Indiana field hockey had a history of losing against Maryland. The Hoosiers had never defeated the Terrapins in the 12 contests between the two programs.
That losing streak stood until Friday.
Indiana upset No. 10 Maryland 2-1 after a shutout performance in the shootout by sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Canelli. Goals from freshman forward Molly Stutte and junior back Elen Nicholls pushed the Hoosiers to a 2-0 win.
A 52nd-minute goal from Stutte tied the game at 1-1 after Indiana went down only 23 seconds into the game. Maryland freshman midfielder and defender Jordyn Hollamon caught the Hoosiers’ defense off guard. She forced a takeaway after a bad pass by the Hoosiers, then passed to junior forward Maci Bradford for the quick goal.
Indiana was able to outshoot the Terrapins in the first quarter 3-2, but the Hoosiers’ chances did not lead to goals. A shot in the second minute by junior midfielder Inés Garcia Prado hit the post, but Indiana’s other chances were blocked. One of those blocked shots came in the 14th minute off a penalty corner, but sophomore forward Mijntje Hagen’s chance was not a threat to Maryland’s defense.
On the other hand, both Maryland shots were on goal, and the Terrapins received two penalty corners. Maryland could not get a shot on its first penalty corner attempt in the eighth minute, but its 15th-minute attempt had to be saved by Canelli.
The Hoosiers did not get their first shot on goal until the 21st minute. An attempt by junior forward Theresa Ricci was saved by junior goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko — who finished the game with three saves — and kept the Maryland lead at 1-0.
Five shots on goal bombarded Canelli in the second and third quarters. However, the Boxford, Massachusetts, native was able to stop all attempts and finished the game with seven saves.
Indiana did not help its goalkeeper on the offensive end. The Hoosiers did not have a shot attempt in the third quarter and were stifled by Maryland’s defense. The next chance for Indiana came in the 52nd minute by Stutte. The St. Louis, Missouri, native placed the ball right above the outstretched arm of Klebasko and into the back of the net.
The Hoosiers had two more chances in the 59th and 60th minutes after drawing a penalty corner. Klebasko saved both shots from junior back Hannah Riddle and Garcia Prado after Hagen inserted the corner.
Entering two 10-minute “sudden-victory” overtime periods, the teams were reduced to six attacking players plus a goaltender. Both were able to get only one shot off in the first overtime period, but they were both blocked.
However, Maryland drew a penalty corner late in the second overtime period. Bradford inserted the corner in the 78th minute, but all three chances were stopped, with Canelli saving sophomore midfielder Annemijn Klijnhout’s attempt.
The save kept the game tied at 1-1 when the final buzzer sounded, sending the contest into a shootout. Canelli stayed in the net for Indiana, but Maryland replaced Klebasko with freshman goalkeeper Ryleigh Osborne. In her first in-game action this season, Osborne saved Hagen's shot on Indiana’s first shootout attempt, but Stutte was able to score on the Hoosiers’ second shot.
Canelli stood firm in the net, stopping all of Maryland’s chances. After Nicholls made her shot attempt, Canelli just had to stop sophomore midfielder Callie Rogers’ shot. Rogers went right but could not get a good shot off, watching the ball roll out of bounds, as Canelli was mobbed by her teammates.
With the win, Indiana moved to a 1-3 record in the Big Ten, increasing the Hoosiers' chances to make the Big Ten tournament Nov 6-9. Indiana will stay on the road this weekend, with its next game against Penn State at 11 a.m. Sunday. The game will be streamed on Big Ten+.
Follow reporter Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana field hockey season.
