One goal. That’s all it took for the Terrapin women’s soccer team to be ranked in the top-25 for the first time since the final poll of the 2004 season and for freshman Emily Maynard to be named to Soccer America’s Women’s Team of the Week.

Maynard’s first career goal came on a 35-yard punch over Lady Volunteer goalie Jaimel Johnson in the 73rd minute, putting the Terps up for good in their opening game 1-0 upset of then-No. 10 ranked Tennessee.

The goal that put the Terps on the national radar couldn’t have happened without the contribution of another freshman, defender Brittany Cummins, who made a picturesque pass across the field to Maynard, setting up the score.

Despite losing 3-0 to UCLA two days after the opener, the Terps still started the week at No. 25 in the Soccer America poll, a list they hope to stay on for the remainder of the season.

“We were very pleased with the weekend,” coach Brian Pensky said. “We knew going into the weekend that going against the No. 1 and 10 teams in the country would be a challenge.”

Although the morale was high among the Terps, there was still some disappointment in Sunday’s performance against the Bruins. Few expected them to upset the top team in the nation, but the Terps know eventually they will need to be more competitive against the nation’s elite teams.

“Sunday the kids were frustrated with the result we got,” Pensky said. “Hopefully we can use it as a learning experience for the rest of the year.”

Playing one of the toughest schedules over the past few years helped the Terps come out of a brutal Penn State Invitational with at least one defining win to build off of for the rest of the season. They may not have been able to slay the giant, but they conquered a great foe along the way, and exceeded many experts’ expectations.

Though the offense only scored one goal in the two games combined, the defense not only shut out Tennessee but also kept the talented UCLA offense in check for the majority of Sunday’s game, before the floodgates opened late in the second half.

The Terps were playing without two key offensive players, Kimmy Bunting and Nataly Arias. Unfortunately for the Terps, Bunting is expected to miss the whole season after getting her second concussion when she tried heading a ball in practice.

Arias will likely be back for the Terps sometime in October, after having knee surgery last Thursday.

“[Bunting and Arias] are disappointing losses,” Pensky said. “They are two of our top technical players, but we have been planning to move forward without those two for quite some time now.”

Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com.