It was a cloudy rainy Halloween afternoon when No. 6 Maryland rolled into Iowa City.
Iowa found no treats, however, as it fell, 2-1, in double overtime.
The expectations coming into this contest were less than optimistic for the Hawkeyes, because they’ve only won two conference games, and Maryland is ranked first in the Big Ten and has suffered no losses in the conference.
However, the Hawks didn’t let Maryland dampen their confidence. It was clear who wanted this win from the moment the first half started.
“We had nothing left; this was the last game on Grant, and we had to prove it,” junior Chandler Ackers said. “I think we ended up doing that, which was awesome. It’s just sad we couldn’t do it from the start of the season.”
Much of the first half was a defensive battle; both teams were toe-to-toe on both ends of the field. Iowa got in the swing of things early in the first half with a penalty corner within the first minute. However, Maryland freshman goalkeeper Sarah Holliday didn’t let anything score and had 3 saves in the first half.
Iowa continued to take shots and earn penalty corners, hoping something would fall. The Hawks outshot the Terps 6-3 in the first half and earned 4 penalty corners. Maryland’s Anna Dessoye put her team on board in the 19th minute in front of a crowded goal.
After trailing 1-0 going into the second half, the Hawks needed to adjust quickly to keep their hopes alive. The game got interesting when Maryland had a chance to go up 2-0 with a penalty stroke. Junior goalkeeper Alexandra Pecora saved it to keep the Hawks alive.
The intensity of the save transitioned into sophomore Mallory Lefkowitz scoring a big goal to tie in the 53rd minute. After Dessoye saved a shot from sophomore Veronique Declercq, Lefkowitz was in close range to stick it in.
“Whenever a goalkeeper can make a save on a penalty stroke, that gives the team a lot of momentum,” Iowa head coach Lisa Cellucci said. “[Pecora] has been working really hard on those, so it was great to see her make the save.”
The remainder of the second half was similar to the first; both teams defended well. Both took 4 shots and earned 3 penalty corners, but nothing found its way in the goal. So the game headed into overtime, and everyone at Grant Field stood and waited anxiously, hoping for an upset.
Iowa’s defense showed up huge in overtime. Maryland took 5 shots and earned 5 penalty corners in overtime, but Pecora was there to save each. The junior had 3 saves in overtime. In the 83rd minute Iowa had a chance to win the game on a 2-1 breakaway, but Lekowitz’s shot slid past the left side of the goal.
With a minute and 42 seconds in double OT, Maryland’s Lein Holsboer sealed the deal.
“Seventy minutes plus is a lot to play,” Ackers said. “Our fitness didn’t help us in this situation, and I think we can keep working on that.”
If there’s one thing the Hawkeyes can take away from another heartbreaker, it’s that they played well and tough against a highly ranked squad.
