AU field hockey trailed early and was never able to gain momentum against No. 1 University of Maryland on Tuesday, losing 3-0.
The UMD Terrapins immediately controlled the tempo of the match in the first half, dominating possession of the ball. Two minutes after the start of the game Katie O’Donnell of Maryland scored an unassisted goal, forcing the Eagles into an uphill battle against the defending NCAA champions.
“We gave up a very disheartening goal,” Assistant Head Coach Sarah Thorn Krombolz said. “We have to take ownership of our defensive circle and that in no way should have been a goal if we did that.”
Maryland’s early goal jumped started the Eagles defense. AU restricted the Terrapins to four shots on goal and two penalty corners in the first half. Eagles goalie Alyssa Poorman made a diving save in the tenth minute, one of two impressive saves for the match.
Despite stepping up to the challenge, the Eagles’ offense was shutdown by a solid defensive unit. The opposition allowed only four shots on goal the entire match, only one of which was taken in the first half. AU was unable to capitalize on any of their five penalty corners throughout the match.
An encouraging crowd of fellow athletes and students failed to revive the American team in the final half. The Eagles faced further pressure from Maryland that led to frustration, as AU was unable to clear the ball from their side of the turf. Maryland’s Emma Thomas scored on a controversial penalty stroke in the 55th minute. Sloppy defense on AU’s behalf allowed a third goal, also recorded by Thomas off of a penalty corner in the final minute of play.
The Terps exhausted AU’s defense in the second half recording nine shots on goal with three times as many scoring chances as AU. On the heels of being named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for holding Wake Forest to a single goal during last Saturday’s 1-0 loss, Tatum Dyer is an example of the defensive potential possessed by AU that was not exhibited against Maryland.
“We have not gotten the result necessarily in the last couple [of games] that we have wanted,” Krombolz said. “[But] we have been playing and competing at such a high level going into our conference that I think we really have that on our side. Conference is always different in that everybody is after you ... so the play is slightly different.”
AU enters conference play on Saturday, where they are the Patriot League defending champions for the sixth year in a row. Their first conference game is against rivals Holy Cross in New England on Oct. 3 followed by a home game against Cologate seven days later.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
