Timeshare in cage affords options to field hockey, but no answer's come yet

Exactly 420 minutes have come and gone in a Terrapins field hockey season largely defined by its uncertainty in cage. And the Terps have no better metric of the ongoing goalkeeper competition than their actual timeshare.

In six games this year, goalkeepers Melissa Vassalotti and Natalie Hunter have each played exactly 210 minutes. And as the battle between Vassalotti, a senior who started last year's ACC and national championships, and Hunter, a sophomore upstart, continues unabated, coach Missy Meharg said she is still unsure of how the situation will play out.

"It's been interesting," Meharg said. "We've had games where we've given up a fair number of shots and we've given up as low as one or two. I think that we're just trying both out and seeing where we are."

Each goalie has started three games for the No. 3 Terps (5-1), and examples of stellar play have dotted some games as inconsistencies have colored the rest. Each keeper has shut out one opponent so far — Vassalotti against Northwestern and Hunter against Temple — but both have also had obvious low-water marks.

Against Old Dominion on Sept. 2, Vassalotti suffered the Terps' lone defeat of the season, a 4-0 loss during which she allowed four goals to the Monarchs, the second-highest total conceded during her Terps career.

Hunter had her worst performance of the season Sunday, allowing Villanova to post a 100 percent shooting percentage. The Wildcats ended up taking only three shots, allowing the Terps to move on with a 6-3 victory, but Meharg said those numbers were unfortunate.

"The goals that were scored [against Old Dominion] were completely numbers down. It would be really easy to say Melissa had a bad game with Old Dominion, but she didn't really," Meharg said. "[Against Villanova] I'm sure they're not the statistics that Natalie wants, but we're going to take every game experience as they come."

Part of those difficulties stems not from the goalkeepers alone, but rather the defensive unit as a whole. The Terps lost three defenders from last year's team and switched lifelong forward Hayley Turner to central defense this year, resulting in a relatively inexperienced unit. The young defense is still learning how to work together, Meharg said, which has in turn affected the play of the goalies.

But even through their occasional struggles, both Vassalotti and Hunter said splitting time is not a negative for either player.

"We're really just working with the new defense we have and trying to be a service to the team," Vassalotti said. "We're both really supportive of each other, so it keeps it competitive between us."

"Splitting time is a great opportunity for us to push each other and make each other better," Hunter said. "I know I've become a better goalie from having competition with Melissa, and we both appreciate that competition."

Neither goalie has yet to emerge as a clear favorite to win the job outright, so both will likely continue to split time going forward. But regardless of whether one keeper emerges, Meharg said she wants to have both players ready to play at their best, no matter the situation.

"I think one of them will definitely emerge, but they might not even have to. If they both just stay in it and do a great job and serve the team, then I think we might be able to see both of them throughout the whole season, or maybe not," Meharg said. "I think the women are going to split until the end of the month, and then we're going to see where we are from there."

vitale@umdbk.com