COLLEGE PARK — COLLEGE PARK -- The University of Maryland field hockey team extended its winning streak to 11 games as the Terrapins beat Northeastern, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA tournament yesterday on the AstroTurf field.
Maryland, whose streak dates to Oct. 4, plays No. 1 seed and host Old Dominion (22-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Even though the Terps (15-4-1) outshot the Huskies (15-7-1) 30-7 and had 12 penalty corners to Northeastern's three, Maryland fell behind early when Northeastern's Kelly Wilk scored off a penalty corner with 26:56 left in the first half.
"They got that goal kind of lucky," said Terps midfielder Boukje Vermeulen, who tied the score at 1 off a penalty corner with 19:57 left in the first half. "It [Northeastern's goal] wasn't a letdown for us."
"We knew what we had to do next," said midfielder Shannon Petrick, who did so by scoring the insurance goal with 13:27 left off a pass from Lisa Rowe to give Maryland a 3-1 lead.
Judy Finke scored Maryland's go-ahead goal with 26:03 left.
Irene Horvat had four saves in goal for the Terps, and Northeastern goalkeeper Brenda Mitchell had 16.
Maryland, which joins the tournament's final eight, has the opportunity to avenge an early-season loss to the Monarchs, who beat the Terps 5-0 on Sept. 19.
"If we play the type of game we did against North Carolina, we can win," Maryland coach Missy Meharg said, referring to her team's 2-1 penalty stroke-off victory over the Tar Heels for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship on Sunday.
"We didn't even step on the field to play Old Dominion the last time."
Maryland, which is a passing team with a lot of speed on the front line, took awhile to adjust to Northeastern's hit-and-run style of play. Meharg said she has good feelings about the matchup against Old Dominion, which, like Maryland, is a passing team.
"The players have surprised me motivationally," Meharg said. "They want this more than anything."
Northeastern 1 0 -- 1
Maryland 1 2 -- 3
Goals: N--Wilk; M--Vermeulen, Finke, Petrick. Assists: N--Morris, Wilson; M--Rowe 2, Salam. Saves: N--Mitchell 16; M--Horvat 4.