The Terps lost for the fourth game in a row.
Maryland women’s soccer held on strong as Saturday’s game against Rutgers entered the final 10 minutes.
But for the second time in the past four games, the Terps allowed a backbreaking goal late in the match.
After pressuring Maryland’s defense all game, the Scarlet Knights finally break through in the 85th minute, when midfielder Catherine DeRosa made a poorly timed tackle in the box, giving away a penalty.
Rutgers midfielder Kylie Daigle stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty past an outstretched Liz Beardsley to silence the home crowd at Ludwig Field.
The goal was the lone score of the game, as Maryland lost its fourth straight match, 1-0.
Maryland was forced to play on the back foot and rely on a counter attack for almost the entire 90 minutes. The Terps were outshot, 19-5, and most of those attempts came early in the game.
Despite that, the backline held on and blocked many shot attempts. But the ineffectiveness of Maryland’s attack caused some costly mistakes as the game waned on, as the team’s goalless streak reached six games in a row.
“We just need to make sure we’re playing for each other, and not treating them as individual battles, and like pointing fingers when something goes wrong,” defender Katie Coyle said.
Rutgers also had multiple impactful set pieces. The Scarlet Knights tallied 10 corners compared to just two taken by the Terps. They also had almost double the amount of free kicks.
Both squads started the match a little rusty, with Beardsley letting a soft shot attempt slip through her gloves and roll just past the bottom right corner of the post in the third minute.
The Scarlet Knights had some dangerous looks at goal early. Junior defender Emily Mason had a wide open look at goal from a corner in the fourth minute, but her shot sailed over the net.
The Terps struggled at times in the first half to clear the ball out of the box.
Beardsley came up clutch to stop Rutgers from taking the lead in the 22nd minute, when a header from forward Allison Lynch off a corner required a leap and an extension of her right hand to prevent a go-ahead score.
Maryland was outshot in the first half, 10-1. The sole shot was a tame effort by defender Caroline Koutsos at the end of the period.
It was more of the same to start the second half, as Rutgers continued to put pressure on Beardsley.
But amidst all of that, Maryland began to find its rhythm. In the 71st minute, Lisa McIntyre slipped a pass through to midfielder Hannah Schapiro, who had only the keeper to beat. She attempted a chip, but the ball sailed up and landed right on top of the net, squandering Maryland’s first legitimate chance of the game.
Shortly after, defender Kennedy Bell had an open look at goal in the 83rd minute that she chopped wide.
Bell hounded on the importance of communication needed between the squad going forward.
“I know you can score, but believe that you can score,” she said.
Even with those good looks on the fast break, the penalty squashed any hopes Maryland had of achieving a positive result. The Terps tired for an equalizer, but were only able to get off one shot in the final five minutes, a Morales free kick that sailed wide.
“What we spoke about this week is like not raising the ceiling, but how do we raise the floor of this program,” head coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said, “And if that’s our floor and we continue to get better, then that’s successful.”
Three things to know
1. Terps recorded a first-half shutout. In the previous two games, Maryland allowed a combined five goals inside the first twenty minutes. On Saturday, the Terps held strong in the first half. They have only lost twice this season when shutting out a team in the opening period.
2. Bell is playing up front. There were a few people in the stands puzzled when the defender stood over the opening kickoff of the game. It’s clear Nemzer wants Bell involved in the attack.
3. Maryland may not find another win. Riding a four-game losing streak, the Terps are in danger of extending that to the end of the season. Last year, Maryland won both of its last two games, and won three conference games overall. It is yet to be seen if the program will even capture one victory against Big Ten opponents in 2023.