COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 2-ranked Maryland field hockey team defeated Richmond, 5 -1 in the Terrapins' season opener at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex Friday evening.
 
Four Terrapins combined to score five goals, led by junior Kyler Greenwalt, who scored twice in her first game back after an injury last season.
 
The Terrapins scored early and often. The first goal came in the first two minutes of the game by sophomore Riley Donnelly, assisted by sophomore Bibi Donraadt and senior Madison Maguire on a penalty corner. It was Donnelly's first career goal.
 
"We're just super excited," head coach Missy Meharg said. "The four quarters, this is the first time the team has played it and actually for me, this is the first time I've managed it and coached it. I was really happy to have that break and I know on behalf of my coaching staff, it gave us a chance to really calm things down a bit."
 
Richmond's Addie Nash then scored in the fifth minute of the game to tie it up, but from that moment on, it was all Terps.
 
"You never like to get on the board and have an equalizer happen that quickly," Meharg said. "I thought we rallied well with maturity. I was super impressed with Riley Donnelly, our sophomore who put us on the board. I thought that Hannah Bond did a great job but Riley really stepped up to the plate and handled that screen position.
 
Senior co-captain Jen Bleakney scored two minutes later off a pass from Donraadt to put the Terps back on top. Bleakney took the pass and sent a hard shot into the bottom of the cage from the left side. Junior co-captain Bodil Keus scored early in the second quarter off of another penalty corner.
 
Greenwalt scored her first goal with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Freshman Emma DeBerdine brought the ball into the circle from the right side and along the baseline and fed it to Greenwalt for the score. Maryland led 4-1 at half.
 
Greenwalt added her second goal off of a rebounded shot early in the fourth quarter to finalize the score at 5-1.
 
"Kyler is just such a service-oriented athlete," Meharg said. "She's so quick and her mentality is constantly on the front line. She makes it exciting and she makes it her mission to close people down and make their life so miserable with the ball. For her teammates, she inspires them, she gives them so much energy."
 
Maryland outshot Richmond 20-10 and had 11 penalty corners to the Spiders' one.
 
Senior goalie Noelle Frost made three saves. 
 
Maryland is ranked No. 2 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Preseason poll released Tuesday. The Terrapins have been ranked in the top 5 in 207 of 214 polls, dating back to 1999.
 
Next, Maryland will host New Hampshire Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. Admission and parking are both free.
 
The Terps-Wildcats game will be streamed around the world on BTN +. Fans can watch with their BTN + subscriptions. Live stats will be available here.
 
Sunday is Youth Team Day. All youth teams can submit their rosters to the marketing table at the game and the team with the highest attendance will win free T-shirts. Pinnies will be given out to youth teams while supplies last. Youth teams can also get a concessions voucher for ice cream.
 
Fans can stay and meet the Terps for an autograph and meet and greet session following the game.

For the latest information, follow the Terrapins on Twitter at @terpsfh and on Instagram at @terpsfh. 
 
DEFLECTIONS… The Terrapins are 42-3-2 all-time in season openers and have won the last 24 straight openers….The Terps are 13-3 in home openers at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex and have outscored their opponents 61-20 in those 15 games…Maryland owns the all-time series over Richmond at 19-0-1 and has won the last 19 straight matchups.
 

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Head Coach Missy Meharg

On the first game of the season and what they hope to improve:

"We're just super excited. The four quarters, this is the first time the team has played it and actually for me, this is the first time I've managed it and coached it. I have to say we were playing pretty chaotic in the first quarter, I'm calling them Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. I was really happy to have that break and I know on behalf of my coaching staff, it gave us a chance to really calm things down a bit. You never like to get on the board and have an equalizer happen that quickly. I thought we rallied well with maturity. I was super impressed with Riley Donnelly, our sophomore who put us on the board. I thought that Hannah Bond did a great job but Riley really stepped up to the plate and handled that screen position. So super strong performance."

On Kyler's return:
"Kyler is just such a service-oriented athlete. She's so quick and her mentality is constantly on the front line. She makes it exciting and she makes it her mission to close people down and make their life so miserable with the ball. For her teammates, she inspires them, she gives them so much energy. I'm not surprised after she had surgery last year, well first of all, to tear her ACL in the final game and her energy, even at that point she was going to get surgery, was totally for the team so I'm not surprised. She did a ton of work this summer and she's back in the opening line up and she'll only grow."

On her wish to be dominant in the first minutes and the quick scoring today:
"I think to get three penalty corners in a minute and a half is putting your foot on the pedal and dominating and we talked about that. But when you ask for that, you ask for some chaos at a counter defense and I think that we were young in that but I like to see us get right back on the board after that and keep going with it. I thought Emma DeBerdine was a spark up front the way she can get past defenders and get on the baseline. If you can get underneath someone on the baseline, in any team sport, it makes it difficult for the defense."

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Junior Midfielder Kyler Greenwalt

On what she was feeling during her first game back 
"I had all those feelings (excitement, frustration wariness) but it felt great to have those feelings because I haven't had it in so long and I miss it a lot. It's really good to have that but also my teammates keep me sane. It's really tough out there when you're running and running, with them just cheering you it just really keeps you going. It's been tough but I've had help from every single person possible so they've made it happen really. It's really been great."

Sophomore Defender Riley Donnelly

On scoring the first goal of the year:

"It was really a confidence boost for me. I think we all have been putting in a lot of hard work and to see the pieces coming together is really exciting."

 
 

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