EAST LANSING, Mich. –  The third-ranked Maryland field hockey team rolled to a 5-1 victory at Michigan State Saturday in both teams' Big Ten opener.
 
The Terps scored five goals off their 10 penalty corners. Senior tri-captain Linnea Gonzales scored twice to lead the Terrapins to their eighth straight win.

"It's nice to open Big Ten play with a dominant outcome," head coach Missy Meharg said. "We got a total of 19 field players in the match, which is great for everyone and a great motivator. All five of our goals were somehow off penalty corners, either a set play or a broken play, and we figured out how to take advantage of an 8 vs. 4 situation. [Assistant coach] Marvin Bam works with our penalty corner units and we have grown so much with them."

The Terrapins scored twice in 60 seconds in the first half to open the scoring. Sophomore Sophie Giezeman deflected in a shot off a penalty corner for the first, then Gonzales scored off another penalty corner a minute later. Maryland led 2-0 with 14:43 remaining in the first half.
 
Freshman Mayv Clune made it a three-goal lead for the Terps in the 31^st minute when she cracked a shot off another penalty corner for her first career goal.
 
The Spartans got on the board off a penalty corner of their own when Makenzie Brown scored with 1:09 remaining in the period. The Terrapins led 3-1 at halftime.
 
Junior Nike Lorenz pushed Maryland's lead back to three goals with a goal just 2:38 into the second half.  
 
Gonzales added her second score of the day with a rocket shot off a corner in the 51^st minute. Maryland took a 5-1 lead with 19:43 left.
 
The Terps took 22 shots to the Spartans' six. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Holliday made three saves.
 
At 8-0, Maryland is off to its best start since 2013 when it started 15-0.
 
Next, the Terrapins will head to New Jersey to take on No. 5 Princeton (3-2) Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Tigers' Bedford Field. The Terps-Tigers game will be streamed live online through ESPN+.
 
DEFLECTIONS… Maryland is 10-0 all-time vs. Michigan State and 3-0 vs. the Spartans at Ralph Young Field… The Terps are 119-38-3 (.753) all-time against Big Ten opponents… Meharg is 102-18-1 (.847) vs. Big Ten opponents… Since joining the league in 2014, the Terps are 29-4 in conference play… The Terrapins have been ranked in the top 10 for 198 of 205 weeks since 1999…the Terps lead the Big Ten and are No. 2 in the country in scoring with 34 goals scored this year.