The Terps face Michigan again with a spot in the conference tournament championship game on the line.
After a dramatic 1-0 shootout victory over No. 7-seed Iowa on Thursday, No. 2-seed Maryland field hockey moves on to face No. 3-seed Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The game will take place Friday at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
What’s happened since
Michigan (13-4, 6-3 Big Ten)
Michigan visited Maryland just 19 days ago, riding high on an 11-game winning streak. The Wolverines kept clean sheets in seven of eight games and looked poised to take advantage of a dispirited Maryland team. But the Wolverines were beaten, 2-0, despite controlling large portions of the second half.
Michigan’s loss against Maryland was the beginning of a three-game skid, where it also lost to Northwestern and Indiana. The Wolverines’ beat Iowa, 3-0, in their final game of the regular season to right the ship heading into postseason play.
Maryland (13-5, 7-2 Big Ten)
Maryland’s offensive efficiency and defensive resiliency won them the first contest between these two teams. The Terps won two penalty corners during the game and scored both of them, then dug deep and refused to break to deny the Michigan attack through the game’s closing 20 minutes.
The Terps hoped to build up steam with after the win, but they promptly lost a 2-1 affair to then-No. 13 Princeton. But in their final two games of the regular season, Maryland beat Richmond and Penn State by a combined score of 7-2 to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
How they got here
The two teams combined to play nearly 150 minutes of field hockey in the quarterfinals, both needing dramatic victories to advance past unfavored opponents.
For Michigan, it took nearly 69 minutes to claim a 2-1 victory against Indiana. The Hoosiers equalized with just over a minute remaining in regulation to force an extra period, but the Wolverines dominated overtime and came out on top thanks to a goal from Esmée de Willigen.
For Maryland, it took 80 minutes and five rounds of a shootout to beat an Iowa team the Terps trounced, 5-0, earlier this year. Iowa goalkeeper Mia Magnotta made 17 saves to keep the game scoreless through six periods of play. Paige Kieft came off the bench and made three shootout saves for the Terps, while Hope Rose, Maci Bradford and Annemijn Klijnhout scored their penalties.
Three things to know
1. Michigan on a revenge tour. The Wolverines’ three-game regular season losing streak came at the hands of Indiana, Maryland and Northwestern. Having already beaten the Hoosiers, and with Northwestern likely awaiting the winner in the final, the Wolverines may come into this game with extra motivation.
2. Postseason meeting long overdue. The Terps have not played Michigan in a Big Ten Tournament game since 2015, when Maryland won, 5-1, in the championship game. The teams also faced off in the 2017 NCAA semifinals, which Maryland also won, 5-1.
3. NCAA Tournament host site implications. The Terps are ranked No. 5 nationally by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, just two points behind No. 4 Saint Joseph’s. If the Terps conquer Michigan, it is possible they could rise to the No. 4 seed — which would make College Park a host site for the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend.