Since Missy Meharg became the head coach in 1988, Maryland field hockey has been one of the most consistent programs across collegiate sports.

Thirty straight seasons of the Terps making the NCAA tournament made their success feel inevitable. But for the first time since 1994, the Terps won’t compete for a national championship after a roller coaster season ended three decades of consistency.

“I feel deeply responsible,” Meharg said. “It’s not a space we’ve been in. And for all these new players, it wasn’t what they anticipated.”

With 11 new players, Meharg said she had difficulty finding lineup combinations and giving players consistent roles. She played the most first-year players in her 28 seasons.

From game to game, she made lineup and position changes, searching for something that would work better, but said the constant changes might have affected player performance on the field.

She added that injuries and inconsistencies held the team back. Meharg admitted that she could have communicated clearly to her players about why the adjustments were happening, especially with such a young group.

“I can look at paper and realize we had 11 new players and try to rationalize, but that doesn’t feel deserving to the outcome,“ Meharg said. “I need to debrief with my staff more and hold me and them a bit more responsible for the details of finishing.”

[Penalty corners plague Maryland field hockey in 2-1 Big Ten tournament loss to Ohio State]

Maryland finished the season with a 10-8 record — its lowest win total since the last time it missed the tournament in 1994 — but that doesn’t reflect the talent of this year’s team.

This year’s iteration eerily resembled the Terps’  2024 campaign, where all seven losses came by one goal and they never trailed by more than one score. This season, they trailed by multiple scores only twice all season and never entered the fourth quarter down by more than one goal.

The inability to close out close games came down to poor offensive execution. Maryland finished tied for last in the Big Ten with only 30 goals scored, and 61st in the country with 1.67 scores per game.

“It’s the hardest part of the game,” Meharg said about finishing goals. “The reality is, there were three games this entire season that we were outshot. So you have to accept the game the way those are.”

The offensive inconsistency took away from a stellar defensive season. The Terps’ defense — ranked second in the Big Ten with 19 goals allowed. Veterans such as Josie Hollamon, seniors Ericka Morris-Adams and Fleur Knopert and goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko — who ranked eighth in the country in goals allowed per game with 1.067 — anchored the back line.

The first warning signs came in the second weekend of the season during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Terps dropped both games despite having more opportunities than their opponents. 

[Maryland field hockey enters Big Ten tournament fighting for its NCAA bid]

In the first matchup against Boston College, Maryland went 0 for 10 on penalty corner chances. They dominated shots against Duke 7 to 3 two days later, but allowed two penalty corner scores.

The best stretch of the season followed those two losses, as the Terps won four games in a row. Ella Gaitan scored the winning goal in the final minute to earn the win against Saint Joseph’s. A dominant win against Penn State followed, where the Terps outshot the Nittany Lions 20 to 3, then shutout a ranked Michigan team.

But then concerns from the two early losses grew. The Terps piled up narrow defeats and an overtime loss in low-scoring games, while the victories followed the same scripts.

Maryland had chances all season long to turn it around, but could never capitalize on opportunities.

The Terps graduate just two starters and return Big Ten freshman of the year Jordyn Hollamon, along with her sister and 2024 Big Ten defensive player of the year Josie Hollamon. Fellow classmates Maci Bradford, who led the team in points, and goalkeeper Klebasko will provide stability to a program hoping to return to contention.

“We played so many new players that I think there’s a lot of combinations of people that are just natural, enthusiastic and [full of] positivity and energy,” Meharg said. “We’ve got a nice combination of leaders … I’m super excited about next year.”