remaining, McVeigh earned a green card for Duke. Having a one-player and then two-player advantage to end the game, the Terps only managed one shot on goal, with Wollaert making another stop for her 12th shutout of the season.
A season that started with plenty of promise fizzled out far earlier than Maryland would have hoped. With a promising eight-player freshman class signing on Thursday, Meharg and her staff will need to put this season behind them and move on to year 51.
Three things to know
1. Defense was the difference. Duke entered this game allowing just six shots and three penalty corners a game. Its defense actually performed better than average in both metrics in this one, giving up five shots and two corners.
2. Duke’s penalty corner killer. The Blue Devils had converted on just 8-of-108 corners entering Friday’s game, but success on 1-of-5 Friday proved to be the difference.
3. Maryland’s postseason streak broken. This is the first time the Terps have not advanced past the NCAA Tournament’s second round in nearly a decade. The Terps had won a game in seven straight tournaments dating back to 2015, formerly the longest active streak in Division I.