No. 20 Rutgers field hockey loses at Maryland
The Rutgers field hockey team fell to Maryland this evening. The No. 20 Scarlet Knights (7-7, 3-4) finished out the close game against the No. 2 Terrapins (14-1, 7-0) with a 4-3 final score.
Rutgers struck first, getting the offense started in the first quarter with a goal by graduate student midfielder Marique Dieudonne, but after that first goal, the team lacked in offense. Much of the game was controlled by Maryland following the opening goal.
The Knights were able to keep the Terrapins at bay for more than half of the game. Maryland was kept silent until the last 5 minutes of the third period, when Margot Lawn scored for the Terrapins, evening the score at 1-1.
Maryland tacked on 2 more goals to open the final period, giving the team a wide lead over the Knights, with Leah Crouse and Bibi Donraadt registering the scores.
The game seemed bleak for Rutgers, with a 2-goal deficit and less than 5 minutes to play, but that didn’t stop the program from keeping up a fight.
Within 2 minutes, the Knights battled back to tie the game. Freshman midfielder Indy van Ek scored to cut the deficit to just 1 goal, with sophomore midfielder Guillermina Causarano scoring a minute and 49 seconds later, giving Rutgers a chance to send the game into overtime.
Despite the hectic last minutes of the game and the Knights' ability to bounce back, the Terrapins found a way to snag the game without going into extra time.
Crouse scored her 2nd goal of the game with only 41 seconds left, sealing the victory for Maryland.
With this win, the Terrapins clinched the Big Ten regular season championship, their sixth in program history, and continued their undefeated record in the Big Ten division. This title gives Maryland its 46th Big Ten title since joining the conference in 2014.
This win also came on the day the Terrapins were celebrating their senior athletes as well as the celebration of the Title IX anniversary on their home turf.
This hard-fought loss comes before Rutgers takes the trip to Syracuse where the team will face the No. 11 Orange (12-3, 2-2) next Sunday. The Knights will continue their ranked schedule through the end of the season. Rutgers only has three more regular-season games, all coming against top 20 opponents.
The Knights will take on Syracuse next Sunday at noon with the game being broadcasted on ACC Network.
For more updates on the Rutgers field hockey team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter
