Overtime win sends field hockey to Final Four

Members of the Terrapins field hockey team burst into song as they paraded into their locker room at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex yesterday, singing DJ Khaled's "All I Do is Win" after a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 3 Syracuse.

The team's substitutes had already begun toeing the sideline in anticipation just moments before, when the Terps were awarded a penalty-corner opportunity with nearly two minutes left in the first overtime period. Attacker Katie Gerzabek pushed the ball in bounds from the baseline to defender Harriet Tibble. Tibble took a look, faked left, stepped right and smacked the ball into the back of the net, prompting a chorus of cheers that would serve as the prelude to the team's anthem minutes later.

With the win, the Terps (17-4) will advance to play No. 2 Old Dominion in Louisville, Ky., on Friday in their fourth straight Final Four appearance.

"The ball came out, and I just stopped it, had a look, saw the options, and there's not really much time to think, to be honest," Tibble said of her goal. "You just have to react and we just stayed composed and put it in."

University President Wallace Loh watched from behind the baseline as the Terps celebrated at midfield after their second overtime victory this season.

Their victory over the Orange (18-4, 5-1 Big East) didn't come easy, though. The game's first goal wasn't scored until the 56th minute of play, when a cross from junior forward Janessa Pope found Gerzabek, who netted the goal as the Terps played a man down for a yellow card assessed to Tibble.

Syracuse's Kelsey Millman quickly responded, flicking a ball over the legs of a recumbent Melissa Vassalotti, who had sprawled across the goal in hopes of stopping an initial flurry from the Orange, to tie the game.

The Terps thought they had won in the final seconds of regulation when Pope pushed the ball inbounds on a penalty corner, Tibble set it and midfielder Jemma Buckley flicked the ball high into the goal. Officials deemed Buckley's goal illegal, however, ruling that the ball hadn't touched the wooden panel along the bottom of the net, which it must on penalty corners.

Afterward, coach Missy Meharg said the dramatic ups and downs of her game were cause for merriment. In the moments after their second overtime win this season, a looming matchup with second-seeded Old Dominion — their third of the year — was the farthest thing from her mind.

"First, we're going to celebrate because we're going to the Final Four," said Meharg, who will make her 14th semifinals appearance. "We're going to get our bodies back. We've been running very hard. Last week, we trained very hard after the ACCs and we're going to take a few days off."

After yesterday's performance, they deserve it.

The Terps had 11 shots, including five on goal, and seven penalty-corner attempts, while the Orange had five shots, two on goal and four penalty corners.

"With teams at this level and in this upcoming weekend, if we can get 10 or more shots, we're in a good place," Meharg said as she looked over at a handful of her players nearby. "If we can get five or more penalty corners, we're typically in a good place. This is a great result."

Only a week after a surprising loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament, the Terps were already looking toward bigger and better things in Louisville on Friday.

"You don't need to win the ACC Championship to win the national championship," Buckley said with a smirk after yesterday's win. "That's our next goal right now."

egan@umdbk.com