They could have turned pro in the Netherlands. First they want to lead Maryland field hockey to a national title.

Bibi Donraadt and Danielle Van Rootselaar are part of a Dutch contingent playing a significant role for the Maryland field hockey team.

Just as importantly, the midfielders are part of a four-member club known as “The Grandmas.” The nickname — which also applies to defender Riley Donnelly and midfielder/forward Leah Crouse, the squad’s four graduate students — may be appropriate, Van Rootselaar admitted.

“Sometimes we have to be on the field at 12:15, and we’ll pull up at 12:10, which is still very close. And everybody’s like, ‘Yeah, here come The Grandmas,’” she said with a laugh. “We take some extra time, but we’re always on time.”

Donraadt and Van Rootselaar have done more than just be present for the Terps. Van Rootselaar is tied for the team lead in goals (10) and ranks third in points (23), and Donraadt leads the offense in assists (nine) and is tied for first in points (27).

The duo has contributed heavily to Maryland’s rise to No. 2 in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and a 14-1 overall record and a 7-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference. With a 4-3 win over No. 20 Rutgers on Sunday, the Terps clinched their sixth Big Ten title.

“Both are so significant in how we’re playing and what we’re doing just from maturity, off-field communication, on-field expectations,” coach Missy Meharg said. “… If you look at [NCAA champion] Northwestern last year, their center back [Maddie Bacskai] and center forward [Clara Roth] were both Princeton grads and had gone to [multiple] Final Fours in their years at Princeton. So these types of players that have had that experience just have a huge impact.”

Whether Donraadt and Rootselaar would play for the Terps was not set in stone. Donraadt, who hails from Rotterdam, was signed by a professional field hockey team in the Netherlands, where the sport enjoys enough popular support to sponsor women’s and men’s leagues.

Donraadt, who already has a bachelor’s in biology and obtained permission from her professional club to return to Maryland, said she is determined to help the program capture a national championship after advancing to the final in 2018 and the semifinals last fall.

“We haven’t been able to finish it,” she said. “So I really wanted to take that last opportunity. Missy told me about all of the new players coming in and how good they were going to be this season. So I was excited to see how I could help with that and try it one more time.”

Van Rootselaar graduated from Brown with a bachelor’s in finance and debated whether to pursue a career in business in Boston with her boyfriend or return to Bilthoven and turn professional. But she said she yearned for a shot at contending for a national title.

“If I wanted to go home and play pro, I can,” she said. “It’s not hard to do that a year later. And especially after playing at Brown, I was only going to become a better player by playing at Maryland for a year just because the level of play is so much harder. So it was a pretty easy decision.”

Van Rootselaar’s transfer allowed her to connect with Donraadt and other Dutch natives such as senior defender Maura Verleg, senior midfielder Nathalie Fietcher and freshman midfielder Sophie Klautz. That link proved critical when Van Rootselaar toured campus with Verleg and eventually chose the Terps over Northwestern and Duke.

“At Brown, I never had anybody who was Dutch on the team,” Van Rootselaar said. “I think it was much easier to just really ask what was the team like, how were the coaches, how was the school because it was just more blunt. I went on other visits, but I think getting the real answers from Maura was very helpful because I really felt like she was thriving here, so there was no reason not for me to come.”

This season, Donraadt and Van Rootselaar have thrived on the field. Donraadt has six assists in her last five starts, and Van Rootselaar ranks second on the team in game-winning goals with three. Meharg said she has noticed the pair embrace tight moments in games.

“Some people love that pressure,” she said. “Pressure is an ally if you love that, and for those types of athletes, it’s just dynamite. So far, Dani has shown that she loves that. She has scored some pretty big goals in games this year, and she likes that. I think we’re all in that position.”

Donraadt, Van Rootselaar and senior midfielder Emma DeBerdine were voted captains by their teammates. Junior defender Rayne Wright said Donraadt and Van Rootselaar have helped expand the defense’s abilities during practices.

“I just think that when you get to combine the two different cultures of field hockey, it creates such a great combination because if you see the skills that Bibbi and Dani do, they’re a little bit different than what we do, but it challenges us as defenders and creates a different perspective for the other teams to have to work off of,” Wright said. “So I think it’s amazing.”

With six wins over ranked opponents, including a 2-1 overtime victory over Northwestern on Oct. 2, Maryland trails only undefeated North Carolina (12-0) in the rankings. The team’s success has helped validate Donraadt’s decision to return for her fifth year.

“With how our team is doing right now, I can obviously say that I’m very happy with where I am,” she said. “I’m having a very good time, and I’m very grateful for the girls that came in this year.”

While Donraadt and Van Rootselaar have an opportunity to play professionally, the same future might not await classmates Donnelly and Crouse. Perhaps that explains why the players are eager to propel the Terps to their ninth NCAA title and first since 2011.

“Everyone’s ready,” Van Rootselaar said. “No one is afraid or nervous to say, ‘Yeah, we want to win the national championship,’ because we all want that and we all know we can do it.”

NO. 2 MARYLAND@NO. 4 PENN STATE

Friday, 6 p.m.

Stream: Big Ten Network Plus