By the time the Big Ten tournament comes around, Missy Meharg’s team typically has its NCAA tournament bid secured. This season has been a different story.
Inconsistent play has left Maryland field hockey battling to keep its hopes of a national title alive in the conference tournament.
As a program that has won eight national championships, the NCAA-wide tournament is the bare minimum. Despite No. 11 Maryland’s high overall ranking, the Terps are ranked 19th in RPI — a critical determinant in selecting teams for the 18-team playoff.
Meharg stressed the Terps now need to put together full 60-minute games and close wins.
“We’ve played quarters against Northwestern and Princeton and other teams where it’s just been brilliant,” Meharg said. “We absolutely know we can play a brand and we’re going to need to do it four times, 15 minutes.”
[No. 11 Maryland field hockey heads into the postseason with 4-0 win over Northeastern]
While Maryland is 1-4 against top ten teams this year, losses to Indiana, Ohio State and Boston College have it scrambling. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes rank 34rd and 35th in RPI, respectively, while Boston College boasts an unimpressive 6-10 record this season.
Maryland’s lone top-ten win came on the road against No. 9 Iowa on Oct. 10. With limited success against top-ranked opponents, it’s easy to question a grueling schedule.
Now, the Terps are in a difficult position.
If Maryland doesn’t win a game in the Big Ten tournament, the season could be over. With only one win, chances of making the tournament increase dramatically, but they are likely still not guaranteed an at-large bid.
The Terps will face Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament — whom they lost to in overtime on Oct. 3.
Meharg felt the team wasn’t well prepared for the overtime matchup then, with many young players across the field. Josie Hollamon referred to the rematch with the Buckeyes as an opportunity for “revenge” and said playing a more cohesive game will be key.
“[It’s] another opportunity to really show how good we are,” Annemijn Klijnhout said. “We lost against Ohio [State], but we didn’t play our best game … The connection at Ohio [State] was a little bit off.”
[Maryland field hockey notebook: Which team will fans see in the postseason?]
Maryland is not expecting a similar style to their previous matchup. Meharg said Tuesday the team is changing its strategy to get better shots and earn more penalty corners on simple offensive plays.
The Buckeyes are in a similar spot — but more desperate for a win. Ohio State is 2-7 against ranked teams this season, and lost to Michigan State who ranks a lowly 56th in RPI.
“I think across the board … we have more better players,” Meharg said. “They play their top players a lot more. So you want to keep the whole field spread and make sure we play vertical hockey.”
A potential semifinal matchup for Maryland would be against either Iowa or Indiana. A finals matchup likely comes against No. 2 Northwestern who ranks fifth in RPI, and has defeated the Terps six straight matches, including postseason wins in 2022 and 2023.
“You advance or you’re done,” Meharg said about the tournament. “We all know that we’re going to need to win it. To get an automatic qualification is what we’re after.”
