No. 13 Maryland Field Hockey Opens Season With Dominant 3-0 Win Over Drexel

Friday, August 28

College Park, MD

12 PM

Maryland

(1-0, 0-0)

Drexel

(0-1, 0-0)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Drexel	0	0	0	0	0
Maryland	2	0	1	0	3

Maryland celebrates a goal against Drexel

No. 13 Maryland Field Hockey Opens Season With Dominant 3-0 Win Over Drexel

8/28/2026 12:00:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Terps won their 30th straight season opener on Friday afternoon in the Conference Cup.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — No. 13 Maryland rolled past Drexel on Friday afternoon to open its 2026 season with a dominant 3-0 win. Three different Terps scored in the victory as Maryland won its 30th consecutive season opener.

Maryland started the match — and its season — fast with two goals in the first quarter. Aida Ierubino and Babs van Hest both scored the first goals of their careers, while Maci Bradford logged both of her assists in the opening frame.

A 2-0 first quarter lead for Maryland!#bestofthebest https://t.co/ldhzvepYzM pic.twitter.com/HyP5XnHWZK
— Maryland Field Hockey (@TerpsFH) August 28, 2026

Madeline Vasilios scored in the second half as Maryland pulled away to close out its season-opening victory. Alyssa Klebasko kept the Dragons off the board in each of the three quarters she played, while Ryleigh Osborne secured the shutout with a scoreless fourth quarter.

Madeline's first goal of the season 💪

Terps lead 3-0#bestofthebest https://t.co/a7Bop93LD3 pic.twitter.com/VdmnFPQnz9
— Maryland Field Hockey (@TerpsFH) August 28, 2026

Maryland improved to 11-0 all-time against Drexel. The Terps are back in action on Sunday against Temple at 2 PM for their final match of the Conference Cup.

How it Happened:
1st Quarter:

Klebasko made her first save in the fourth minute.
Francisca Eschoyez logged the Terps' first shot of 2026.
Ierubino scored her first career goal in the eighth minute to open the scoring.
Van Hest scored her first career goal to double the lead in the 12th minute.
Maryland outshot Drexel 9-1 in the first quarter and led 2-0 after 15 minutes of play.

2nd Quarter:

Drexel made an early save to deny Bradford in front of the cage.
Maryland fought off a Drexel penalty corner in the 23rd minute.
The Terps took their 2-0 lead into the break after outshooting the Dragons 13-2 in the first half.

3rd Quarter:

Drexel made a save in the opening seconds of the half.
Vasilios scored her first goal of the season in the 38th minute to put Maryland ahead 3-0.
Maryland held the Dragons shotless and took a 3-0 lead into the final 15 minutes.

4th Quarter:

Osborne entered the game in goal.
The Terps fought off a Drexel corner in the 54th minute.
Maryland closed out its 3-0 season-opening victory.

Terps take a 1-0 lead 🐢#bestofthebest https://t.co/eIQpeOBhbT pic.twitter.com/v21A2tNyrk
— Maryland Field Hockey (@TerpsFH) August 28, 2026

Season-Opening Success:

The Terps have won 30 straight season openers dating back to 1997.
Maryland has won each of its last three home openers.
Maryland posted its 28th shutout in a season opener in program history.

Downing the Dragons:

Friday marked the 11th all-time meeting between Maryland and Drexel in a series dating back to 2001.
The Terps hold a perfect record over the Dragons.
Maryland is now 10-0 against Drexel in College Park. Each win over the Dragons has come under head coach Missy Meharg.
Maryland's largest win in series history was a 7-1 victory in 2022.

Fresh Faces:

Maryland had three new players in its starting lineup on Friday as Francisca Eschoyez, Ella Beach, and Ierubino all made their season debuts.
Erin Callahan made her first career start to start her second season.
The Terps used three new players — Lily Mitchell, Kendall Gilmore, and Van Hest — off the bench in the win.
Ierubino scored her first career goal in the first quarter.

Returning Production:

2025 points and assists leader Bradford collected two assists on Friday.
Vasilios scored the fourth goal of her career.
Klebasko posted three shutout quarters in her first start of the season.

Meharg's Message:

"We're super deep and have two great goalkeepers, which is always a great situation to have. I'm really positive about today and this team."
"Aida's just so fast, and scored a lot of goals in our scrimmage matches. She was so clever to be able to keep the ball in the air. It was a super goal."
"Ryleigh's incredible. She had a super preseason camp, and we're really secure in the goaltending situation. She's got incredible stature, her defense is incredible, her communication is great. She's a super high, chemistry-driven human, which is really great for the team."
"Ella is going to be a big player, and you don't see her a lot because of the way she plays so well in the middle of the field."
"We played two very different presses in the first half than we did in the second half, shape wise. We played better in the second quarter than we did in the first in the shape of our press, but I think our backfield diamond just controlled the game."

Ierubino's Instant Impact

"I just wanted to use my speed to my advantage and take it into the circle. I just saw what was open, and it ended up going in. It was so exciting, but it really showed how well we worked the ball from the backfield to the front."
"Scoring was a surreal moment. It was a total team effort and I think it really goes to show the work that we put in throughout the preseason. I'm excited to finally be able to play with the women that are going to make such big impacts on this program."
"We have amazing defenders and amazing goalies. It really showed how much trust we have in our backfield to post a shutout."

Ryleigh's Relief Effort:

"We were really focused on building our connections over the summer. That was a really big point for us, being connected on the field. I think we did a really good job of trusting each other and we're really excited to show what Maryland's about."
"We were really focused on our defensive shape. That's been a really big point of emphasis for us. We understood our principles of play and when we all work toward those same principles, it really shows that we can be a really incredible defensive team."
"We want to make a statement this year, and I think we definitely did that today."

Numbers to Know:

2: The Terps scored two goals in the first half while limiting Drexel to two shots.
3: Maryland won its home opener for the third straight season.
3: The Terps are 3-0 in the Conference Cup across the last two seasons.
11: The Terps improved to 11-0 all-time against Drexel.
27: Maryland outshot Drexel 27-5 in the win.
28: The Terps posted a shutout in their season opener for the 28th time in program history.
30: Maryland won its 30th straight season opener.