No. 11 Maryland field hockey falls to Ohio State in overtime, 2-1

As the fourth-quarter buzzer blared, No. 11 Maryland field hockey retreated to the sideline for water. Neither the Terps nor the Buckeyes found  a clear look to break the tie through 60 minutes under the bright Columbus sun.

But just five minutes later, Ohio State’s Makenna Webster penetrated Maryland’s press, scoring the game-winning goal. Without the ability to answer in the extra frame, Maryland took its first conference loss, 2-1. 

Maryland earned the first touch of the game and slowly advanced it down to Ohio State’s attack zone. About three minutes in, the Buckeyes advanced the ball all the way to Maryland’s shooting circle, but captain Josie Hollamon wrangled it out. 

Maryland put on its gloves and facemasks to defend the first penalty corner of the game 6:35 into the contest. The Buckeyes’ inserted the ball to the top of the arc, where an unsuccessful stick stop kept them out of the net.

The Terps attempted to make plays early, with much of the action coming from Ella Gaitan, but found themselves struggling to create or contain Ohio State.

Maryland gathered at the top of the shooting circle with just under five minutes before halftime, preparing to create its first major offensive play of the game. Josie Hollamon received the insert from Maia Adamson, but the ball was knocked out of her possession by a Buckeye while she was in the circle, which earned them another attempt. 

Hollamon shot towards the goal after regaining possession, but was blocked by a flying defender. Adamson recovered the ball, earning a third penalty corner in a row on the back of a successful call for a video review. 

Maryland continued to clamp the shooting circle throughout the second quarter and deny the Buckeyes clear looks. Even as Ohio State’s press pushed towards goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko, the defenders maintained composure, limiting the Buckeyes to one first half shot on goal — a one-on-one effort which Klebasko diverted with a diving kick save just before halftime. 

“Klebasko is incredible,” Maryland head coach Missy Meharg said. “She got a couple of game-changing saves for us.”

Ohio State unsuccessfully used its team referral to challenge Maryland’s fourth attack penalty corner opportunity just four minutes into the second half. But again, the Terps were unable to capitalize. 

Maci Bradford lined up at the baseline to insert across to the top of the circle. After the insert, the ball flew by the stick stop, and the Buckeyes took off across the field before earning a corner of their own. 

Ohio State’s Katie Fichtner took a hard swing towards the goal, but Klebasko earned her second save of the game with a shin block. But Buckeye forward Ryleigh Kerst was first to the ball, barely pushing it around Klebasko to the back of the net to break the deadlock.

The Terps opened the fourth quarter with possession. After two and a half minutes of tangles in the shooting circle, an out-of-bounds ball resulted in yet another turnover, seemingly summing up Maryland’s game.

But two minutes later, Maryland found a breakthrough. Callie Rogers stood in front of the goal after receiving a long pass from Hollamon outside of the shooting circle. Rogers spotted midfielder Annemijn Klijnhout to her left, and took a chance to pass. Narrowly avoiding a crowd of Buckeye defenders behind her, Klijnhout knocked the ball past Ohio State’s goalkeeper, earning Maryland’s first point and tying the game. 

“We needed to fall out,” Meharg said. “I thought we did very well with that, and were able to control the game.”

With the game tied and the fourth quarter winding down, both teams attempted to find a breakthrough.

The Buckeyes earned three penalty corners in under a minute, and all three met a wall of Maryland defenders. Maryland earned two of their own, and its results mirrored Ohio State’s. With neither team able to find a clear look to end the game, overtime ensued.

“I was eager,” said Meharg. “We’d been working on seven-a-sides and we were ready for overtime.”

On the Buckeyes’ next possession, Webster found herself to Klebasko’s right, with a crowd of Terps to her left. She maneuvered around the Maryland defenders with an attempt towards the net, but met a Maryland stick instead of the back of the cage. 

Webster recovered her own rebound, however, managing to knock the ball off a Terp stick and tap it past Klebasko for an Ohio State victory. 

Three things to know

1. Klijnhout’s big break. Klijnhout’s game-tying goal was her first since last season, when she scored against Penn State. 

2. History repeating itself. Maryland’s historic loss against Ohio State last season ended with the same exact score: 1-2. That game marked the Terps’ first-ever loss to the Buckeyes in the 21 years they’ve played each other. 

3. Conference-level defense. Alyssa Klebasko is fifth in the Big Ten in save percentage (.750) so far this season. While the Terps couldn’t get the job done Friday, having a steady presence like Klebasko in net gives them an opportunity to stay in games while being outshot.