Field hockey faces full weekend workload

The last time the Terrapins field hockey team faced Duke, the Blue Devils were the better team in every way but one.

In their Oct. 8 matchup in Durham, N.C., Duke outshot the Terps by six, totaled four more penalty-corner chances and even goaded two Terps into getting yellow cards.

In fact, the Terps finished ahead of the Blue Devils in only one statistical category that day — but it was the one that mattered most. Despite Duke's best efforts on the stat sheet, it couldn't win the battle on the scoreboard, falling to the visiting Terps, 2-1.

Today, both teams will get a chance to relive that matchup when the No. 2 seed Terps host No. 3 seed Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. With a win in this afternoon's game, the Terps would have a chance to clinch their fourth consecutive conference crown Sunday.

"I look back at the Duke match, and I'd love to play them again," coach Missy Meharg said. "I think Maryland can play a better brand of hockey, and we're looking forward to doing so."

Duke (12-6, 2-3 ACC) clinched its spot in the semifinals in a nail-biting win yesterday, narrowly fending off a hard-charging Virginia team, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. Doing the same against the Terps (15-3, 4-1) with less than 24 hours in between games won't be any easier.

"We've got a fresh pair of legs going into the semis," midfielder Megan Frazer said. "That's obviously a big advantage, having not played a game the day before. … If we can run them enough, that's going to put more pressure on their bodies."

A tired Duke squad could prove essential for the Terps. The Blue Devils' offense has been much improved in recent weeks, and after averaging less than two goals per game in their first 12 contests, the Blue Devils have averaged four goals per game in their past six. The day after their loss to the Terps, they had a nine-goal outburst against James Madison, the second-highest scoring total among ACC teams this season.

But while Duke has ratcheted up its attack, the Terps have clamped down on the defensive end. They have had little trouble holding their opponents off the scoreboard recently, allowing 6.2 shots and one goal per game in the team's past five contests, including a regular-season-ending shutout of Rutgers.

"We've given up a lot of shots and goals we shouldn't have," midfielder Janessa Pope said. "With Rutgers, we didn't give up any corners and only one shot on goal, so for us as defenders, that's just reinforcement that what we've been working on and what we've been taking a lot of time to focus on in practice is translating into games, which is all we can ask for."

Even with the tough matchup the Blue Devils pose to the Terps, it could be far from their toughest test this weekend. Should the Terps move past Duke, they would likely meet top-seeded North Carolina in the championship game, provided the Tar Heels (18-1, 5-0) can defeat No. 4 seed Wake Forest tomorrow, a team they have already beaten twice this season.

The Terps' 2-1 loss to the Tar Heels less than two weeks ago was perhaps the team's toughest this season. North Carolina's top-ranked defense neutralized the Terps' attack throughout the entirety of regulation, holding the team off the scoreboard until an untimed penalty corner after the game clock struck zero.

"Their speed kind of put us on our back foot for the whole rest of the game," midfielder Jemma Buckley said after the match. "We have to come out a bit harder next time."

"That's a team you have to figure out how to play team attack against," Meharg added. "This is not a team we can beat one on one."

While the Terps would welcome another chance to meet with North Carolina this season, a potential finals matchup is still a long way away. The Terps barely escaped Durham with a win in October, and with a trip to the championship on the line, today's matchup could match, or even surpass, the competitiveness of their first meeting.

Not that Meharg's worried about what happened almost four weeks ago.

"We are as ready as we can be for postseason," Meharg said.

vitale@umdbk.com