Despite its top-10 ranking, Maryland field hockey’s offense has played with fire all season. The Terps have struggled putting away opponents — even when they’ve dominated on the stat sheet.
Those problems finally cost them, as they dropped their last two games against unranked Indiana and No. 1 Northwestern.
The Terps held first-quarter leads in both games, but they were unable to score after the sixth minute in each loss.
It’s not that the Terps’ offense isn’t getting opportunities. Maryland outshot its opponent in both matches — a theme this season — as its defense has provided the offense with plenty of scoring chances.
The Terps’ second-half struggles may actually come from scoring early, Meharg said. A young team scoring first and quickly could have led to Maryland making more mistakes.
“We’re looking at a team that is struggling to find shots and then struggling to find goals off of field goal shots,” Meharg said. “We are really young, but we need to not be young.”
After scoring in the first 30 seconds against the Hoosiers, Maryland failed to convert again in regulation and could not end the contest in overtime with a goal.
[No. 1 Northwestern takes down No. 10 Maryland field hockey 2-1 in top-10 clash]
Players were visibly frustrated, as several of them slammed their equipment down on the sideline.
They were rejuvenated against No. 1 Northwestern, outplaying the Wildcats in the first half. Maryland outshot the Wildcats 7-1 before halftime and held a clear pace advantage.
But in a similar fashion to Friday’s loss to the Hoosiers, Maryland stalled in the second half. Northwestern controlled the rest of the game, dominating the Terps en route to a 2-1 win.
“It comes down to trying to overcommunicate, like really early communication,” Meharg said. “There’s communication by language, [and] by vision and having eye contact. We can get pre-scan eye contact two passes prior, we’re going to make sure we’re not in each other’s space.
Part of those communication errors likely fall on Maryland’s inexperience. With many graduating players from last year’s team, Meharg was tasked with overhauling her roster — especially the front line.
[In shocking upset, No. 10 Maryland field hockey loses to Indiana 2-1 in shootouts]
Eleven new players entered the fold this offseason, including several attackers.
Junior Maci Bradford is the only upperclassman who has played significant minutes this season. Aside from her, the Terps rely mostly on freshmen and a handful of sophomores to compete against one of the most difficult schedules in the country.
Those underclassmen are who Maryland will need to rely on for the remainder of the season.
“I think it’s a matter of all of us,” Meharg said. “There’s 26 players and six staff that stand together on the sideline.
“I think the 32 of us are really eager to figure that out, and to be like how every time we put on training gear, every time we put on a Maryland jersey, that we compete to our potential and our ceiling.”
With two ranked matchups remaining on the schedule and postseason play approaching, the Terps are running out of time to solve their issues.
