The Terps captured their second Big Ten win a row.
In search of its second straight Big Ten win, No. 9 Maryland field hockey relied Friday on Margot Lawn en route to a 3-0 victory over Michigan State.
Lawn scored two goals in a game that the Terps paced throughout.
Maryland got things started early in the first quarter with Lawn’s opening goal. Freshman Maya Everett tipped a loose ball right toward Lawn’s stick, giving the fifth-year room to send a top-left corner shot in.
“Maya sent it to me, and I could see in my peripheral that the defender was coming,” Lawn said. “So I just literally [tapped the ball up], and it was just like old softball swings, just having fun.”
Lawn’s two scores on Sunday gave her five goals this season to go along with a team-high six assists.
“Margot is the one that takes it like every step matters,” Meharg said. “She’s played in the midfield for us, and then recognized we’ve needed her in the front … and now finishing like this is the icing on the cake for her and certainly for us.”
What goal was the lone goal scored in a Maryland-dominated first quarter. Maryland controlled the quarter through its attack, outshooting Michigan State, 5-0, with four shots on goal over the first 15 minutes. Michigan State freshman goalkeeper Cecily Charles was forced to make three of her 11 total saves in the opening frame.
Halfway through the second quarter, an elongated stoppage threatened the momentum Maryland had built up. On the attack, Maryland’s Sammy Popper fired a backhand shot that Maryland believed went off of Michigan State, which would have led to a Terps corner. When the ball was awarded to the Spartans, Maryland challenged for a video referral, beginning an argument and conference of game officials that lasted nearly 15 minutes.
Maryland maintained its 1-0 lead through the second quarter, even as Michigan State began creating shot opportunities. The Spartans had a 7-4 shot advantage over Maryland and drew all three penalty corners in the quarter.
Maryland freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko, making consecutive starts for the first time in her career, stood tall and made three big saves.
“Fortunately, we were in front,” Meharg said of her team’s second-quarter defense. “If we play a second game like that, we’re gonna lose because they had the edge opportunity-wise … so it turned into a bit of a chaotic experience.”
The Terps reasserted their attack in the third quarter and doubled their lead off of a score from junior Hope Rose. With three minutes left in the quarter, Rose netted her team-leading 11th goal of the season, firing a rebound cross-field to beat Charles. After going three straight games without a point, Rose now has a goal in each of Maryland’s last two matches.
Maryland added to its lead early in the fourth quarter as Lawn scored her second of the game. Backing down two Spartan defenders, Lawn lasered a backhanded shot that snuck in bottom-left for her ninth point in the last four games.
Maryland is back on the road this Sunday, traveling to take on American University in its final game of non-conference play at 3 p.m.
Three things to know
1. Lawn’s career day. By contributing Maryland’s first and third scores against Michigan State, Margot Lawn earned her first career multi-goal game.
2. Perfection against Michigan State. With the win over Michigan State, Maryland moved to 16-0 all-time against the Spartans, with 15 of those wins coming under Meharg’s leadership.
3. Consecutive wins to open up home Big Ten play. With wins over No. 16 Penn State and Michigan State, Maryland collected two wins to open conference play at home for the sixth time since joining the Big Ten.