Intensity And Fire

Maryland field hockey’s Hall of Fame head coach Missy Meharg remembers recruiting senior forward Hope Rose the second she was legally allowed to. 

“I think about the first time that I saw her was when she was in seventh or eighth grade,” Meharg said. “I just watched her maneuver that stick and ball. And her vision, she could see 10-15 meters away from where the ball was. I said, ‘You know, I've got to coach this girl.’” 

Recruiting notes that Meharg had when Rose was in middle school represent the coach’s analysis of Rose now as she enters her final slate of games in the NCAA Tournament with Maryland field hockey. 

“When I look at Hope Rose, I think she was born to play field hockey for the country, for Maryland, and for the world,” Meharg said. “She's like one with her stick. She'll leave a legacy of one of the most intense and fiery goal-scoring forwards to ever compete in a Maryland jersey.”

It’s hard to overstate Rose’s copious experience in the sport. It encapsulates a historic four-year high school career, a standout four-year campaign at Maryland and six years and counting with the United States women’s national field hockey team. 

Rose estimates having played in more than 500 field hockey games in her lifetime. 

She has accumulated a long list of accomplishments as a Terp, including four All-Big Ten distinctions, three All-American and Mid-Atlantic Region honors, Big Ten All-Tournament Team and NCAA All-Tournament Team merit, and a Big Ten Freshman of the Year nod. 

Her long awards list supplements her achievements with the U.S. women’s national team. Rose holds two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, including a silver for the team she captained at the 2024 Junior Pan American Championships. 

The star forward currently leads the Terps in goals (12) and points (26). She also surpassed the 100-point career mark in Maryland's 4-1 win over American on Oct. 14. 

Rose remains driven to show up and play hard, even as her college field hockey career comes to a close because she loves the sport and the people in it. 

“The amount of opportunities that I’ve had with different U.S. teams and Maryland, having the opportunity to travel the world,” Rose said. “It honestly keeps me motivated to keep going. And the love for the game kept growing with every person I had on every team I played for.”

Rose’s love for field hockey motivates her to continue improving, but her hardworking presence beyond the stat sheet has earned her the respect of coaches, teammates and competitors.  

“She’s a woman of few words,” Meharg said. “But she has a ton of energy in her actions. In that regard, she’s so well respected.”

Rose’s Maryland teammate, junior defender Ericka Morris-Adams, echoed Coach Meharg’s sentiment, describing how Rose leads by example.

“She’s a leader through her field hockey and the reputation she’s built for herself through the years,” Morris-Adams said. “She’s just so dominant on the field. That’s enough to lead without her even saying anything. And when she does speak, it’s very meaningful, to the point, she means business.”

As Coach Meharg pointed out, Rose began playing field hockey at age 6, following in her mother’s footsteps. 

“Her mother was a very high-level player,” Meharg said. “She played for a great program at Lock Haven University with one of the greatest coaches, Sharon Taylor, back in her time. She was a vicious attacker, and Hope's the same.”

Rose always played up an age group to be on her older sister’s team, and she held her own, shaping her into a talented young player. 

Rose hails from Dauphin, Pennsylvania, an area she describes as a “field hockey hotbed.” The excitement surrounding the sport in Southeastern Pennsylvania encouraged Rose to pursue it at the next level. 

“A ton of people have gone to really high DI schools,” Rose said. “Even since middle school, it's always been a high, intense game between everybody because there's so many good players at every school.”

Even in a competitive region, Rose achieved one of the most successful careers in high school field hockey history as a four-year varsity player for Central Dauphin High School. She was one of only six scholastic players to reach 200 career goals, and her career mark of 233 goals ranked third all-time in high school. 

But Rose’s career with the WC Eagles club team cemented her long-term commitment to the sport.

“Once I moved to that club, I fell in love with [field hockey] and realized that this could be something I wanted to do in college,” Rose said. “The people around me, I knew that's what I wanted to do because I had the opportunity to play with some of them in college.”

Rayne Wright, Paige Kieft, Carly Hynd, and Mayv Clune are all WC Eagles alumni who later overlapped with Rose on Maryland’s field hockey team.

Also in high school, Rose got her start with the U.S. national team in 2018 as a member of the U-17 team. After advancing to the U-18 and U-19 teams and the U22 Junior Pan American Championships training squad, Rose played for the U.S. women’s national indoor field hockey team alongside Terps assistant coach Kasey Tapman Asper. 

In addition to Meharg’s early recruiting efforts and accounts of Maryland’s family atmosphere and program excellence, Rose contends that this on-field connection with Tapman Asper influenced her decision to commit to Maryland. 

“I loved playing with [Tapman Asper], and I knew how she was as a person,” Rose said. “So I knew how she would be as a coach.”

As soon as she arrived in College Park, Rose made her presence known, starting in all but one of Maryland’s 2021 games and tallying 24 points in her freshman season. 

But Rose’s favorite Maryland field hockey memories happened on the field the following fall. Rose had a standout sophomore season, securing a career-high 36 points. She significantly contributed to the 2022 Terps team that made the Final Four after going 19-3 and clinching the Big Ten regular season title. 

“For the Big Ten, it was a special moment because of how hard that team worked that year and how we came together to claim the title,” Rose said. “I will never forget the emotions of that day when we got to raise the trophy.” 

Before Maryland narrowly lost in the Final Four, the Terps pulled off an exciting shootout win at home over No. 8 Syracuse. Rose’s successful strike set up Kieft, a goalkeeper, to make the game-clinching save directly afterward. Rose remembers that postseason game as intense and stressful but ultimately more exciting than anything she’s experienced in college. 

“Both teams had played such a great game, which led us into overtime, and then it went to shootouts, which can be very stressful,” Rose said. “After the first round of shootouts, Scott [Tupper] asked if I wanted to take the sudden death one, and I did. As soon as I made that one, I knew Paige would save the next. Celebrating going to the Final Four on our home field was like no other.”

Rose has carried that individual success through her upperclassmen years, serving as a reliable offensive weapon, goal-scorer and leader. As captain of the U.S. U-21 team last summer, Rose sharpened her field hockey skills and game knowledge while improving her leadership abilities. 

“That opportunity to be captain for U-21 gave me confidence, especially on the field,” Rose said. “Having the leadership and knowledge of the game, being able to tell people where to go and being confident with it. It also helped me to have hard conversations with teammates off the field when necessary.”

Meharg attests to Rose’s advanced understanding of the game and her sustained development as a player and teammate. 

“I've coached a lot of players, and I don't feel like I've done my job if players aren’t becoming better in all aspects,” Meharg said. “Technically, tactically, emotionally, spiritually, Hope is just growing incredibly. She takes coaching very personally and handles authority well. Her game is still getting better and better.”

Morris-Adams highlighted the value of playing with a well-versed and slightly intimidating athlete like Rose.

“Technically, she’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with,” Morris-Adams said. “And she knows the game better than anyone. I think that’s something we all value. She’s got this thing about her, this mean glare, which is intimidating on the field. It makes me grateful that I’m playing on her team every time I see her in practice.”

The star forward stays motivated to improve because of her robust support system of family, coaches, teammates, and friends.

“The people around me constantly lift me and remind me that I love the sport and what I'm doing, and I want to keep doing it,” Rose said. “Family, teammates, coaches, they constantly give advice and support me even if they are not physically there. But my mom has never missed one of my games ever.”

After graduation, Rose plans to continue her involvement with the U.S. women’s national field hockey team. Although her distinguished field hockey career isn’t over, the senior’s career conclusion at Maryland will soon be a bittersweet reality. 

“You get sad because it's senior year, and you don't have anything left after this for the Maryland side,” Rose said. “With the NCAAs, just knowing it could be your last game is really upsetting. But I'm also extremely happy with how we've ended the regular season. The team that we have was a special group this year. I’m very proud of them.”

Morris-Adams emphasized the significance of Rose’s forthcoming departure from Maryland field hockey.

“There’s going to be a huge hole,” Morris-Adams said. “Hope is an insanely important player on the field and off the field. She is a big part of this team. It’s going to be super hard for a lot of us. But she’s created a legacy for herself, and she’s created such a huge name that will never be forgotten. We’ll forever be grateful that we got to play with her and experience college alongside her.”