The No. 16 Iowa field hockey team will face off against No. 5 Maryland in the first round of 2024 Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, Nov 7. 

The competition will take place at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park, Maryland. The ball will drop at 1:00 p.m. with live-stream coverage on Big Ten Plus. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming match: 

Scouting Maryland

Head coach Missy Meharg has had Maryland near the top of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings for the majority of the season. 

The Terrapins began the season ranked No. 4 and have fluctuated around that mark all year long, currently slotting in at No. 5 in the land. 

Maryland enters the contest at 12-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Its impressive performance in the Big Ten earned it a two-seed in this year’s postseason tournament–trailing only Northwestern, who finished a perfect 8-0 in league action. 

The Terrapins hold one of the strongest defenses in the Big Ten Conference, allowing only 15 total goals on the season, a number that ranks second in the conference behind Northwestern. . Additionally, their opponents have reached the net only 54 times, again trailing Northwestern. 

The apex of the defensive unit is second-year goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko, who is regarded as one of the top goalkeepers in the nation. Klebasko is third in the Big Ten in average goals against at a clip of 0.96 – good for seventh best in the country. 

Offensively, the Terrapins rank in the upper echelon of the Big Ten in terms of production, producing 43 goals and 27 assists this season. 

Iowa Season Outlook 

According to the preseason NFHCA rankings, Iowa was recognized as the sixth-best team in the country, and it looked like the Hawkeyes would live up to those expectations under head coach Lisa Cellucci. 

Iowa began the season with a split in the annual Big Ten/ACC challenge, defeating Wake Forest and falling to No. 2 North Carolina. 

Cellucci’s squad then rattled off three consecutive matches before running into No. 1 Northwestern in the team’s first conference test of the season. But the lights appeared to be a little too bright, as Iowa fell to the Wildcats, 5-0.

The Hawkeyes then proceeded to go 2-2 over their next four contests, but then lost four out of their next seven, causing them to nearly miss out on postseason play. 

But Iowa responded, finishing the season 9-8 in Big Ten play, qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament by ½ game over Penn State. 

First Round Matchups

Game One: No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Ohio State

Game Two: No. 2 Maryland vs No. 7 Iowa

Game Three: No. 3 Michigan vs No. 6 Indiana

(No. 1 Northwestern plays the winner of Game One)