The Terps play their final nonconference games of the season.
As the sun begins to set on Maryland’s regular season, the Terps are on the ascent. Maryland has risen two spots to No. 6 in the nation following a 1-1 weekend, where the Terps followed up a close loss to No. 3 Ohio State, 2-1, with a statement win against No. 7 Michigan, 2-0.
The Terps will face No. 13 Princeton on Friday at 4 p.m. Then, Maryland returns home for the final time this regular season to play Richmond at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Friday’s game will stream on ESPN Plus, while Sunday’s will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Princeton (9-4, 5-0 Ivy League)
Head coach Carla Tagliente has made the No. 13 Tigers a consistently good team in her ninth year at Princeton. This season, the Tigers have never been ranked higher than 13th or lower than 18th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.
The Tigers made the 2019 National Championship game, but have not won a tournament game since. However, Princeton comes into this game off a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over rival Harvard, which has put them in pole position for their second regular season Ivy League title in the last three years.
Players to know
Beth Yeager, junior midfielder, No. 17 — An Olympian and two-time first-team All-American, Yeager has been the Princeton offense this year. Her nine goals and nine assists both lead the Ivy League, and her 27 total points make up 40% of the Tigers’ total points.
Ottilie Sykes, sophomore defender, No. 6 — Last year, Sykes was Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year, earning a team-high 11 points. Sykes has played every available minute in all but three games over the last two years, and has begun to rediscover her offensive output as well — she has two goals in her last three games.
Strength
Keeping games close. Princeton has kept contests tight this season, largely to their benefit. Just one loss — against undefeated North Carolina — has come by more than one goal, allowing the Tigers to stick around late in games.
Weakness
Goalscoring. A large factor behind the closeness in Princeton games is the Tigers’ inability to score consistently. The Tigers have only scored 25 goals on the season, good for 48th in the nation, and have just two players with more than three goals for the year.
Richmond (10-5, 4-1 Atlantic 10)
Martu Loncarica was hired as Richmond’s head coach this past winter from La Salle. With just under half of their outfield players new to Richmond this season, Loncarica has exerted her influence on the squad. And so far, it was worked fairly well — the team has their best winning percentage since 2013.
Players to know
Clara Larripa, sophomore midfielder, No. 20 — Having been brought to Richmond by Loncarica from La Salle, Larripa has lived up to her spot on the NFHCA Division I watchlist. With 12 goals and eight assists, Larripa ranks 10th in Division I in points per game.
Valen Luna Paratore, sophomore forward, No. 30 — Luna Paratore has come in clutch for the Spiders this season, with game-winning goals in half of Richmond’s wins. She has recorded 11 goals and an assist this season, winning four Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors.
Strength
Overtime. The Spiders have played in five overtime games this season, winning four and losing one. In one-goal games, Richmond is 5-2 overall.
Weakness
Conceding shots. The Spiders have given up a 62% shot on goal percentage to their opposition. This means despite 82 saves from their goalkeepers, Richmond concedes two goals a game — this number rises to four a game against ranked opponents.
Three things to know
1. The Tigers could topple the Terps. Princeton has won their last two matchups against the Terps and have strong results to their name this year, most notably being the team to push No. 1 Northwestern the farthest this season. The Wildcats won 3-2 in their Sep. 29 matchup, tying the most goals any team has put past Northwestern all year.
2. Richmond faltering against ranked opponents. Richmond has yet to score a goal against a ranked team in three opportunities. Their most recent ranked game, against No. 5 Saint Joseph’s on Oct. 17, was a 7-0 loss.
3. The Terps watching on in Big Ten race. While they do not have a conference game this weekend, Maryland can realistically finish anywhere from second to fourth in the Big Ten. The Terps need another conference loss from both Michigan and Ohio State for second, which is a distinct possibility, as both teams have yet to play undefeated Northwestern.