Maryland women’s soccer falls to No. 14 Wisconsin, 1-0
· Yahoo Sports
Maryland women’s soccer entered its matchup with No. 14 Wisconsin having not scored a goal in Big Ten play, while the Badgers had shut out every conference opponent they had faced.
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Both those trends continued as Maryland’s offense was shut out for the fourth straight game in a 1-0 defeat to Wisconsin.
While Maryland’s offense has struggled mightily this season, the Terps’ attack put pressure on the Badgers early in the first half. Peyton Bernard and McKinley Heaven fired long shots towards Wisconsin’s goal, but both attempts soared well over the crossbar.
In the 23rd minute, the Badgers had a golden opportunity to take the lead. A long free kick was lofted into the box, and in the ensuing chaos, Wisconsin couldn’t capitalize.
Just minutes later, Wisconsin’s offense struck gold. Jane Rogers fired a cross from the sideline that a diving Faith Luckey deflected, but Taylor Gordon was standing in the perfect spot as the deflection rolled to her foot. Gordon took advantage of the opportunity and gave the Badgers a 25th-minute lead.
“You describe it as chaotic, it’s just a bad start from us, and it’s really disappointing…” head coach Michael Marchiano said. “… We can’t come play against a top 15 team in the country and only play for 70 minutes or 65 minutes.”
After the goal, Wisconsin took control of the first half. The Badgers finished the half with seven shots, four shots on goal, after having just two shots before Gordon’s goal.
On the other side of the ball, Wisconsin’s defense shut down Maryland’s attack following the goal, but the Terps offense showed signs of life late in the half.
After pushing the ball into the box, Ellie Egeland fired a shot from the doorstep of the goal, but Drew Stover made a spectacular save to keep the Terps off the scoreboard. Egeland made her first appearance of the season against the Badgers after missing the first nine games of the season due to injury.
“I think Ellie has good attacking instincts. She won a few duels that allowed the team to progress.” Marchiano said. “I think just some good attacking contributions from her, and we’re really happy.”
Egeland had another opportunity early in the second half after a Terps corner kick, but her shot went just slightly above the crossbar.
The addition of Egeland proved to be a boost to the Maryland attack, but it still struggled to produce offense for the fourth straight conference game.
Outside of Egeland, the Terps attempted just three shots, two of which came from an early attack by Heaven and Bernard. The only other attempt in the game was one of Maryland’s two shots on goal, a weak dribbler from Ella Petry that required little effort from Stover for the save.
“I just think we need to keep taking shots, and I think that’s one of my personal specialties,” Egeland said. “… I have the confidence that I can take a shot, and I can beat a player one [versus] one.”
The Terps hoped leading scorer Jolie Farmer could provide the offense a spark as she returned to the starting lineup for the first time since going down with an injury.
Farmer made an appearance in the second half in the Terps last game against Penn State, and played well in her limited minutes, but struggled to find an offensive rhythm early against the Badgers. Hailey Baumann made her presence felt as Wisconsin’s star defender kept Farmer out of the early offensive push.
That trend would continue for the remainder of the game, as Baumann and the Badgers’ defense eliminated Farmer from the Terps’ attack. While the offense searched for answers, Maryland’s leading goalscorer had zero shots in 57 minutes of play.
Farmer’s best opportunity came in the 74th minute when she received a long pass in the open field. As she pushed the ball past midfield, Farmer was seemingly taken down, but no whistles blew.
In the 74th minute, as time wound down on the Terps’ chance to equalize, an opportunity presented itself off the foot of Kamryn Cole. Cole sent a perfect cross right in front of the Badgers’ net, but as the ball drifted in front of Stover, nobody was there to finish the cross.
Despite the last-gasp offensive effort from the Terps, the clock ultimately ran out on Maryland’s offense.
Three Things to Know
1. Egeland could be the missing piece. The Terps’ offense looked much improved with Egeland on the field, and the midfielder played at a level Maryland hasn’t seen from that position so far this season. If Maryland’s forwards can build off Egeland, then the offensive chances could follow.
2. Defense held its own. Despite allowing a goal in the first half, Maryland’s defense put on a strong performance, one of its best all season. The Terps were able to find success winning the ball back from Badgers forwards,which resulted in a surprisingly even possession battle between the two teams. While Marchiano wasn’t pleased with the start, the finish to the game shows a blueprint forward for the Terps backline.
3. The schedule doesn’t get any easier. The last of the Terps’ three-game homestand will be another ranked opponent, with No. 21 UCLA coming to town Sunday. After facing the Bruins, Maryland will head back on the road to take on Minnesota.